Robyn’s blog: After A Levels - straight into work and study for my degree

Having spent two years at school studying my A levels, school kind of just expected everyone to apply to uni and go off to their first or assurance choice depending on the grades that they got in the summer.  It was only after I considered having a gap year doing some work to get some money before going to university that I really realised the other options that I had. I started looking on the internet and in the paper for any job vacancies in any areas of work that appealed to me. I didn't really know what I wanted to do but after looking at the available options and speaking to a Connexions career adviser I decided to start applying for jobs in childcare. I had to send out a lot of CV's before I heard anything back, and a lot of employers didn't respond at all, but I persevered and after about a month of job hunting I got an interview.

I was really nervous going into my interview, I made sure that I looked smart, but not too dressed up, I was aware that I was going into a childcare setting so high shoes and uncomfortable clothes would not be very suitable, but I wanted to ensure that I looked professional so I wore black trousers, a yellow shirt and some dolly shoes. I kept my makeup minimal and put my hair up. I had only ever been to one interview before and it was very informal as I knew the employer, so it was a totally new experience. I was really nervous to start with but once they started talking and were friendly I started to relax. I realised that they wanted to see the best in people as they were trying to find positive people to fill the role that they were advertising for as much as I wanted the job. When I realised this I relaxed and it was a lot easier to talk openly about my past, my experience and my personal qualities that I bought to the job. I made sure that when I was speaking to them I used proper English rather than slang to show that I was professional and so they may offer me the job. I made sure that when I was talking about my past and my experiences that I made it as childcare related as possible, despite that fact that I had no direct childcare history.

After the interview I didn't hear from the employer for about a month and in this time I continued looking for other jobs, however eventually i got a phone call from them saying that they would like to offer me the job. They said that they were impressed with my personal presentation in my interview and this combined with my confidence was why they were offering me the job. I did continue to look for work in case I found a job that I thought would appeal more but I found nothing and took this job.

On my first day I was very nervous, but my employer carried out an induction with me showing me the work place and introducing me to all the children and the staff, this made the day easier. I found the day very long because it was much more full on and for a much longer time that being at school and this was something that I had not experienced before, but this got easier with time.  My employer wanted me to settle in well as they value their staff and like to keep the staff happy to make sure that they staff with the company and because of this I got a lot of choice about my job role. Obviously there were parts of the job that everyone had to do, but this freedom made me form a close relationship with my employer and this made it easy to talk to them if I had any concerns. The first week or so was stressful, I felt as though I didn't really know what I was doing but with the support and help of the other staff in the company I started to settle into my role and before I knew it, daily routines were just habit. 

I have now been in this job for just over a year and have completed further training. I decided to pursue this job rather than go to university when my employer offered me the opportunity to study for my degree whilst working with them. I appreciate that the university experience will be very different for me that it is for those of my friends who went to university straight from sixth form as they have moved away from home and lived on their own two feet for 3 years of their life, however the opportunity that got presented to me, to work whilst studying one day a week for my yearly year degree which will allow me to progress further in my chosen career of childcare, having part of my degree funded and still earning whilst I was doing it was just an offer to great to refuse especially when some of my friends are going to university when the price of student fees increase and they could be finding themselves in debt that they struggle to pay off for at least the medium term future.