When I was first finished university I was in denial, denial that I could no longer stay in bed until 3 in the afternoon and it being socially acceptable, and in denial that I needed more experience than I already had gained in my first internship at a then start-up B2C company Cohorted. While this internship was unpaid, the role gave a wealth of experience that I would have been hard pressed to find anywhere else. I was able to create and implement the social media strategy, I reached out to and collaborated on campaigns with influential bloggers. I attended events and networked with other businesses and potential consumers, I also handled promotional budgets and conducted focus groups. Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. Which took me onto my next venture at Harris Associates.

It took me a while to get the role, and during this time I went through a lot of frustration and anger. I was angry that I was being repeatedly turned down for jobs for not having enough experience yet finding nowhere that was willing to be give me the said experience. Fortunately, Harris Associates, a B2B construction marketing company, were kind enough to show me the ropes of PR. While I was a PR assistant at with them, my duties included compiling coverage of clients in the media and then compiling that information into monthly reports. I also fulfilled some of the more ‘relation’ duties of PR, such as interviewing consumers of our client’s products and writing case studies of their experience, writing press releases for upcoming products and securing coverage for our clients in the media. I feel that it is important to experience different sectors of your chosen industry, as it makes you more versatile as an employee.

It took me nearly a year to find another marketing role, and during this time I felt a sort of depression; that I may not make it into the marketing industry, and that I had failed myself. I even tried to bargain with myself that the full time retail role I was in wouldn’t really be that bad long-term, however I knew deep down that marketing was what I wanted to do, therefore I had only one option which was to keep trying. In retrospect I’m glad I struggled to get my first full time graduate job as I appreciate my job so much more and it makes me want to work that much harder. I already love working at Fusion; my role is brilliant and varied which means I never have a dull day and I work within a super-friendly, supportive team and the breadth of great global brands I get to work on is fantastic. Some of my duties include; implementing the global marketing strategy, creating and implementing the social media strategy, taking over responsibility of all the social media streams and website content management. Now I joyfully leap out of bed at 7am in anticipation of a great day ahead.

If you’re a graduate or a soon to be graduate, remember to gain as much experience as you can, don’t let rejection from job interviews make you feel defeated and keep faith because you will find the right role and you’ll feel like the king of the jungle when you do.