A year after leaving uni, Kirstie Nicols is working in sales - but with hopes of getting into journalism. A new season
It seems it is now, officially, the end of summer. We’re now in September; the bank holiday weekend is over; excited students will be packed off, getting ready to start their first year at uni; and schools are about to reopen, meaning the roads will once again be pandemonium in the morning and you can’t have five extra minutes in bed any more. To celebrate the end of summer, I booked a couple of days off work to make the bank holiday weekend into a five-day break, and drove down to Devon with a few friends in order to recuperate from the horrors of work. Of course, everyone else had the same idea, and the drive down which normally takes around four hours, took about seven this time. A great way to start off my relaxing weekend! After spending a lot of time doing nothing, getting up late everyday, spending money on rubbish and eating out most nights in order to avoid having to do any washing up, I made it back in one piece, and returned to work feeling refreshed. Taking a few days out and not thinking about what work needs to be done in the morning is a great way to ensure you turn up at work in a good mood, ready to work (relatively) hard. After a good day at work, I then checked the rota and realised it was my Saturday to come in. Brilliant. Saturday jobRoughly three times a year, everyone is expected to come in on a Saturday for four hours, and man the phone in case of any problems. I’d done it once before, and it is possibly the most boring way to spend a Saturday morning. That combined with the fact that you are expected to be at work for 8 in the morning on a Saturday, means that whoever is doing it is invariably not in a good mood. This particular Saturday, there were three of us in, sitting around, waiting for the phones to ring (which they do, possibly once an hour), and we got talking. Recently, there have been a lot of rumours passing round work suggesting that various people are leaving or are thinking about it; the kind of rumours that normally stem from a bad day’s work, when you turn around to someone and declare in a dramatic voice that you can’t stand it any more and have to get out; basically, the kind of rumours you take with a handful of salt. It turns out, however, that a lot of people really are not happy at the company, are looking for work elsewhere; and have been for a while. We’ve already lost quite a few people; hence being offered the promotion recently, but it seems as though almost half the staff are currently trying to find a way out (although I think I can ignore the suggestion that one of the Managing Directors is one of them). When I asked the two I was with why they wanted to leave, both said they’d never imagined themselves in the position they’re in, doing the work they’re doing; and apparently a few people who work there feel that way. The company I work for has a relatively young workforce; most of us have recently reached the twenties and are still reeling from the fact that we don’t count as teenagers any more. I’m not the only graduate there; and although they don’t go out of their way to employ uni leavers, it seems to have become a stop-gap company for a lot of graduates who, like me, didn’t really know what we wanted to do after uni. One of manyI’m also not the only one who has decided what it is they do want to do for a career. One of the guys, who studied Sociology at university, wants to get into politics, and is currently looking for work as a civil servant; while another is apparently spending a lot of time researching a part time course in Human Relations, having studied French and Russian. Also, if the rumours are true, one of my colleagues from a Business background wants to leave it all behind and try his luck as an artist. For the first time since leaving uni, I really realised that I’m not the only one who hadn’t got together a long term career plan when they picked a course and went off to uni. This time last year I was working as a legal secretary, and bleakly considering trying to get into law for the long term. This year however, I’m happy and certain about what I want to do; and yes, I have managed to get myself a week's work experience at my local newspaper at the end of the month; so now I even feel as if I’m doing something about it. For everyone who has just started the first year of work after graduating this summer, and also doesn’t really know what to do with themselves; don’t worry, you’ll figure it out. Read Kirstie's previous blogs Kirstie's job log 5 - Off the sofa Kirstie's job log 4 - All at once Kirstie's job log 3 - Two buses - and a choice of directions Kirstie's job log 2 - American studies - what's that? Kirstie's job log 1 - A year of learning If you would like to become a Prospects blogger and you left uni either this year or in 2006, please make contact. | 
