- Ellie Mayner
What I Have Learnt from Graduating During a Pandemic
Graduating during a global pandemic is not something that could have been predicted and it sure isn’t the way you want to end your three-year degree, that you have worked your butt off achieving. But even though this has been the worst year I could ever imagine due to different reasons to the pandemic, there are still people out there who are suffering more than me. So, I am here to offer some words of support to those who graduated in 2020.
2020 Graduate
This is my first blog post, so I will take this opportunity to say I am a Creative Digital Media graduate, I loved my degree course and everything it taught me. However, if you had told me three years ago I would have to finish my final assignments in lockdown and not have a graduation ceremony I wouldn’t have believed you!
Finding a job during the pandemic has been so difficult, with unemployment rate being 1.3% higher than the average, there are even more people looking for jobs, making it even harder for graduates like us to kick start out careers. As a digital content creator, there are always ways to stay creative and continue expanding our portfolios of work while job seeking. Always remember to do what you love and continue to share your talents.
You Are Not Alone
One thing you have to remember is there is so many individuals who are in the same situation you. You are not the only one who may be struggling to find a job as a graduate and you have to remember that you aren’t doing anything wrong. I have learnt this over the past couple of months, and it is hard not to doubt yourself, but honestly you and everyone else is doing the best they can in a dreadful situation and we have to just keep our heads up and believe in ourselves. In my own experience sharing my work on social media and getting positive feedback has given me confidence in myself and my work over the years. So share your work on Facebook and Instagram, let people see what you are good at and own it!
The Perfect Job?
While at university I had many ideas what my ‘perfect job’ would be, but this is not something you can achieve without hard work! This means patience is your new best friend. Once you have gotten yourself a job, grabbing it by the horns, making an impression with your work and standing out in crowd, will make way for new opportunities and you will be able to be the best you can be.
It is important you take the time to find a job you will enjoy, this will allow you to do all of this, as doing something you are passionate about only makes your work better. I find due to the fact I care so much about the photographs I take for my clients it allows me to capture that love and emotion those in the photographs feel, in my portrait photography.
Money Struggles
Money is not something us brits like to talk about, but as a graduate who is looking for a job currently money can be tight with no income. I managed to save money during my time at university, but soon things become tight, even when still living at home. I had to reduce the amount of Adobe software I paid for to a cheaper package, which as someone who specialises in digital media, is the last thing you want to do. Also have an iMac that does not want to load past the apple logo that needs fixing! (any advice is very welcome!). I don’t think talking about money should be as taboo as it is, graduates need support, if you are a graduate I would strongly suggest having a look at different support that graduates and jobs seekers can get. If you are a digital media creator like me then it will only help you get a job in the long run as our software and equipment is the most important thing we need.
Keep Pushing Forward
My fellow 2020 graduates, keep doing what you are doing, support one another, reach out to one another. The more connections you have and the more shared experience you can gain the more we can work together to change the situation we are in. You will find the job you want and you will get the recognition you deserve, let your work speak for itself and just be yourself always.