I recently decided that I wanted to make a change in my life.

We were heading into a new year and I decided that working at my local supermarket was neither fulfilling nor a good use of the skills I had honed during my university degree.

After graduation I had dreams of becoming the glamorous career woman who would stride confidently into the office in her flashy suit and designer handbag, clutching a coffee in one hand and a newspaper in the other. The problem was that I didn’t know exactly what job this career woman was doing. I had no idea what I wanted to do.

They say a journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step, and my first step was deciding what I really wanted to do. I mentally combed through my previous work and academic experiences and made two imaginary piles – things I enjoyed and was successful at, and the things I definitely wanted to avoid.

That was when I thought about marketing. Something had always appealed to me about this profession; we’d touched on it at university and I loved the idea of telling people about a wonderful brand or amazing product in creative and interesting ways. It seemed to combine my creativity with my love for writing, and in truth I simply felt drawn to it.

Now that I had a clearer idea of what I was looking for, I took to the Internet. This was probably the hardest part of the journey. Sifting through page after page of job advertisements that either weren’t right for me or that required much more experience than I boasted was disheartening to say the least.

It was during one such soul-sucking scrolling session that something leapt off the page at me – it was the word apprenticeship, and suddenly something clicked. It was the ideal solution. I could receive comprehensive training while doing the job that I really wanted to do and I didn’t have to put myself in enormous debt in the process (unlike my degree course) as I’d be earning all the while. Perfect!

And after some investigation, I found it. The job description, the distance to travel, the person spec’, it was all right. I couldn’t believe my luck. It was a Digital Marketing Apprenticeship in a local company, and it seemed to tick all my boxes. I set out writing my cover letter, eventually sent it off with my CV and eagerly awaited their response. To my delight this then led to one of the friendliest interviews I’ve ever attended, and ultimately a job offer.

And now I’m here, sat at my desk after my first week! When I was stood outside on my very first day, the building standing tall before me, it may have seemed like simply stepping through the front door to many, but for me it meant crossing through the threshold into my new career and new life. I was a ball of nerves but I couldn’t wait to get started. And now I’m ready for the next part of my journey to begin.

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About the author

Tristan Potter

Tristan has a decade's worth of experience writing content and copy for organisations across Bristol and the Southwest of England. He has written on a diverse range of topics, including technology, philosophy, politics, and recruitment. His writing has appeared in The Drum, HR Grapevine, and The Guardian, among other publications. He joined Hireserve in March 2022.