Working through a pandemic - a socially distanced experience

Without sounding like a CV introductory paragraph, my name’s Xavia and I am an International Relations graduate from NTU. After graduating in 2019, I began searching through various job related websites looking for graduate roles. I soon realised that the lengthy and often tedious process of filling out job applications met with no response, or the impact of rejections would last longer than I had first anticipated. You would think that all the time, stress and the thousands of pounds you invest into your degree should automatically qualify you for a role in your desired field. It’s only fair for the amount of debt you’re lumbered with, right? Well no, wrong actually (I know, I was shocked too). The job market is as competitive as ever, and with a global pandemic leading to mass redundancies and uncertainty, it is getting that much harder to permeate.

So, in the year or so since I left university, I have worked part-time – not in my desired field, but I'm still grateful to continue to work during the current pandemic which has stripped so many of their jobs. I also work for my family business – Cherish Me, which seeks to empower girls through diverse representation, and promote self-love and confidence. I hand draw the illustrations which are used on our products, including journals, our Cherish Me Self-love box, Self-care box and affirmation cards.

During this time I have also applied for countless jobs, completing time-consuming assessments and applications. Getting rejections from jobs that don’t even require a degree - I thought “wow not even Aldi?” - it’s easy to become disheartened. The rejections, though discouraging, pushed me to focus on my self-improvement. So to increase my skills and experience, I started volunteering at a few organisations, began a mentorship programme to gain more industry knowledge of Public Relations, and now I am currently completing a digital marketing internship with the Creative Quarter.

I found out about my current placement through my university, NTU, as I still receive emails from their Future You department. They were offering paid six week internships for recent graduates. Wanting to seize every opportunity available to me, I filled out the application and received an email back fairly quickly. Then I had a video call interview with a member of the team at NTU, covering my current skill set, what I wanted to gain from the placement and what field I wanted to work in. The week thereafter, I was matched to an opportunity to intern at the Creative Quarter. This year however, the placements were deferred online due to the ongoing pandemic and the social distancing measures in place at the time. I remember first being apprehensive about the idea. Would I get much out of an internship that was based online with little contact with a physical work environment? But upon starting my placement, my worries were dispelled, as within the first week, I was able to add a number of invaluable experiences to my skill set. Since I started, I have learnt about aspects of email marketing and how to set up bi-weekly newsletters; written a segment for an advert in LeftLion magazine and worked independently on projects which allowed me to express my creativity through content creation.

With this new experience, I hope to start my career in marketing or PR in the near future and progress forward. Although I have struggled with entering the present job market, particularly at such an uncertain and changeable time, this period has taught me resilience – the hard way, granted – but I still appreciate the lesson.

You can follow Xavia on LinkedIn here