What does a second year has in mind?

Second year is not as gloomy as it sounds compared to the fresher’s year. In fact, I have grown so much as a person spending over a year at University. I learned about how to manage life better, understood people and most importantly learned more about myself.

I feel the need to prioritise as I believe the number of people counting on you and your ability to balance work and social life tends to grow. Apart from the mandatory coursework, what keeps you occupied is job applications, which do not always turn out as you want them to be. So here is what has been keeping me busy this year:

1) Job Applications:

Those lengthy cover letters seem worth doing only when you get your first offer. Being one of the fortunate ones, I have certainly realized why putting those long hours was a good idea. I believe that this is an essential skill that everyone should at least try to develop as it was involves numerous stages of recruitment process. What begins as a mere numerical test could potentially lead to a life changing Assessment Centre. It’s not only a job opportunity, I believe this exposes you to a different dimension of professional life. You get to network with likeminded people as well as exchange ideas as to what attracts them to their respective fields.

2) Course work:

Being one of the individuals who does not limits his activities to academics only, I dare not to undermine the significance of this part. I can ascertain the premise which guides you to choose your group member more carefully than choosing your life partner. Apart from bumping into things, skipping lectures casually, you can end up having a fun group project to work on. For instance, I think the work I did for my group project this term, provided me with the platform to exercise professional judgement and an independent ability to research various financial markets across the globe.

3) Society Work:

This is where your socializing skills come into play. Not going to lie, the dawn of March leaves you with a nostalgic feeling as you see some of your peers leaving for other societies, or for year-abroad for that matter. I reckon that approaching (annoying) all those professionals on LinkedIn would pay off if you singlehandedly organize a successful event for your society. I can assure you of one thing that writing all those long e-mails makes sense when you see your contribution taking a tangible form.

The plethora of activities that we choose to do at Uni can be divided amongst the listed categories, but is certainly not limited to these only. The key to balance these priorities is to be professional. If there is one advice that I can give you is NOT to miss out on the moments that you will truly remember. A couple of drinks with your friends can be, at times, more memorable than another cramming session at the Library.

‘You can always retake a lecture (thanks to lecture capture), but you can never relive a party!’