Planning for the Future-Careers Adviser

Hey guys! So as you know I'm in my final year at university which means that I need to start thinking about what I want to do in the future, something that I'm sure everyone is terrified to do.

A girl I work with turned to me the other day and asked "Don't you think it's insane that they expect us to know what we want to be at 17?"

No!!

 

The truth is that whilst it is seems crazy that you have to pick a higher education course to dedicate the next 4 years of your life to, the fact of the matter is that that course can make you qualified for a vast number of jobs. A few weeks ago I bit the bullet and visited my careers adviser and it is incredible how many jobs my university course allows me to apply for.

 

The bottom line is that whilst you may not know exactly what job you want to go into, you aren't limited on options.

 

To those of you who are reading this and thinking "Hmmm, maybe I'll book an appointment with my careers adviser tomorrow..." DO IT! Infact I have a few reasons for you to take that first step.

 

1. I had no idea what I wanted to do or what areas of work I wanted to go into but I had a very good idea of what areas of my course I enjoyed, and which ones I hated. Before you go to see your adviser make a list of the parts of your course you like and don't like, this will help narrow down your options and will ensure that you end up going for a job that you will actually love doing.

 

2. The careers adviser will have multiple books and leaflets on the many jobs out there (job profiles) and will be able to show you these and discuss what jobs will be best suited to your areas of interest and course.

 

 

On my first meeting I told my adviser I had no idea where to even begin in regards to what I wanted to do after university, my only helping hand was that I knew I liked Production Management and the Design Process as well as other similar classes to this. I also knew that when my mentor came to do a talk at my university (before she was my mentor) her job sounded absolutely perfect.

 In the end it turned out that I had a much better idea of what I wanted to be than I knew I had (if that makes sense) and that the job I was describing was a Garment Technologist. I had no idea what on earth that job was until my adviser gave me a job profile on Garment Technologists and hey presto! Hiya Dream job!!

 

Another fantastic reason to go to your careers adviser is that they will be able to help you with your CV, cover letter and the one at my university will even do a mock interview with you and discuss the type of questions you are likely to be faced with.

 

My CV now flows much better and I'm ready to get a cover letter typed out that makes me sound the best I possibly can to a potential employer.

 

I think the best piece of advice I can give to anyone in my position (4th year student, graduation looming, prospects of leaving home and being all independent are totally reliant on you getting a cracking first job) is to get started as soon as possible. You can never be too prepared for that first step. Its all good getting your degree but it's what you use it for after all the celebrations are over that's important.

 

I've got a list somewhere of a whole bunch of job seeking sites for graduates that I'll post on here in the future and In the next few weeks I'll do a post on what my CV is laid out like to help those of you who want to make yours look as good as possible!

 

Much love guys!

Here come the exams!

This year is going far too fast! I'm currently in the library practising for a presentation I'm doing tomorrow that goes towards my final degree! I'm amazed I'm so calm right now, it's all taking me back to when I wrote the post on here on the eve of my presentation last April on Factory layouts and auditing.

I'm finally going to be stepping into the workshop on Wednesday to do some pleating samples that will aid in my final collection which is a lot of pressure off my shoulders, most of the people in my class would probably tell you that getting back into the workshop feels like such a progression this year.

My exams are now less than a month away as well which has got me all panicky! I actually don't remember being this tense last year but then again I don't remember normal classes being so stressful either...

I am so excited to get all of my sketches and drawings done so that I can just get started on the sewing, It'll be good as well after this week is done because that means at least all of the scary presentations are over!

Anyway I'll post about how everything went next week as well as hopefully do a review on my first ever BB cream purchase!

Work Experience Weeks 2 and 3

Hey everyone!!! Christmas is coming and I'm feeing the buzz more than ever at work and on placement! Things have been getting a little crazy with the amount of business we're getting in the run up to the festive period.

Things have been going really well on my placement, last week I worked in the cash office and learnt about how the store deals with its profits and receipts and stuff, it was a lot more relaxing than the previous week with visual and was something I really enjoyed.

However, last week I got to work with the Visual department again in the run up to one of the biggest weeks for Debenhams which is our Christmas mega week which involved me prepping advertising for the stores massive discount.

It was a lot of fun but was also a lot of hard work - I think its safe to say after my two shifts with the department that Visual is something that takes a lot of energy - so we spent 4 hours doing bannering to promote the deals going on in store.

Bannering involves a lot of ladder climbing (Something I couldn't do because I'm not trained) to hang signage from the ceiling and promote add on sales for the business, I also spent a bit of time in our various window displays updating some ticketing and putting posters up.

I think that from the 3 weeks I've spent in the store doing other jobs than my usual one in the Café it's safe to say that its pretty awesome how each department contributes to the overall promotion and running of the store. I'm starting to appreciate everyone's role and hope to apply all this learning to when I finish uni and go out into the real world!!

Urban Decay 'Big Fatty' Mascara review

Hey guys! I've finally managed to get a shot on a computer at my university so I can (at last!) do a review on the Urban Decay Big Fatty Mascara!

 

A few of you who follow me will know that my last post on the Benefit They're Real mascara was a bit of a mish-mashed review because whilst it looks really good on the eyes it was a total pain to remove.

Shortly after that review I gave up using the mascara and invested instead in the Urban Decay Big Fatty.

 

So first of all I need to say that in terms of the packaging The Big Fatty doesn't look as nice as They're Real. It comes in a very basic black tube with a little design on the bottle but the They're Real looked to be of a much higher quality because of the shape and finish to the bottle. It is a really pretty product.

 

When I put the mascara on it basically had the same appearance as the Benefit product, my lashes were much longer and really fanned out which is what I like from a mascara but ONCE AGAIN it was a nightmare to get off!!

Granted that it was still a lot easier to remove than the They're Real but seriously how hard is it to get a good quality mascara that will wash off easily these days?

 

In terms of price the Urban Decay Big Fatty mascara is much more affordable than the They're Real mascara but apart from that there really isn't much of a difference between the two. Both gave my eyelashes the same look and both were a nightmare to remove at night.

 

My eye after using 'The Big Fatty'  

I'm holding onto the mascara for now due to my student budget but I'm looking to invest in a much better mascara after this one, maybe the YSL Baby doll.

 

Anyone have any other recommendations?