Simon Holdings’ new recruit discusses life after sixth form – Part 1
The following web article was written by Cassie Brummitt, a summer employee of Simon Holdings Plc.
Using examples of her own situation and those of her friends, she has explored the numerous options (and potential problems) that face students leaving college, from higher education to travelling to career choices.
Until recently, the path of my life has pretty much been laid out for me. Full-time education is compulsory to the age of 16, and the vast majority of people go to college or sixth form straight afterwards. It’s after the two (or three, in some cases) years of college that things become a little more complex, and all of a sudden there are decisions, potentially life-altering and career-defining, that have to be made, and no one but you can make them.
For me it’s been relatively simple. All my life I’ve been a voracious reader, ploughing through whatever book I could get my hands on, and combined with my interest in studying the world around me it was a fairly easy decision for me to go to university.
Earlier this month I received my A level results, and, having gotten the grades I needed, I’ll be going to the University of Nottingham to study English and History this October. The problem remained, though, of finances I would need in order to live and learn in another city; this is where Simon Holdings Plc and the Jenrick Recruitment Group come in.
I took a part-time job at the Walton-based company this summer, unsure what to expect; the primary advantage I saw at the time was simply that it enabled me to save up enough money to settle in at university. However, it has provided more opportunities than simply monetary, as the skills I have gained from working at the company already stand me in good stead for not only university but in future careers.
Work at Jenrick is always diverse and wide-ranging. Being a recruitment agency in Walton, I have witnessed operations between clients and contractors in Jenrick Commercial, which recruits people for jobs in the Walton-on-Thames area, and I have become involved in accounts and the payroll process in Jenrick Engineering division; overall, I have been able to absorb a great deal of business knowledge from the company in general.
Perhaps the most useful area of work at Jenrick has been in the marketing department, however, as this links to what I want to do in the future. Having been let loose on the Simon Holdings blog and Jenrick blog, I am gaining invaluable experience in areas that will serve me well in the future, as I aspire to become involved in journalism and/or publishing after I graduate.
As you can see, I have a fairly clear idea of what I want to do and where I want to go. It’s not as simple for many other people, however, and with the myriad options available to college-leavers these days, and with such significance hanging on these decisions, it all gets very confusing.
One alternative option is taking a gap year between college and university, usually travelling abroad after working for some months. This is what one friend of mine, Josh, decided to do after he left college. However, another friend, Emily, chose to go straight into full-time employment after college, only she ran into some difficulties.
If you’d like to continue onto parts 2 and 3 of this article, click here.
Tags: career options after education, Jenrick blog, Jenrick Commercial, Jenrick Engineering, Simon Holdings News, university