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Great Careers May Grow From Lowly Beginnings |
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Written by Webmaster
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Sunday, 25 January 2009 |
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By john mce
 As a graduate this summer, you know you are facing the prospect of finding a job in the most serious economic crisis for years. The media paint daily pictures of doom and gloom; is there any cause for optimism?
The government has announced a national scheme for graduate internships, which are planned to last for three months. Is this enough to make a difference?
One of the benefits will be improving your work skills and experience. As the head of student recruitment at PwC stated "Strong academic performance is a prerequisite for application, but those with the employability edge will demonstrate experience and skills gained inside and outside of study that puts them in the best possible position, even in a downturn."
The other major factor could well be your attitude. Your first job, whether an internship or a rather more lowly role than you aspired to, could lead to greater things. Many successful people began in quite surprising jobs and worked their way up. If you keep an open mind about where you start
and accept it may take a while to get that dream role, you could still end up there. Here are a few examples to inspire you!
Sir Terry Leahy
- CEO of Tesco, the largest British supermarket chain
- worked stacking shelves in Tesco in school holidays, then joined Tesco straight after graduating, as a marketing executive
Kirsty Wark
- journalist and TV presenter, most famously of Newsnight
- started as a researcher for BBC Radio Scotland
Stephen Hester
- CEO of The Royal Bank of Scotland
- began his career with Credit Suisse as chairman's assistant
Tracy Emin
- British artist, shortlisted for the Turner Prize
- started by minding a shop, run with another artist
Duncan Bannatyne
- businessman, best selling author and 'Dragon'
- joined the Royal Navy straight from school
- spent his twenties moving from one job to another
- began his business career by buying an ice cream van
Margaret Thatcher
- first female Prime Minister
- following graduation, worked as a research chemist for BX Plastics
Stuart Rose
- executive chairman of Marks & Spencer
- first job was as an administration assistant at the BBC
- joined Marks & Spencer as a management trainee
Maybe one of the most inspiring careers is Bill Gates', whose company Microsoft is one of those who have agreed to help run the internship scheme. His first encounter with a computer was one at school, bought from a jumble sale. As a school student, he found software bugs for a computer company in exchange for time on their machines, was then hired to write a payroll program and after his administrators became aware of his programming abilities, he wrote the school's computer program to schedule students in classes. He founded Microsoft in 1975, with Paul Allen an old school friend, while he was still at university.
So, Universities Secretary John Denham does have a point when he says: "At the end they will be more employable, and some of them will get jobs. Employers won't want to let good people go." As these high fliers show, you may start in a lowly role or a different job to the one you had hoped for, but you can still reach the top.
John McE writes articles for GRB (Graduate Recruitment Bureau), a specialist recruitment agency offering graduate jobs over a range of sectors. GRB offer support with CV help, industry knowledge and graduate job advice.
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Last Updated ( Sunday, 25 January 2009 )
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