At the moment there seems to be a fair majority of final years that are worrying/ applying for jobs after they finish university, however the fever doesn't seem to have reached me for one reason or another.
I have a couple of job opportunities in the pipeline within the agri-food business sector, plus there is still the intention to do a ski season this winter 2009/ 2010. By now you will have probably realised that I intend to gain as much experience in as many fields as possible across the world, and I don't tend to worry about matters such as these surrounding employment.
I find that if you keep an open mind and have a good book of contacts the situation will sort itself out, which has been the case for most of my working life. And if that fails, take out the Yellow Pages, pick a page and choose a number - that's what I ended up doing once and came off the phone with a job on a dairy farm for six months!
There are numerous opportunities available for graduates and I am constantly amazed at the short-sightedness of my peers in accepting second best or getting a job just for the sake of it. I'd go so far as to say that this is taking the easy way out; why accept a job that you know isn't what your heart is set on just because you feel that protocol demands it.
There seems to be an endemic nature in the modern UK society that states a strategic plan must always be set out for what you plan to do with your life, and that indecision is negative. For my part, out of consequence, fortune or just plain stubbornness, I have always followed the exact opposite of this concept.
At secondary school, I was temporarily talked out of following a route into the agricultural industry because it didn't fit their ethos, yet in turn this allowed me to gain greater experience and return with a renewed vigour to do exactly what was not the norm for a privately educated school-leaver.
I feel that the recent economic downturn can only have positive not detrimental effects on graduates of our age. It will promote stronger competition for jobs, with the more developed candidate expressing a higher quality of education and experience; a sure sign that the placement year at Harper Adams is an advantageous undertaking.
General assumption states that once university is over, it is then up to the individual to either sink or swim in the harsh reality of business.
This is completely wrong in my view as the background preparation for this transition has already been firmly laid out, and Harper Adams in particular is able to boast a very healthy graduate employment record. For my course and associated pathways, the food industry is fast developing into a realm of great opportunity in that there are two jobs available for every graduate applying.
Do not get me wrong - those that have a job lined up have at least got themselves on the first rung of the ladder, similarly those that will be returning home to family farming businesses will do so with more of an input and perhaps greater responsibility in decision-making, albeit safely with family financial backing.
For the rest, I would seriously recommend a gap year, but definitely not to do the oft-quoted travelling the world idea which actually materialises into sitting on a beach with other similar minded individuals of the same age. It is far more desirable to gain experience and insight into different cultures and practices which will in turn illustrate depth of knowledge and adventure.
Most students view their final year as the last hurrah before reality kick is, but this tunnel vision is preventing them from accessing a wide range of activities that enhance their CVs, not impinge on it.
There is no reason why enjoyment has to stop when work begins; this theory has carried me up to this point in time so far and will hence continue to be the model for my future professions.
