Transitioning from education into the workforce

Our career coach gives some insight into the tricky shift from university or school into the world of adult work.

I’m a recent graduate and I’m one month into a 12 month internship in the health and fitness sector, but it’s really not working for me. I’m not enjoying the unsociable hours or lack of structure. I enjoy business and I’m looking to get into the real estate industry in central London, but I don’t have any experience. Brad.

The transition from education to work is not easy.

You may find you lack the sense of purpose that you enjoyed at university and you might have to take a job to pay the bills, rather than one that starts you off on your intended career path.

Take some small comfort from knowing that none of this is unusual!

If you speak with other recent graduates, many of them will be having similar experiences and you can provide each other with mutual support.

The real estate industry is large, with many sub-sectors. You can deal with land, commercial, residential or industrial property. You might work in development, sales and marketing, brokerage (think estate agents, but not just for residential property), property management, or financing.

Within each of these sectors there are a variety of roles including people-focused management jobs, as well as technical and analytical ones.

You’ll need to explore the sector to determine what interests you, and what your entry points could be.

Use your unsociable hours to your advantage: you are free during office hours, so set up calls and coffee chats with people in the industry to see what you can learn from them.

Identify people doing jobs that look interesting and figure out how they got there so you can follow a similar path. Look for opportunities to shadow people or get some short-term work experience.

Not only will you learn more but seeking out these experiences demonstrates motivation and will impress potential employers.

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