My Graduate Success: Two years on

I can’t believe how long it has been since my last blog post. It only feels like last month that I was welcoming the New Year, when actually that was five months ago. I find that so much of my time is simply lost in the hustle and bustle of daily life, and today, is the only day I’ve managed to find a few minutes to lock myself in the study, cup of tea in hand, and begin writing about the time that has passed.

In my last blog post, I wrote optimistically about potential future opportunities, in the hope of eventually finding my career path at IPC and, without giving too much away, I think I’ve found it. The best part of my role as a PA means that I have been able to find out a lot about what I enjoy doing and I’ve certainly needed the little discoveries along the way. I’m now happy that I’m taking baby steps towards the ambiguous ‘there’ I’ve always written about – that feeling of wanting to get ‘there’ but not quite sure where there is or what it is - now I believe I could have found it. In the next coming months I’ll know for sure.   

I’ve now been working at IPC for almost two years. Time really does fly when you’re having fun. Since graduating I’ve learnt a lot about how to get by in the working world. The three skills I’ve developed/things I’ve learnt would be; taking initiative, confidence building and ability to work with different people. Those three ingredients have been crucial for me to building a successful working life. This all takes time though, so I think patience is the biggest lesson I’ve learnt (and still learning).

For me, I’m torn between thinking that time goes too fast, to then thinking that it doesn’t go fast enough. In terms of my career, it feels as though I’ve been waiting since the start of sixth form to really kick off it off, all the studying and preparation that is involved to getting your foot in the door of a large company. Then all the work experience that needs to be gained first.  In many ways my career is in full swing now, but I find myself always wanting to jump the next hurdle before I’ve had a real chance to run in between.

My first year at IPC felt like a rollercoaster, but in my second year it feels more like Maxwell’s motion. At least now I feel I’m running in the right direction. I can see how going through the motion is the best way to making little discoveries, to grow and better myself. It all takes time and patience.