Welcome to the beginning of a new era: the ACTUAL adulting. You will love it.

This is the part that most of us neglect and underestimate. You have spent your whole life sweating and stressing for good grades. And now it is time to actually see who wants to employ you. We have been fed a fable. Our whole lives we have been told that getting a degree and good grades will open doors for us.

WRONG.

Absolute. Utter. BS.

Firstly, you are the one that will open doors for yourself, independently of your great essay. No one cares about your grades, probably because there are another 10,000 of you saying the same thing. Moreover, I personally believe that we are fed this fat lie to kickstart the process of creative extinction. But that’s just me. Nevertheless, it is now time for you to face all of those cold, plain and hard rejection letters.

YOU ARE NOT ENTITLED

Yes, you will spend hours crafting that perfect CV.

You will spend days thinking about how you can make your cover letter sound poignant and original.

You will sweat and stutter during those phone interviews (if you are lucky enough to be invited to one).

Yes, you will waste months going through the 534 application steps you must go through to have a chance to receive a contract. You will probably not go through the last stage.

And yes, you will still be rejected. No matter how hard you try.

You will have fat NOs thrown at your face without any explanation nor feedback.

You will see your hopes vanish with that short copy-pasted email starting with the word “Unfortunately”.

Finally, you will start doubting your worth and comparing yourself to the 3 people who actually got a “great” job opportunity (lies). Oh, you will also compare yourself to the 10 people who got a job thanks to that lucky contact in their father’s booklet.

DON’T TAKE IT PERSONALLY

Does that mean you need to despair and stop trying? Does that mean that you are condemned to have that life, the one you have always dreaded? The kind of desk job that crushes your energy and kills your dreams? The kind of role where you are treated like a number and constantly stressed out? The uninspiring same old routine that you turn up to in exchange of that salary that pays off the rent and the transportation to that same job?

Nah.

Sure you need experience, and sure you can allow yourself to suffer a year or two if that’s what you think is good for you. But DO NOT, for a single millisecond, believe that you are worth that dream job. You know why? 

Because chances are you got rejected by a robot. That’s right: your application doesn’t always get reviewed by an actual human. There are parameters that give algorithms, and these algorithms decide if you are shown to the employer or not.

PERSIST

There are so many opportunities and cool roles in this world. Some who pay more, some who pay less, some in an expensive city, some on a cheap beach somewhere on an island. You just need to keep that energy up. You need enough energy to look around, to open your eyes. Trust that life has many secret passages that are open to those who want to see them.

Now, after this important introduction that I wish you would read daily, let’s be practical.

STRUCTURING THE APPLICATION PROCESS

To apply for a job in the UK or in Ireland, you need to go through these steps:

1. the screening stage: this is where a robot or a team of HR staff reads your CV and Cover Letter. Do your experiences tick the boxes for the role you are applying to? They better. This is, for most of us, the hardest part as it is not a fair process and you need quite some luck to be actually noticed
2. the online tests: this can be devastating for many. It’s a methodology that many companies use to box you and cut down the amount of people who get through to the next step. Some tests can be practiced (analytical tests or logical tests). Others can’t be trained for (behavioral tests or the games)
3. the phone interview: there are known tricks that can really make a difference in your interview. I explain them in detail in my dedicated blog post
4. the assessment center: a very stressful event where you are invited to compete with other students just like you through a variety of challenges. Some challenges include group work or presentations and the case studies. Others are more subtle such as the networking dinners, drinks and lunches. The assessment centers aims to really get to know you on a personal level. 
5. the final interview(s): they can go hard on you and challenge you with some weird comment to test your reactions, ego and pride.

Now it’s time to teach you every thing I know on each category.

Click away and dive into my head.

HOW CAN WE CAN HELP EACH OTHER (ONLINE OPPORTUNITY)

I have done my best to keep this website up-to-date. However, not living in Exeter anymore, this can be a challenge. If you are about to move to Exeter and want to get involved with this blog then please do not hesitate to contact me via this Contact Form or via my Instagram account. This is a unique opportunity for anyone who would like to get into blogging, influencer marketing or just generally gain some experience for their CV. Again, you can contact me for more details on how this may help you!

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES FOR YOU

Over the years I have created many guides and checklist that aim to help you save time. Here are a list of them just in case you might miss out on a few:

1. The Essay Decoder: a resource to help international students understand what is asked in an essay. This resource was given to me by one of Exeter’s top Senior Lecturers.
2. Do’s & Don’ts at University Guide: a resource that gives you 70+ tips about university life. These recommendations range from social life, to love life, to reputation… I wish I had this guide when starting.
3. The Ultimate Packing Checklist for both Catered students and Self-Catered students. A resource that aims to help you save time when preparing yourself for University.
4. My 1st E-Book: a resource that has help me become a boss at Time Management. Moreover, it has also helped me create more time for what I love and get to my goals faster. It is lengthy, however it is arguably the best Time Management piece of research out there.
5. The Time Management Actionable Sheets: a summary of my E-Book. These sheets have conserved the absolute essential actions you need to take to make the most out of your time. Do not skip any steps!
6. My Before & After CV Transformation: a resource that has collected my CVs for the past 7 years to help you not only craft a great CV, but to also show you that everyone can start mediocre and grow exponentially.
7. How To Land a Job Faster Guide: a resource that aims to give you all of the tips and recommendations I have used during my career. This will help you avoid some common mistakes students do when starting off with their job applications.

MY OBJECTIVE IS AND WILL FOREVER BE TO HELP YOU

To conclude, the aim of this website is to help you have the best fresh start at University and with your career. There is nothing that gives me more happiness and joy but to hear your positive feedback on how helpful my content has been. Contact me if you have any feedback for me!

BEST OF LUCK WITH IT ALL!!!!

Much affection,

Francesca Michaud