FAQs: School, Uni, Career & Blogging

For some reason, now that I’ve started working full-time, people think I know shiz. I’ve been invited to speak on two panels now to talk about my ‘career experience’, I’ve even been asked for coffees to share what I ‘know’. I always think – don’t ya’ll know I’m clueless?! – I’m really just winging it here. But nevertheless, I’ve gathered up some of my most frequently asked questions, and put them all below for those curious…

Q: What are your top studying tips for those of us still in college/sixth form/university?

Absolutely everyone studies in different ways. For example, my boyfriend doesn’t study (at least he doesn’t until its the very last minute) – but he gets firsts across the board. I have to work a lot harder to do well; I’ve found what works for me is to start early – try and do your homework when it comes (I know it’s easier said than done), try and do your readings, just generally try and keep up. This way, when it comes to exam period – there’s so much less to do. For example, I did a maths module last year where I did every single piece of homework when it was due, and because of my exam timetable, I only got to do about three days of revision for that subject before the exam. But, because I was so organised over the year, I managed to complete that module only 2 marks off of a first, which isn’t too bad. My second tip is to do a lot of practice – do every single past paper and question you can find, and if you can, do them twice. Make sure you’re understanding what you’re doing (because obviously the questions will change); ultimately – practice makes perfect.

Q: How did you decide what you wanted to do in life?

It’s quite crazy that at such a young age you’re already forced to start deciding what you want to do with your life. The good thing is, just because you’re doing something now, doesn’t mean you’re going to be doing it forever. I’m 21 and my mind still changes everyday about what I want to do long term, all I know it that I want to be mahf*cking successful. So to answer your question, I don’t know what I’ll end up doing with my *life*, but whatever it is, it’ll be good.

Q: How did you find the motivation to apply for internships? I find myself forever procrastinating at university

I’ve done a few internships in my life and have been motivated for different reasons. Some of them were through general luck, some through needing moolah, and some through just following protocol needed to get a job. I was very fortunate when it came to finding an internship for my current job, as the process from being a fresher, to securing the internship to finally getting a job was incredibly smooth. I was lucky enough that the first investment banking spring-week internship I applied for I got; I was then fast tracked to two assessment centers for a summer internship, and one of those I got. I think one thing that really kicked me off my butt to get me to make applications was my university – LSE is probably, in England at least, the most career-focused university I know of. From the first day of uni, I was already hearing whispers about being making applications, I was already being encouraged to apply for programmes that could help me to be get an internship and/or a job. Definitely having the right people around me put some pressure on my shoulders to think about what I was going to do when I graduated, otherwise who knows, I may have left it all until a lot later.

Q: Why did you go into a job in investment banking?

I’ve always been quite a creative person. When I was five years old, I would fold up papers and write stories on them. By the time I was 15, I was writing 100+ page novels on my computer. I still have a box in my room in my family home where I store all the printed version of the stories I’ve written over the years. Writing was my first love. Then sometime down the line, I was under the belief that I was destined to be an actress, and I kept that dream at the forefront of my mind until I tragically flopped GCSE Drama and I realised I was pretty crappy at acting. When I turned 10, I started making websites, and now 11 years later, I have this style/beauty/general advice and lifestyle blog. But, all these creative things don’t quite make a traditional career path cut out, so when I started university, I listened to those around me, and picked out some things I thought sounded fairly interesting and those were – investment banking and consulting. My first application just happened to be to an investment bank and now bam, three years later this is where I am. That is how I decided what I wanted to do. Long term? God knows where I’ll end up. At the moment, I consider myself a full time banker and a part time blogger. I obviously earn a much larger income from my corporate career compared to blogging (but blogging defo helps to fund some shopping splurges here and there), but I put so much of my life into both of these things that I consider them both big parts of my life.

Q: How exactly does blogging tie into a lifestyle in banking?

Right now, blogging is my side hustle, but it’s at the forefront of my mind. I work so hard, and invest a lot into making this blog as high quality as it can be, it honestly is a true passion of mine, and seeing results (i.e. opportunities, readers, better quality…), just pushes me to work even harder. I work 12 hours a day minimum in the office Mon-Fri (although Fridays are usually easier), but coming back home afterwards and editing to post (as I’m doing now, at 12.16am) is such a easy thing to do because I love it so much. It’s not easy to juggle, but I try my best to do it. Working in investment banking is a challenging, but very rewarding career. The hours are long, but they fly by so fast because you’re always busy. And the learning curve is steep – I can do a lot now that I couldn’t do when I joined some months ago. Working as a blogger is also extremely fulfilling, because it’s something I can call mine, everything you see here is something I’ve put my time into creating. But – although I’m proud – I’m a perfectionist, and always want to do more and do better.

Q: Will you ever take blogging full time?

At this time, things are working well putting time into blogging alongside working a corproate career. Essentially, long term, I want this blog to be a lot more than a blog – I want it to be a brand. Along with a whole list of ventures I also want to implement over time. So definitely watch this space.

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