Recently finished school and found yourself in a rut? I’ve been there. When I left school, I thought the only option was to go to University because my Sixth Form was hammered into me. To add to the pressure, all of my friends were sending off their UCAS applications and talking about the courses they were excited to take. I couldn’t relate. I had no idea what I wanted to do. I think there are too many options to pick from. As an indecisive person, this filled me with fear that I would choose something and regret it later down the line. Surprisingly, this is the case for many people!

How I found my Apprenticeship

I won’t bore you with too many of the details. However, if you are interested, I will be doing a series of follow-up blogs covering:

  • Digital Marketing Apprenticeship to executive
  • How to prepare for a Digital Marketing interview
Whilst I was flapping around looking for alternatives to university as my part-time job wasn’t something I wanted to do long-term, I stumbled across Apprenticeships online. There is an Apprenticeship in almost anything you can think of. Animal care, photography, business, even McDonalds! So, I looked for ones that I thought would suit me. At the time, my search included Journalism and Social Media. Eventually, I discovered Digital Marketing, so I bulk sent off my CV to multiple places.

Common mistakes

The first mistake was having my CV in an ugly, standard word doc theme and sending it to employers as a DOC. File rather than a PDF. As soon as I changed the format and saved it as a PDF, the offers rolled in. Maybe I was applying to the wrong places before, and it was a coincidence, but it made a huge difference.
 
Secondly, I was applying blindly to multiple places without reading much into the company or my everyday job descriptions. For example, one of the places I applied for was an hour drive away. Although I had just passed my driving test, I wasn’t (and still aren’t) a confident driver. So underconfident that my boyfriend had to drive me to the interview. I don’t know what I was thinking!

Can I do more than one Apprenticeship?

Whilst I was getting interviews, the same question did cross my mind… What if I did a Digital Marketing apprenticeship and decided it wasn’t for me? Will I be stuck in this sector forever?
 
The answer is no. You could do an 18-month Apprenticeship in one sector and decide to pursue a career in another. More than likely, you will find that the one you are doing will be something you’ll continue to enjoy, but for anyone out there like me who doesn’t want to feel trapped, you can rest assured knowing this.

Do I need experience to be an Apprentice?

I may have mentioned in my previous blog, ‘How to get a job in Digital Marketing‘, that I didn’t have any experience in the sector, only a passion. But that’s the beauty of Apprenticeships. As long as you are showing a willingness to learn, a passion for the subject and have some knowledge (this can be in the form of free online courses, a side hustle, a blog or a profile educating others on what you know), then you’re closer to bagging your dream job than you think!

More Apprenticeship advice

If you’re looking for more friendly advice, please don’t hesitate to contact me via my Instagram page @DingoDigital. Alternatively, stay tuned for more blogs that will uncover more industry secrets, Apprenticeship advice and more.