It's a drizzly afternoon in July, after three years of stress, hysteria and sleepless nights, I'm finally graduating university.
As I begin to course my way up to the podium to accept my scroll of congratulations, I’m flushed with anxiety. Suddenly I’m besieged with what feels like a thousand ‘what if’ scenarios and I’m repeatedly reassuring myself I won’t fall, choke or freeze during my acceptance. Within seconds, I’ve graduated. Reeling from the podium toward my peers I feel relieved. As the spotlight motions to the next graduate I’m overcome with prosperity and I begin to plan my next steps. After today I’ll no longer be classed as an undergraduate, student or eligible for high street student discount, the thought welcomes back my prior anxiety.
I need to start thinking ahead. I’ve been lucky, I’ll admit it. Towards the latter end of my time at university I managed to acquire employment as a Marketing and PR Assistant within JAM Marketing following an internship with the company at the beginning of the year. Following a restless six months of living in two separate worlds of work and university, I finally began full time employment at JAM Marketing and I haven’t looked back since. I’ve learned a lot during my time with JAM. Amidst the cliché, I am thinking outside the box. This is new and not only am I learning a lot about the business I’m also teaching myself the importance of punctuality and taking responsibility for my work performance and how I interact with my colleagues.
As an assistant, I’m tasked with a variety of duties critical to helping the business function and assisting my colleagues with their day to day jobs. Assistance comes in many forms at JAM, from contacting clients, assisting with strategies and social media, to telecommunication; I’m always kept on my feet. The work environment is swift and keeping up with my experienced co-workers can often feel like I’m a tortoise racing a company of hares, but I’m learning and this is good. This is the industry I want a career in and the only way I’m going to further myself is starting from the bottom and learning the industry through experience. As far as stress and anxiety goes, the only thing I have to worry about now is crippling student debt, paying my rent, eating healthy and making the perfect cup of coffee for my co-workers. It’s just the average week
I've learned a lot during my time with JAM. Amidst the cliché, I am thinking outside the box. This is new and not only am I learning a lot about the business I'm also teaching myself the importance of punctuality and taking responsibility for my work performance.
Bailey Spray, PR Assistant, JAM Marketingwww.jam-marketing.co.uk
