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It’s a weird thing to claim but this is advice I wish I’d been given early on. As a student we’re under this false impression that jobs are waiting for us simply because we’ve graduated. There’s this entitlement we have and without much thought we think we’ll get into a graduate program or the work integrated learning department will magically find us jobs. I’m here to burst your bubble nice and early so that when reality hits you aren’t as shocked as everyone else.

Things out here are tough just getting in service training is a battle personally I was very fortunate I was relatively bright and was offered an in-service opportunity while I was writing exams so after my last exam paper I was basically packing and planning for my move from Durban to Johannesburg which was a challenge but that’s a story for another day. Needless to say I came back after a year to complete my BTech and after I did I sat for 3 months at home job hunting’s honing my skills and recently got hired.

I know what you’re thinking 3 months is nothing compared to the stories you’ve probably heard and I say exactly. We all know someone whose searching months on end with a degree in hand and still can’t find anything. I can’t express to you how nerve wrecking those 3 months were you get anxious and start imagining worse case scenario then you start putting your CV in everywhere before long you walking up to companies and I imagine that only compounds when you have external commitments.

That is a bit of a background on why I’ve decided to share this really simple idea that I know can bring you the value you need. Especially because we’re not all A students but that doesn’t determine who will achieve and who don’t but it does offer you a head start.

So here goes what you need to do to have a job waiting for you after you graduate is WORK FOR FREE Now I know what you’re thinking no one likes the idea of working for free, you’ve already got a full plate at campus, you want to enjoy being a student but there’s something parents don’t share too often with us the fun and games end after grade 7. Grade 8 on really are your defining years on cellular level you begin to form world views and behave in certain ways life is a marathon you aren’t ready in a day you need to constantly hone yourself by working towards your goals consistently.

You find a company you want to work for go online LinkedIn or the company website and reach out to the training manager, HR, someone in your field and offer your services on a weekend basis or whenever you free. Offer to do all the grunt work the filing, cleaning the office, packing the tools whatever it is that nobody wants to do. I assure you that more likely than not you’ll get a yes. Once you have your foot in the door make an impact take initiative ask questions know the environment the business become an employee when you not there people should be asking why and inevitably when you graduate you’ll have an understanding of the company already be doing the job that’s something for your CV and you’ll have killer references and if a position is available which it will be because by you being there and taking over a load of the work you’ve formed a position and you’ll have the skills and qualifications to back you up.

Yesterday I woke up feeling off, have you ever felt that way? Where you’re fine physically and have no apparent struggles, everything seems pretty much the same as before. I spent the rest of the day with this feeling in the pit of my stomach and throughout my day all I could see were problems my entire world view had shifted. I’m generally very logical and optimistic yet all I could see was depression around me. I could literally feel the pressure of everyone around me at work and I just couldn’t get out of my head. Everywhere I turned all I could see was a combination of fear, anxiety and frustration.

I have this coworker and whilst we sat in the tea room she made some coffee and she turns to me and says “Brogan what’s this it looks like there’s an ant in my coffee?” So I have a bit of chuckle and I said “You’ve just got that unfortunate luck that lets you keep finding stuff in your coffee”. Immediately she stops me and is adamant that I take back what I said so I re-frame my words to “You’re so lucky that only you can find stuff in your coffee” which was a little lame in the re-frame but served its purpose. At that point two things became apparent to me first that my outlook had changed for me to automatically slide into such a negative comment was an eye opener I’m usually quite happy at work regardless of how intense a day can become. Secondly my coworker believed that her reality manifested in the way people spoke and is unapologetically unwilling to accept negativity that may be sent in her direction. I found my coworker to be inspiring and the notion that others could affect my internal makeup scary it shook the certainty within me.

When you think of yourself and your core values and beliefs what comes to mind what makes up those core beliefs and how can you shape those beliefs or re-frame them that they not only align with but steer you towards your goals. I’ve long held an unbelievable amount of certainty within myself and believed that I could do anything. Lately that certainty is being tested and it conflicts with who I’m trying to become my certainty is so vast and overwhelming it spills into arrogance, self-reliance and a need for control. I was that person whenever and assignment was handed out on campus I would delegate who did what based on trust level then I would go ahead and do the entire thing anyway. I was that rubbish who would tell someone they could do the cover, contents and reference page looking back now like WTF was I thinking and it didn’t help that some people were uninspired and reveled at the chance of not doing much. Whenever people under-performed to my expectations which vie recently learnt are absurd I literally had what can only be described as an internal measuring system for those around me based on all the inputs I would get I had a reference for how passionate, diligent and willing people were and often I would be so disappointed to watch someone brimming with talents but unwilling to put that effort in to turn something special into something formidable.

I was recently privileged enough to be a part of a training session with a host of other IE graduates and we did a little excursive in terms of two mimicking a production line by building paper planes. So we made two mini companies the manager, material handler, quality inspector, industrial engineer and floor worker. I was lucky enough to selected as a floor worker at the time it didn’t feel this way I wanted to run the show I felt like I could do better at running the show and that my talents weren’t being utilized and by association recognized. Though blessed as I am I ended up exactly where I needed to be for my next level of growth I learnt a lot from that experience as someone who works a lot with floor workers I don’t think I ever really understood what they experienced I could improve the processes and the numbers but it’s another thing all together to alter the mind of someone and the method you employ is critical to how they will not only perform but behave with you and those around them. Imp better for the experience and can better relate and understand those around me and what they need to excel.

I’m reminded of soccer player Abby Wambach she’s one of the most famous female soccer players in the world holding the record for most international goals scored for both male and female sitting at 184 goals. Checkout the Tony Robbins podcast search for Abby Wambach it was a phenomenal talk on leadership and she said something that stuck with me ever since and has guided me.

A leader should be able to lead from the bench