Term 2, Post Uni Plans & Internships
I’m not entirely sure how it’s already term 2 in my second year at university… Feels like I’ve only just got here! Feels even weirder to have found and reserved a house for next year, my final year at university.
With university flying by so fast, it’s hard not to think about what’s going to come next. Now it’s 2017, next year I’ll have (hopefully) graduated and finished my degree (blimey that’s so weird to say…). Lots of my friends and course mates have been applying for internships for over summer, some successful, others not, some paid, others voluntary. It seems a lot of people on my course seem to have some idea what they want to do after university – a lot of people are interested in finance and consultancy, but a surprising number are interested in working on their own or other people’s startups.
Unlike the majority of people on my course, and indeed the majority of my friends, I’ve not been applying for internships. Instead, I’m continuing to have a go at things on my own, working with trusted mates from home on various business projects. In my mind, it’s a win win. Either one of these business projects comes off, and I’m able to leave university straight into my dream job (working on my own business with my best mates), or it doesn’t, and I’m left with experience which few other graduates will have. Naturally I’m hoping for the former to become a reality, and as such I plan on working pretty damn hard over the next year and a half to make it possible!
Now I’ve been involved with several businesses in the past, and for numerous reasons, they haven’t worked out. Whilst on the face of it this is awful, I can honestly say that I’ve learnt more from these ‘failures’ than it’s possible to learn anywhere else. Thankfully for me, I’ve had the privilege of working with some pretty amazing people, and they’ve only helped me learn more about startups and business in general.
So for all those people who are worried about what comes next or worried about not having enough experience or not getting that internship, don’t worry. Even if you’re not interested in running a business in the long term, why not start a project over summer or whilst at university? Even if you want to work in a huge multinational, one of the key things they’ll be looking for is a sense of entrepreneurialism (seriously, google it) show them you’ve got it! You’ll certainly stand out.
That’s all for now – best of luck!
Tom.
