27th November 2014: My final day as an apprentice.

Wow.
One year and one month, two employers, one apprentice provider, 26 units, 6 study weeks, 3 apprentice advisors, a bit of aggro, a lot of fun and a lot of hard work.
I've done it.

As of tomorrow, I'll no longer be an apprentice; I will be a Digital Marketing Assistant at the Guardian News and Media.

Up until writing this post, right now, I didn't realise how proud I am of myself for finishing it. I feel an immense sense of accomplishment. It was hard work for lots of reasons.

When I think about myself just over a year ago, the difference to now is astounding. I stood at the beginning of a long road, a road made longer and very dark by depression and anxiety (I know this isn't the forum to discuss that but it's important to mention at this stage.) The days before I started my apprenticeship, there was no reason to get out of bed, I had massive void in my life and I was desperate to fill it but because of the way I felt, it was almost impossible to make a start. But I did one day.

I'm so proud that I've done it after having been told like many other 18 year-olds "you won't get anywhere without a degree." Well I am getting places, so there!

I'm under no illusion, this is still the beginning, its baby steps- I'm only an assiatant for goodness sake, but I'm 19 and in the same position lots of people will be in when they're in their early 20s.

No apprenticeship is something to be put down, not matter what industry, what level or what employer.

It's a lot of practical work as well as written. It takes time, a good effort, determination and a positive attitude.

Ri x

Results day 2014

Well done to everyone on their results!
Its finally over and done with so celebrate that you've survived two of the toughest academic years of your life- you've finished!
I hope you got what you expected of your results or you were pleasantly suprised, its probably time to get drunk/ go to a party/go to a family meal/ see your friends/ get drunk.
Maybe you didn't get what you were hoping for and now its probably time to get drunk/ go to a party/go to a family meal/see your friends/get drunk.
Either way, you're future hasn't really changed that much, your distant future anyway. Maybe you'll go back and do some resits, maybe you'll go in to clearing, maybe you get your second or third choice of uni, maybe you go on your gap year, maybe you go in to clearing, maybe you get a job, maybe an apprenticeship, maybe you go to college. What ever it is this day will in no way harm your future. Trust me.
Every year there are more and more options to help you do what you want to do.

A year on from my results day and I am not the same person. I was quite disappointed with my results but I knew they weren't the be-all and end-all (I promise they're not) and look at me now. One results day and a bit of hard work later and I work at

Don't compare yourself to your friends or siblings or cousins or look at how other people in the country did-it won't change your results. Of course, if you decide to do some resits you can think about where you went wrong but don't do it today, don't even do it this weekend. If you're going to have to drastically change your plans for September, do it. Just not today.

Now is the time to celebrate before you take the next step! (That third bottle of wine probably isn't a good idea)

Stun your way to the top

USo we have a thing at the Guardian (where I work, yes you should be Jel its amazing) called "Good to great" which, from what I gather aims to promote the fantastic work people have done.
How I see it is everyone who works at the Guardian does well (i.e is "good") but some of those people push it so far so that they go above and beyond an average employee (i.e the "great") so what I'm wondering is how do you get there? As always your suggestions are encouraged.
It works very well for me as an apprentice (someone who's contract is fixed to an end period) who wants to stay in my role *-*-*-*-*....4 3va....*-*-*-*-*
But it doesn't just go for apprenticeships, but internships and degrees and school and employment, even if you know you won't be kept on in your internship for example, how do you prove to a different employer that you've made the most of the experience? How can you demonstrate you've gone above and beyond? How do you do it?

1. Scare yourself. Launch yourself from your comfort zone. Present to 100 people. Yes you may turn red and trip over your words but you'll get through it.
2. Be proactive. Do something that you know needs to get done without waiting to be told.
3. Experiment. Try to do it. Have a go at building an email, creating a report or sending an invoice on your own. It's the best way to understand processes.
4. Make mistakes. No one on this Earth is perfect. Things go pear shaped, they don't work out, you make an incorrect move. Do it. That's life, if it always went to plan then there would be no point to anything. No one learned from a success. Now is the time to get away with it.
5. Try your best. Give it 100% everyday. Show you love it. Be involved. Prove your company needs you.

Ri x

Appreciating what you've achieved.

It is so easy to take things in life for granted: you're family, your friends, your health, your home, your job.
It's easy because things become routine. We get up everyday, say good morning to those (if anyone) in our homes, we get dressed in those nice clothes we can afford to buy, have breakfast with the food we are fortunate enough to eat, and go the work or school place which we are able to have.
It isn't until we see someone who lacks one or more of these things we have that we take a moment to sympathise with them, then reflect inward and appreciate that we have it.
Everything is so invaluable in that moment because we realise everything is so fragile and that we're lucky.
Not lucky in the sense that we've not worked for these things and earned them, but in the sense that we are able to have them when other people simply can't have them.

I was walking around work (THE GUARDIAN) yesterday, helping a college measure poster sizes for an upcoming event when I was suddenly overwhelmed by the fact that I work at the Guardian-how amazing is that?!
Of course I beam when I tell people and when friends and family ask me how its going I tell them "it's the best thing that's ever happened to me" but to stop and think that I have this beautiful opportunity is incredible.

It also occured to me to write this post having had a conversation with the other Guardian apprentices about our future if any at the company. It goes without saying that none of us want to leave-ever. But we felt a sense of pannic, how can we guarantee our places here? How? Someone please tell me! (Seriously if you have any fool-proof methods please let me know, a potion, a dance, a magic goat anything)

I also felt the need to write it as a few days ago, it was the anniversary of something. The details I won't go into, it's almost futile. But what happened caused me to be practically thrust into clinical depression. All I can say is I was headed a lot further down then how I was this time last year. Feeling (around September/October time) that I was in the absolute depths I never thought that I'd be able to survive another interview, let alone get up every single day and go to work.

So I suppose this post isn't just about appreciating what you have. It's about celebrating what you've achieved, even the little things (when ever I need to justify buying something I still use the excuse that I need to treat myself for getting into sixth form!)
I find that British people have the amazing ability to downplay, put down and find fault in nearly all of their achievements.

Take some time everyday to celebrate what it is you've done.
Ok so you don't know your exam results yet, but you got through them!
Ok so you don't have the best job yet, but you've got one.
Maybe you don't have a job but you're putting in a bloody good effort to get one.

Try hard and achieve. Appreciate your achievements and then celebrate them!

Ri

Apprenticeships: The Vital Statistics!(2012/2013)

Hi all,

I'm on a study week for my course at the moment and as part of that, I've compiled a (pretty shocking attempt at an) infographic on apprenticeships.
All this info is based on data from apprenticeship starts from 2012/2013.

All my sources are accredited to the following sites where you can also find out other stats if you're really bored.
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/fe-data-library-apprenticeships--2

http://apprenticeships.org.uk/news-media/latest-news/article398.aspx

www.parliament.uk/briefing-papers/SN06113.pdf

Social Media and Employment

Social networking becomes ever more important as the years go on when it comes to employment and careers.

Dependent upon how you use them, social networking sites can help you a great deal in your professional life.
Of course, they can also work against you if you aren't careful.

Firstly, they can help you get a job. LinkedIn in particular is a great platform for making professional connections. It acts as an online CV so if it looks polished and is kept up-to-date, you could see job offers coming in!

Potential employees' social networking sites are often looked at by companies in the recruitment process. Even though that tweet about what a twonk your old boss was got you five retweets, and you Facebook profile photo which shows you smoking a joint got 30 likes, it won't look good to a company. Clean up your profiles!

Once you've got a job of course, social media is great for it's primary purpose (who knew?!) i.e socialising. Use it to build a better relationship with collegues. But keep it professional and make sure you've said more than just "hello" to them before requesting their friendship on Facebook.

If you've got an interview, check out the company's social media pages, see what's been going on in the last six months. Since they're easy to edit, networking sites (if managed properly) are kept up-to-date. If the company doesn't have any kind of social media presence (or uses just one or two sites) it's worth considering why that might be.

Make connections for the future with LinkedIn. Connect with people in places of authority and who can potentially employ you.

LinkedIn also allows it's members to endorse, reccomend and commend each other. Good relationship with your A Level IT Teacher? Connect with them! They're likely to write on your profile just how great you were at sixthform/college which will go a long way with employers.

Twitter is dangerous- be mindful. If you use Twitter a lot, as I do, you're liable to tweet things you'll regret in the future when you're angry, upset or excited. You needn't use Twitter for your professional life if you'd prefer it for personal use, but keep it PG, PC or just P (protected so that no one can see your tweets or follow you without your permission)

If you've got any others, tweet @DoItUrWayBlog, comment below or email doityourwayblog@gmail.com

"It doesn't matter what your course is, university gives you transferable skills for the work place"

"It doesn't matter what your course is, university gives you transferable skills for the work place"

A line I've heard so much it makes me want to take my long, dark, non-student hair and shove it in to my ears just so I don't have to hear it any more.

Of course uni gives you "transferable skills" like being organised and time-keeping, not forgetting determination and of course a good work ethic.

If this is a viable statement to put on your cv or recite in an interview then in my next interview, it's ok for me to say that "I have gained good skills in the work place from owning a cat" surely?!
Owning a cat means you learn to be patient, you become compassionate, ethical and caring. You also have to be commited.
Or what about having to dress yourself everyday? That gives you transferable skills doesn't it?!

So what I am trying to get at is whilst there is some truth in that arguement, you can also replace the word "university" with pretty much anything. With this in mind, some people could be lead to think that because of this, it's in fact utter rubbish.

Of course, I am Switzerland. Well, thats not true because I am bias towards alternatives to university. 

Shall I tell you what will give "transferable skills for the work place," well in fact ACTUAL WORK PLACE SKILLS?

Well ladies and gentlemen, instead of three years "learning" at university, three years in an apprenticeship or interning will give you MUCH better skills which will benefit you in a career.

Growing up at uni? I'm not so sure. Spend 3 years anywhere and you will grow up (new concept just invented by NASA called time and the ageing process) but university? I think the rate of growing up is liable to become stangnent or slow at least.

Spend three years between being 18 and 21 in employment around actual adults and your maturity levels will soar!

Three years of drinking, avoiding lectures, student loans and living with mostly people your own age. Now compare that with three years of 9-5 work, being around 16-67 year olds all day, commuting, acting as an adult in the work place, being responsible and earning your own money (not that borrowed from tax payers and often never paid back) and you'll see who gets most work place skills and maturity.

Ri x

I've done it- YOU definitely CAN do it

Dear all,

I am living, breathing (blogging) proof that you do not need university to do well in life.
Everything has come up trumps for me, and if you work hard, stay focused and have a goal (as I keep banging on about) you can too!
I'm so happy and proud of myself that I want to scream and shout about it! But I am a writer and a digital marketeer, so I'll blog about it, and hopefully inspire and encourage other people.
So turn back six months to October when I was feeling very down and defeated having applied for an inordinate number of things which for what ever reason didn't work out. To name a few a journalism apprenticeship at The Independent, a marketing internship, 103942 admin roles, 1948421 internships, a digital journalism apprenticeship (which was to cost ME £5000)  and a digital media college course at Lambeth College (I also did a few bits for notgoingtouni.com)
I was at a loss and was applying for things I knew very well I didn't want to do.
Then, by a stroke of luck I came accross Arch Apprenticeships. (If you want a career in digital/IT/admin/business/PR check them out. Now. In fact stop reading this a check them out. Seriously. Now)
It was 12am on a Tuesday night and I sat and applied for every digital marketing apprenticeship role they had (all 32 of them)
The next day I had a phone interview and I was then invited to an assessment day. Following the assessment day I attended a week's induction to digital marketing. At the end of the course I had three interviews set up for the following week.
I only went to one of the interviews, it was for the company (their name shall remain anon) I really wanted. I got it.
If you read my next post, you'll find out what went on between then and now, and I'll give some info about Arch but fast forward to the present day, I- me- Rianna Viggiano, I now work at THE GUARDIAN. (#toopresteigeforyou) Let's have a moment of silence for how beautiful that sounds.
Digital Marketing for  Guardian Soulmates. Almost two months I've been there now and I've loved every second of it. My contract will terminate in February 2015 but I've already had two job offers for when I finish via LinkedIn (if you don't have an account, get one now)
This is why I am so elated! I want to tell everyone that looked down on me for not opting to go to uni, all my teachers, friends, everyone!
YOU DO NOT NEED TO GO TO UNIVERSITY TO GET A GREAT, FULFILLING CAREER!!!!!!
Of course, it is very early days and it's only the beginning, but I have a very good feeling that this will start off the rest of my wonderful life!

Ri x

Got a question, suggestion or comment? Leave it in the box below or email me using yourcareeryourway@gmail.com

Do it your way

Hi again everyone!

Sorry for the massive delay in posts, I've had a hell of a lot going on in the last few months.

Since my last post, I've started a new job- at The Guardian (swoon!) By far the best thing that has happened in my life so far! But more on that at a later stage.

Once again, I've decided to had a redesign of the blog, I was never 100% sure on "Chance for Choice" so I've decided that I'd really love to go with "Do it your way." Unfortunately, this subdomain seems to be taken, with no active site (I'll see what I can do around this) I also looked at "I did it my way" (Taken from Matt Monroe's "My Way") but this name is also taken, so any suggestions which are close to these, please do share! 
The title of the blog is, and will remain Do It Your Way but for now the domain will be yourcareeryourway.blogspot.com, which is a nice little tagline I think.

Now I'm starting to settle in to my new job, I'm really hoping to be posting a lot more often and really getting the blog up and running, please do share any posts you like. Your feedback is really important to me to, anything you think I can improve, something you'd like me to write about, questions, help or anything you want me to research for you around other options to university, please leave a quick comment, or email me at doityourwayblog@gmail.com

Follow on twitter too @IDidItMyWayBlog

I'll be back with more soon,
Keep focussed!