You might even get to the final stages of the interview process and think that you are this close to securing that job.

And then you don’t get it.

I know how you feel – I’ve been there too! It can be awful, you might even lose a little confidence, you might be anxious and think what will you now do with your life! You had a certain image of your life going down one direction, you hadn’t thought of it being anything other than that!

Trust me, it could be a blessing in disguise.

You never know what might happen throughout the long process of finding a graduate job. They take months to go through all the necessary processes and there could be multiple stages involved in finally securing a role.

The important thing is to respect and say yes to all opportunities and offers for interviews that come your way, and take them seriously. 

Not landing that grad role with one of the big city firms was something I thought about often during the start of my career. I always thought it was something I had really missed out on – that it would set me back professionally because of all the opportunities and people I wouldn’t be exposed to, or worse, that I wasn’t ever good enough for those places.

Whatever twists and turns are taken throughout your career journey, you can never plan it out and think that it will happen exactly as you have imagined it. Personally, I am grateful that my career went down the new path I was paving for myself. Now, years after all the graduate intakes are through I have been able to hear from others’ experiences about working in one of the big firms for quite a few years, I realise that things have worked out for the better for me personally.

I put my all into the role I was fortunate enough to get. My job certainly was nowhere near one of the big firms, and not even in the city but I still did my best and I respected where I was.

I was able to gain great experience and move up the chain faster than I would have otherwise. And along with this came pay rises which happened a lot quicker than I would have thought! I also met wonderfully smart, creative, passionate and kind people along the way who were willing to help me grow in my career. In addition, I had a great personal and professional balance in my life which I greatly value. It certainly isn’t where I thought I would be, but I think it’s better.

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At around about the four or five month mark, I found myself feeling more confident with being able to take care of my baby daughter (and being able to leave the house on my own with her!) and yet I found myself still being frustrated, thinking I wasn’t ‘achieving’ anything.

I know this is not true – I had a happy little girl to prove I was in fact achieving a lot!

I didn’t quite know how to overcome this frustration so I started to again do all the things that I enjoyed doing. I read, I started being creative again through my writing and art, I started exercising which I hadn’t done for a long time. I was starting to feel better because I was doing something for myself.

I love being productive with my time and I am passionate about learning, and I found I was still very passionate about my career. Perhaps even more so because I wanted to provide the best life I could for my new little family.

So I asked a friend of mine who is a consultant if I could do a project with her, and that’s where it began! A project came up within a month and so began my endeavours into the consulting world. It was an interesting project with a chance to make a real impact on a lot of people. I felt really motivated and enthusiastic…and productive!

I am now taking chances and really changing how I work. Projects are leading to other projects and I have a fantastic chance of growing my own business in this space.

Because I am able to do things I enjoy and I am feeling productive, I am happier and I’m therefore able to be more relaxed, calm and more patient with my daughter. She picks up on how I am feeling very easily so the more relaxed I have been the more relaxed she is.

I have also noticed that I really value every single second and I don’t like to waste even one minute now. I have a plan of how I’d like to spend each morning she is napping to ensure I keep up this positive feeling going. I admit not every day goes to plan but I know not every day will be the same and I can catch up on ‘mummy’ time either later that day, the next day, or the day after that.

I hope that your maternity year gradually becomes easier too as you progress through the months. I know it is difficult and I hope some of my learnings are able to inspire you to take care of your self more too. Allow yourself the time to do what you enjoy. You owe it to yourself and your family

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It took me years before I arrived at a place where I was recognised for my potential. Working hard on gaining experience and exposure to different people is the foundational first step. I also made sure I was genuinely showing that I was keen to take on more work.

I recall constantly saying to my superiors that I wanted to work on any project that was going around! This all took a lot of patience and persistence but it was worth it. And I encourage you to do the same.

Sometimes an internal opportunity didn’t work out for whatever reason. I would go through the emotions of frustration and then get on with it. I would always start to search for work outside of what I was given. For instance, I would offer to take on a problem I noticed, or turn what I was given into something creative.

Example 1 – The stuffy storeroom

I was once given a task as a graduate where I was asked to tidy the storeroom. It was stuffy with lots of boxes with old paperwork. At first I really didn’t want to do it and wondered why my masters degree was going to waste. But then the organiser in me took it on, one box at a time. I read through old records, scanning and recording and uploading them into the organisation’s electronic database.

I did a good job, was able to find out a little more history about where I worked, and could notice something tangible from my hard work. It paid to just take it on enthusiastically (instead of groaning to my manager about it). I was able to take another step in being seen as someone reliable who will do a good job with whatever she is given. The cherry on top was receiving a note of appreciation from the records management team on my efforts. I had made important records permanently available for the entire organisation to easily access. I had grown my relationship with them too!

Example 2 – The confusing policy

A later task I was given involved analysing very poorly written and confusing policy document about the ethics research process for the organisation. It was a very confusing guide for staff members wanting to undertake research. I honestly wasn’t too interested in the topic and didn’t want to work on something no one else wanted to do.

But I changed my mindset and wanted to understand and solve this puzzle. I wrote out key steps on fun post-it notes and rearranged them as I read through the document. I was able to develop great flow charts that stepped staff through what they needed to do, who they needed to speak to and documents they needed to complete. My manager was over the moon and kept saying what an excellent job I did at analysing the document. I had turned it into something meaningful that people would actually use.  

In the end

Although it took time, one task led onto another and then another and my reputation grew. The tasks became more difficult as I slowly demonstrated that I was keen to do it all and my initiative didn’t go unnoticed. I was able to finish off my placement with a solid list of work experience, several excellent references, and best of all, a job offer.

So the next time you feel like your current job isn’t your dream job, take a step back and look at the bigger picture. Find creative ways to turn boring tasks into opportunities to propel your career forward. That one task will most certainly lead onto another and you want the next task to be a good one! So put in the effort that is required. Show that you are reliable and that your team can count on you. At the end of it all, you will feel proud of what you have built for yourself and your reputation will grow in ways you can’t even see yet.

Check out more articles to drive forward your personal initiative here.

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