I remember it well. The nervous anticipation of my next move. I felt like my future was marked out by what results were delivered.

At the moment thousands of pupils are eagerly awaiting their exam results. Thousands are waiting for their letters of acceptance from Colleges and Universities. I know that dread, I have felt that dread but here is what I have learned.

There is no wrong path

There seems to be a standard path we are expected to follow, school, Uni, work, retire. This path is a myth. There is a reason why so many students either drop out or switch course in their first year and the reason is quite simply that time and experience are what mould us. When I was leaving school I remember many of my friends had a clear plan. I want to be a teacher – I’m going to study teaching, I want to be an electrician so I am going to do an apprenticeship.

Me? I knew what my skills were and what I was interested in. Unfortunately, a career path didn’t jump out at me. I was creative, I loved art and I loved business, absolutely rubbish at maths. So what career would you pick?

My top tip – ask your careers advisor or Google jobs that match your skillset. My careers advisor suggested Marketing and Advertising, an area I had never considered and it turns out I loved it.

So what happens if you don’t love it? Don’t stress! If you decide to go to college why not do an HNC (one year) if you like it great take it further…if you don’t you have at least you have a qualification to show for your time. Go explore your options, and if you want to revisit studying a few years down the line, that’s ok too. This is your path.

No job is a waste of time

You know the common phrase ‘you learn something every day” – well it’s true, no matter what job you are in and no matter what the circumstances are I guarantee you can take positives from it that will help you throughout your career path. Another important point to remember is you have to be prepared to work your way up. Living in a world consumed by social media, it can be difficult to not compare your circumstances to others. If you are comparing your part-time job at Morrisons with an 18-year-old Instagram influencer on a yacht you are going to be severely disappointed with life. Be realistic and focus on YOUR path.

My top tip – One of the best ways to get your foot in the door of a new industry and try to build up some good contacts is through temporary work – check out this link for more info on the benefits of temp work.

Experience VS qualifications

I am not going to say qualifications aren’t needed or beneficial. Going on to higher education offers a wealth of benefits and for many career paths are a necessity. That being said, more and more employers value the level of experience you have gained over your qualifications. This links to what I mentioned previously about working your way up in a company. If you are interested in reading some success stories of those who worked up why not click here …after you finish this blog of course!

It’s not what you know, it’s who you know

This is one of the most valuable pieces of information I can give you to set you off on your career path. You never know where or when you will cross paths with someone again especially if you are going to work within a particular industry. The best advice is to keep in touch and never burn your bridges!

Murray Recruitment | 01698 501130 | www.murrayrecruitment.co.uk

Whether you are an early riser or a night owl, finding the motivation and really get the best out of your day can be a tricky task.

Our office is a tight-knit group who all work very well together, but we all work very differently. I decided to carry out a little survey to find out more about the routine of the Murray Recruitment team. By doing the survey we have arrived at some crucial points of how to get the best out of your day, no matter which category you fit into.

The early riser

I do not fall into this category, but I am in awe of those who spring out of bed raring to go. Our early risers in the office have common routines, they don’t snooze their alarm, they prefer to exercise in the morning, they go to bed before 10 pm and they start to dip in productivity by mid-afternoon.

If you are part of the early riser crew, to get the best out of your day you have to structure it a certain way.

Creating an evening list

Get a jumpstart to your morning it’s best to have a list waiting for you so that no time is wasted.

Start with your hardest task

Your battery power is on full, use this to your advantage and get stuck into that tricky task.

Know when to move on

You have your list, you are working through it…it’s 10:30 and you have hit a wall with one of your projects. Move on! If a task isn’t getting anywhere it is eating up your precious energy, jump to the next task and come back to this one later.

The night owl

This is my category. This isn’t to say I am useless at 9 am but my productivity boost seems to hit me later in the day. Those in the Murray Recruitment team who join me in this category also have a similar routine. Firstly we snooze that alarm …more than once, and we exercise after work to burn off the energy and stresses of the day. We may be slow burners but then the productivity boosts in the afternoon;

If this sounds more like you, here are some tips on structuring your day to get the most productivity.

Morning prep the night before.

You know you are going to hit snooze, no matter what your intentions are at night…you do it every morning. So; while you have that excess energy, make your life easier for the next morning.  Pick out what you are going to wear, wash your hair, make your lunch for the following day – think of it as more time in bed!

Write a to-do list, but don’t overfill it.

You are going to add to your list as your day progresses so the best approach is to write a small essential list and watch it develop as your brain starts ticking over.

Work backwards.

Keep your more challenging tasks to later in the day. One thing to be wary of though is that you leave yourself enough time to complete a task especially if you work to strict deadlines.

Both are needed

Have you noticed that the strengths and weaknesses of both types of people help balance each other out? There is no right or wrong way, but it is important to use your time as constructively as you can. Our office is pretty even in terms of which category people fit in to and both help motivate the other through their slower hours.

It can be difficult to get yourself into a habit of restructuring your work-load but by making these small changes you will find you get the best use of your day.

Murray Recruitment| 01698 501130 | info@murrayrecruitment.co.uk