Congratulations – you’re nearly there!
Published on 16 May 13
Graduation season will soon be upon us so get ready to don your cap and gown and celebrate all of your achievements
Recent graduate, Leah Clegg, tells us what it was like to graduate and how she managed to get started with her career.
This time last year I had my head buried away in a book, I was panicking about deadlines and preparing for life after university. It was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. So, to all of you who are finishing off your final assignments and revising for those last exams: Well done, you’re nearly there.
When you walk out of your final exam/final hand in, smile, dance, even throw a celebratory fist in the air! You deserve to feel good about yourself right now. Years of hard work are about to come to an end.
So, what are you worried about right now?
Not getting the results you want? Most of this work will be done by now, so don’t panic and power through these last days. There’s not much you can do about your grade and, to be honest, after graduation you probably won’t think about it that much. I missed out on a first by one percent – I was so annoyed at myself for not working that little bit harder but in reality, it has had no affect on my career and until writing this, I had completely forgotten about my sixty nine percent!
Falling off the stage? No one fell off the stage during my graduation and as long as you don’t choose some ridiculous shoes, keep your eye on the stage and all will be fine. Perhaps holding off the champers until after the ceremony might help.
Forgetting some form/ticket for graduation? Take a look at our graduation check list to make sure you’ve done everything you need to do and keep track of what you need on the day.
What next?
After graduation I was terrified about not having a job – I had a real fear of ending up at the job centre, unemployed but fortunately, that never happened, and here’s how I managed that.
Graduate Recruitment fair – I found out more about what I didn’t want to do than what I did, but that was really useful. I went from having thousands of options and having no idea where to start and with the help of the fair, I managed to narrow down my options.
Careers service
I spent a lot of my summer here trying to suss out what my calling was in life. They helped me with my CV, job applications and career paths. I don’t think I could have succeeded if I hadn’t used their help. I found the Manchester Graduate Internship (MGIP) really useful. I found a job with them and it was exactly what I wanted to do. You can find out more about MGIP and the Graduate Recruitment fair in the two great events to help you find a job after graduation article.