Terpe
2nd December 2012, 10:08
Jamie Gretel Tolentino, 21, is a graduate of University College London. She has just finished her undergraduate degree this year. Future plans involve working as a junior strategist at Quirk UK, a digitally born marketing agency.
Survival Of The Fittest
You would have thought having a bachelor’s (honors) in psychology from University College London (UCL), taking part in various student activities and having various leadership roles would fast-track one into a high paying prestigious job. An update on reality informed me that these were just the minimum requirements for one.
Growing up in a culture emphasizing the importance of academics, I was previously disillusioned that having a degree abroad would earn me a better lifestyle which would allow me to live comfortably. This is true to an extent, but definitely not what I dreamt it up to be. Being the fittest in this modern world entails more than a good education. Darwin defines the survival of the fittest as the concept of being ‘better adapted for immediate, local environment’.
Being fit to survive
Since today’s world is obviously more advanced than a hundred years ago, the concept of being ‘fit’ has accordingly changed. Financial security, normally linked to a job or inherited wealth, would be one way of being ‘fit’. Others would include aesthetic appeal and a high level of intelligence, both of which entail better access to financial resources. For instance, aesthetics may enhance your chances of being a celebrity, or attracting a financially competent mate. On the other hand, a high level of intelligence would increase your chances of getting a job providing financial security.
My own personal strategy was to enhance myself in terms of intelligence through education, and this was linked to getting a prestigious degree from a well-respected university. My quest to attain a good degree began when I was 12 and wished to study at Stanford University in California. For this reason, I worked hard all throughout grade school, finishing fifth in my batch, as well as throughout high school in Immaculate Conception Academy (ICA). However, when I realized that the college prospects and advice offered at ICA were limited to local universities, I had to change my game plan. I transferred to British School Manila, abandoning fourth year high school to do the international baccalaureate diploma on academic scholarship. Swayed partly by the charm of the British school system and deterred partly by the lengthy application process of United States universities, I decided to only apply to United Kingdom (UK) universities. It turned out to be the best decision of my life since UCL is now ranked fourth in the world by the Times, so my dream of attending a prestigious university overseas came true.
The UK education system also didn’t disappoint me because it was designed in a way that almost every module or course you take is related to your major. This saves the hassle of dealing with general Math, Science and English requirements that you’re not interested in. As a result, a degree only takes three years, as opposed to four years in the Philippines. From an employment angle, you can also apply for almost any job you like because your course doesn’t have to be related to your degree because British employers place a greater emphasis on transferable skills rather than theoretical knowledge. Of[JT1] course, this excludes specialist fields such as the academia, engineering and certain sciences. Nevertheless, it gives you a great deal of flexibility regarding your job prospects.
College as a training ground
My plan of action during university was to join and take an active role in as many UCL societies as possible and take various leadership positions when possible during my first and second year. Third year free time was reserved for internships to spice up my resume. As a result, I probably joined about nine societies, took an active part in seven of them, became my batch’s year representative within psychology and became promotions and entertainments officer of the UCL Student Union while simultaneously sitting on the executive committee in UCL’s student government. The past year, my final year, was spent doing two internships within the digital marketing industry. The first was at a social media agency called Punktilio during the first term and the next one was at Quirk, a digitally born marketing agency, during the second term. With this plan of action, I thought that a job was pretty much in the bag; I could not have been more mistaken.
I found out later on that it wasn’t my experience or skills that held me back but my status as an international student. Apparently, you had to be of exceptional caliber for firms to employ you if you’re international. Luckily, I was a great fit at Quirk during my internship and they offered me a full-time position post-graduation. They work with clients like Warner Brothers, Financial Times, Investec, etc. so I’m pretty excited.
Hurdling obstacles one by one
My journey to get here wasn’t easy though. I definitely had to do a great amount of research on various firms, positions and whether they accept applicants with an international status. There are some applications which would just reject automatically when you say you’re an international student. Then there’s the challenge of finding the right company where you fit in both professionally and socially. I’ve been to a couple of interviews where I felt like I would fit in perfectly on a professional level but the culture was a bit different to what I am used to. I am really lucky to have found Quirk where I love the people, the culture and the passion for excellence and continuous learning.
I also find the general working culture different to that of the Philippines. Apparently, it was a general trend to apply to graduate schemes at the start of the year. Some of them open as early as October, while some open in January. Therefore, to increase your chances of getting a job, you should apply to as many vacancies as possible because you never know what position or firm would fit you the best. If I could turn back time, I would definitely have invested more time in getting to know the British working culture from the start so that I would have been prepared to deal with the employment limitations imposed on international students. I would have doubled my applications and attended more ‘open days’ held by various firms. However, looking at where I am now, I am quite pleased with how far I’ve gone.
“Give it your all”
From my experience, I can say that the concept of ‘survival of the fittest’ has definitely evolved. There are many paths to success and you just have to choose one to succeed. However, in whatever path you choose, there will always be setbacks, so you should always have a back-up plan. The competition will always catch up with what you do. So in this modern world if you want to succeed, you always have to do more than the minimum and give it your all. There is no right answer or right decision, you just have to work hard and leverage your strengths while seeking opportunities for improvement. Knowledge is power, but education is not enough to tell you everything. We must adapt, grow and learn to think outside the box too. But most all, we must never give up and lose hope.
Source:-
http://www8.philstar.com/pinoyworldwide/article.aspx?publicationSubCategoryId=543&articleId=694536§ion=pwwoverseasstoryarticle
Survival Of The Fittest
You would have thought having a bachelor’s (honors) in psychology from University College London (UCL), taking part in various student activities and having various leadership roles would fast-track one into a high paying prestigious job. An update on reality informed me that these were just the minimum requirements for one.
Growing up in a culture emphasizing the importance of academics, I was previously disillusioned that having a degree abroad would earn me a better lifestyle which would allow me to live comfortably. This is true to an extent, but definitely not what I dreamt it up to be. Being the fittest in this modern world entails more than a good education. Darwin defines the survival of the fittest as the concept of being ‘better adapted for immediate, local environment’.
Being fit to survive
Since today’s world is obviously more advanced than a hundred years ago, the concept of being ‘fit’ has accordingly changed. Financial security, normally linked to a job or inherited wealth, would be one way of being ‘fit’. Others would include aesthetic appeal and a high level of intelligence, both of which entail better access to financial resources. For instance, aesthetics may enhance your chances of being a celebrity, or attracting a financially competent mate. On the other hand, a high level of intelligence would increase your chances of getting a job providing financial security.
My own personal strategy was to enhance myself in terms of intelligence through education, and this was linked to getting a prestigious degree from a well-respected university. My quest to attain a good degree began when I was 12 and wished to study at Stanford University in California. For this reason, I worked hard all throughout grade school, finishing fifth in my batch, as well as throughout high school in Immaculate Conception Academy (ICA). However, when I realized that the college prospects and advice offered at ICA were limited to local universities, I had to change my game plan. I transferred to British School Manila, abandoning fourth year high school to do the international baccalaureate diploma on academic scholarship. Swayed partly by the charm of the British school system and deterred partly by the lengthy application process of United States universities, I decided to only apply to United Kingdom (UK) universities. It turned out to be the best decision of my life since UCL is now ranked fourth in the world by the Times, so my dream of attending a prestigious university overseas came true.
The UK education system also didn’t disappoint me because it was designed in a way that almost every module or course you take is related to your major. This saves the hassle of dealing with general Math, Science and English requirements that you’re not interested in. As a result, a degree only takes three years, as opposed to four years in the Philippines. From an employment angle, you can also apply for almost any job you like because your course doesn’t have to be related to your degree because British employers place a greater emphasis on transferable skills rather than theoretical knowledge. Of[JT1] course, this excludes specialist fields such as the academia, engineering and certain sciences. Nevertheless, it gives you a great deal of flexibility regarding your job prospects.
College as a training ground
My plan of action during university was to join and take an active role in as many UCL societies as possible and take various leadership positions when possible during my first and second year. Third year free time was reserved for internships to spice up my resume. As a result, I probably joined about nine societies, took an active part in seven of them, became my batch’s year representative within psychology and became promotions and entertainments officer of the UCL Student Union while simultaneously sitting on the executive committee in UCL’s student government. The past year, my final year, was spent doing two internships within the digital marketing industry. The first was at a social media agency called Punktilio during the first term and the next one was at Quirk, a digitally born marketing agency, during the second term. With this plan of action, I thought that a job was pretty much in the bag; I could not have been more mistaken.
I found out later on that it wasn’t my experience or skills that held me back but my status as an international student. Apparently, you had to be of exceptional caliber for firms to employ you if you’re international. Luckily, I was a great fit at Quirk during my internship and they offered me a full-time position post-graduation. They work with clients like Warner Brothers, Financial Times, Investec, etc. so I’m pretty excited.
Hurdling obstacles one by one
My journey to get here wasn’t easy though. I definitely had to do a great amount of research on various firms, positions and whether they accept applicants with an international status. There are some applications which would just reject automatically when you say you’re an international student. Then there’s the challenge of finding the right company where you fit in both professionally and socially. I’ve been to a couple of interviews where I felt like I would fit in perfectly on a professional level but the culture was a bit different to what I am used to. I am really lucky to have found Quirk where I love the people, the culture and the passion for excellence and continuous learning.
I also find the general working culture different to that of the Philippines. Apparently, it was a general trend to apply to graduate schemes at the start of the year. Some of them open as early as October, while some open in January. Therefore, to increase your chances of getting a job, you should apply to as many vacancies as possible because you never know what position or firm would fit you the best. If I could turn back time, I would definitely have invested more time in getting to know the British working culture from the start so that I would have been prepared to deal with the employment limitations imposed on international students. I would have doubled my applications and attended more ‘open days’ held by various firms. However, looking at where I am now, I am quite pleased with how far I’ve gone.
“Give it your all”
From my experience, I can say that the concept of ‘survival of the fittest’ has definitely evolved. There are many paths to success and you just have to choose one to succeed. However, in whatever path you choose, there will always be setbacks, so you should always have a back-up plan. The competition will always catch up with what you do. So in this modern world if you want to succeed, you always have to do more than the minimum and give it your all. There is no right answer or right decision, you just have to work hard and leverage your strengths while seeking opportunities for improvement. Knowledge is power, but education is not enough to tell you everything. We must adapt, grow and learn to think outside the box too. But most all, we must never give up and lose hope.
Source:-
http://www8.philstar.com/pinoyworldwide/article.aspx?publicationSubCategoryId=543&articleId=694536§ion=pwwoverseasstoryarticle