Personal Assistant Training can be a solution for graduates

In this economy many of the UK’s graduates are leaving without a job. However, they are often spending a lot of time searching for a job after graduation. In reality, in this economy you need to adjust your career path in order to get your first job. Our case study details a graduate who decided to take vocational training in Secretarial and Personal Assistant skills in order to gain a footing in this tough job market.

I graduated from University last year and have failed to even get an interview at all of my first choice jobs. I don’t have the strongest academics in order to get the top graduate jobs, but I expected to get a job within a year of graduation. However, when I researched the job market it appeared that there were many jobs paying a decent wage in PA and Secretary work.

This is when I adjusted my career path. I spoke to recruitment agents and I clearly did not have the IT and Typing skills although many of the skills I had gained in my degree. Nevertheless, I enrolled in a course to gain the skills needed to get a good chance of a job.

This job requires good administrative and communicative, which I felt my degree would provide. My main gain in skills were typing, IT and some business skills. After my training it was time to get some applications out. I actually had a job within two weeks and it paid as good a wage as I could have got in a graduate role. Now I have a job in a firm which has opportunity to move into different areas and get promotions. Overall, I am happy with my position and that I decided to change my plans.

My advice to any graduate in my position is to not be disheartened if you cannot get the conventional job of your choice. This is because there are still options and ways to pragmatically adapt to the economy. It is better to get into the job market, earn money and start making progress. I choose to pursue a job as a Secretary which was not my first choice, but it has worked out great in my life. Nevertheless, there are other options, not all of us can be Secretaries, but there are many jobs in Administration, Finance and other mainstream jobs. I am proud of my achievements and that I am working, when many of my peers are failing to find jobs. This really has enabled me to start to shape my life.