My part time jobs at uni helped me to figure out my career path

Imagine going from not knowing what you wanted to do when you grew up - where every career option felt confusing - to suddenly working three different jobs within a future you can actually see yourself in. That was me.

I used to be the kid at secondary school who chose a new career path every year. One year it was finance, another it was cybersecurity. At one point, I even said I would rather just not work, because I couldn’t choose a single career path!

Everything changed without me even realising it once I stepped into university life. I started volunteering to run social media for charities that I cared about. This played a significant factor with my application to join as a Marketing & Communications Assistant at the Guild of Students at the University of Birmingham - my first ever social media role.

I used to be terrified at the thought of being in front of the camera, and now you can’t get me away from it. I’ve been able to work behind the scenes as well with market research, brainstorming ideas and bringing them to life. My biggest highlight so far is being able to work on large-scale campaigns including the infamous Welcome Week and Officer Elections.

I think I can say with confidence that I’ve got one of the most supportive teams as well. My role is quite flexible around my studies, exam season and other commitments. So I haven’t given anything up for this but gained insightful experience.

Then through the University’s portal, Worklink, I became a Student Content Shaper one year later. The hub offers a range of student jobs for different departments including Student Living and different Colleges on campus. I chose to apply for this role in Student Services because I wanted to explore my social media skills further - I wanted to experiment and see if I could expand my portfolio before entering the corporate world.

As this was another ad-hoc role, I was able to fit this around my studies. I get to participate in photography and videography days for the University whilst forming new friendships with other Student Content Shapers. My favourite piece of content was jumping onto the ‘fall in love trend’ where I was able to highlight key memories as being a UoB student (with some of them being just Old Joe).

Lastly, the Careers Network team has supported me for opportunities outside of campus, preparing me for life after graduation. Since first year, I have had consultation calls with the team. Recently, the CAL Careers Network has been able to provide CV feedback, mock interviews and I’ve joined webinars support with preparation for assessment centres.

I accidently fell in love with marketing. Now, I know it’s one of the routes I am eager to explore in the future. Without the opportunities on campus, I wouldn’t have built such a strong marketing portfolio.