Obtaining a 2.1, Graduation and Working in Spain

Obtaining a 2.1, Graduation and Working in Spain

I think the question, ‘what do you want to do now you’ve finished university?’ is quite possibly one of the most daunting questions young adults face. Now that my time has ended as a student, and after moving home from Winchester, this question has become more and more apparent in my mind. Admittedly, there is no pressure or panic when some people ask you this. However other times you might find yourself sweating a little, using a couple of fillers to disguise hesitations whilst you think up a quick future plan when other, more intimidating people repeat this question. I would be lying if I said no one knows what they want to do when they finish university, because already I have seen people I know go straight into full-time jobs, or have some sort of experience they are diving into. For me, job searching is a terrifying process. Who would have thought even just searching for a job was stressful? There are so many jobs with so many different names that fall into uncountable categories. Where do you begin? Well, maybe there will be a few days where you shy away from a computer, but I guess it will soon dawn on us when we need to ‘bite the bullet’.

I sat down with a friend and worked on my CV. Okay, so when I say I worked on my CV, I completely started from scratch. It’s pretty basic and more of a guideline for future CVs. I find the whole CV situation a weird one, we have two A4 pages (recommended) as an attempt to impress and persuade employers that we are right for a job. I know it’s only the initial stage, but it is a tough one.

Also, CVs need to be tweaked to fit purposes of different employments, not always, but most of the time it wouldn’t go a miss. I feel like such a newbie when it comes to the employment world. The world of an adult and working for money seems a hundred times scarier to me because I have never done it. I hate admitting this because I find it embarrassing, it makes me feel immature and at times, useless. I guess in respects I have been lucky because I haven’t urgently needed to work in order to obtain money, but in no means does that mean I come from a rich background or am spoilt; as neither applies to me. I have searched for jobs, I have had interviews and even been pretty close to getting a job, but this was a long time ago. This was when I was searching for jobs to pass time, jobs that although you do gain experience from, are not jobs that you want to pursue in the future. However, even the thought of one of those types of jobs was horrific in my head.

I think I am a big dreamer, in fact I know I am. I want to have a job which I will love and enjoy. I want to use my creative abilities and get paid for it because this is what I’m better at. There are people who are more one than the other, more creative than academically clever; however there are some people who have both. It’s important to be aware of our strengths and comfortable with our weaknesses. A great deal of the time it is my nerves, and fear of the unknown that holds me back, but other times I have overcome it, such as doing huge things like studying in Germany for a semester, and the smaller things like when I interviewed All Time Low’s support band last February. They were both important moments for me, and I want to achieve many more goals along the lines of these.

I often think about things I would love to do, if only I had the guts to go through with it, but there are just some things which do not seem to be achievable. Well, perhaps just not this moment in time. They often say you should do something out of your comfort zone once a week, but you’re not alone if you do not do this. It’s a good way to go about life though, always finding challenges even if they are something small. I have two main job areas that I would like to pursue, but both are quite separate. I like the idea of working with children, and I love writing. I guess with time I may be able to narrow down occupations, and maybe settle on something, but for now I’m still unsure.

A few weeks ago I received my overall grade for my degree and I just could not believe it. I never thought that I would ever be able to get a 2.1. Lots of people spend time working out their grade beforehand and with many attempts I gave up and thought, why not just leave it and wait until I find out? With taking my own advice, I was pleasantly surprised. In previous posts I have talked a great deal about my university experience, therefore I do not feel I need to reiterate it, but I will reiterate the advice to never give up. I am so glad that I did not give up, and I feel much happier and slightly more confident knowing that all the hard work I put in for third year did pay off, even if I slightly regret not putting the same in every year. I do think that people shouldn’t stress too much about their degree classification. It was the attitude I began to get towards the end of my studies. A degree is a degree.

However, the slight rise in my grades has shown me something that I think I needed to be shown, that if I do put my mind to something, giving it my all, that I can get what I want. I just struggle to motivate myself. I’m not ashamed to admit it. My degree has also opened my eyes to job opportunities that may never have appealed to me before, it has highlighted the English language in a global sense and allowed me to appreciate being English as a whole. This is also where I would like to talk a little bit about the job I have recently gained.

After I finished my studies at university I took the time to scroll through numerous, unopened emails in my university email’s inbox. There was always countless emails that I couldn’t bear to look at whilst I was working. I stumbled across an email explaining the opportunity to work abroad. Since studying abroad in second year it has enabled my confidence and aspirations to grow. It has displayed to me that I have the strength and capability to move myself from my comfort zone, and fulfil the pretty spectacular accomplishment of living in another country, adapting to a culture and learning about a new place.

This job included working with children in a Spanish school, being a teacher’s assistant, helping them advance in their knowledge of English for 9 months from September/October until June of 2015. I would be based in either Catalonia or Valencia, with more spaces available in Catalonia that seems the likelier case. For those who don’t know, Catalonia is the region where Barcelona is based. This is quite a long time, but without too much thought, I applied for the job and then was told I had a Skype interview. I had to choose a date in July that I wanted to take part in a Skype interview; therefore I chose mid-July, my thoughts being that it wouldn’t be too early, or too late. After receiving an email asking to partake in an interview the idea became more of a near reality, provoking both anxieties and excitement. The interview had to be via Skype because it was being conducted from Barcelona, and being the over-thinker that I am this brought about endless worries and unfortunate scenarios to do with the connection, my webcam quality, my backdrop etc. Eventually, after I had my interview these worries stopped, but as my interview didn’t run as smoothly as I hoped, I had no idea what the outcome was. All I knew was that after the interview, I wanted the chance to have the opportunity more than ever! It isn't so much for the money, as the job won't pay a lot, it's more for the experience. I would live with a host family for free and my food would be provided so any money I got was mine to do with as I wished. For now, this is a dream come true as I like working with children, I like travelling and as you know, I love writing. This will tick all those boxes and hopefully give me the skills to improve my chances of a stable job when I am back. We all have to start of small, and what better way to do it than starting off abroad?

I didn’t have long to wait, I received an email the next day congratulating me on being accepted onto the program. For an opportunity that before applying, I had initially not thought about a lot, it had soon become my future plan and reality. One aspect that was a concern was my graduation, after receiving my 2.1, I wanted more than I had initially, to be able to attend graduation. It’s unfortunate that The University of Winchester’s graduation actually takes part in October, unlike most other universities. It’s difficult because by then people have got jobs or placements, and are slowly moving on in their lives, but in other cases it’s a nice way to bring people together for a final reunion. I spoke about this concern with my interviewer who assured me that it would hopefully be fine to just fly out to Spain a little later than others, and begin my job after graduation. This was a huge relief, and if it all works out then I will be able to attend my graduation. I think it’s important to attend it if you can, because it really is a once in a life time experience. It also works as a nice event before I leave the country.

So, that’s a bit of an update on my life at the moment. I haven’t blogged in a while so this is a bit lengthy. My plans for the current couple of months are to enjoy spending time with friends and family, preparing myself for Spain, and just hyping myself, as to push away any anxieties that I have. I will probably blog again, a bit more in-depth about my role and hopes for my experience whilst I am in Spain. I am going to make the most of it, and fulfil all the things that I wish I had done whilst in Germany. This means I will be enduring the culture and language more, learning it, using it and pushing myself further out what I label as ‘my safety’. As for right now, my next travels and adventures are Wales with my family next week and Prague in August. I have a lot to look forward to!

Take care,

Laura May.