To be honest, the most valuable guidance I ever received came from an old university lecturer of mine during my final year of study in Manchester. At the time, graduation was looming and I was in a total state of panic about what to do next. Most of my peers were frantically applying for prestigious corporate schemes, and I felt immense pressure to follow suit, even though deep down I wasn't convinced that was the right fit for me.
During a one-to-one mentoring session, my lecturer noticed how anxious I was and told me something that completely shifted my mindset. He advised me not to fixate on job titles, starting salaries, or the prestige of a company in my early twenties. Instead, he told me to prioritise learning opportunities and finding a manager who would genuinely invest in my development. His philosophy was that the first few years in the workforce should be treated like an apprenticeship where you build transferable skills.
He gave me this advice because he had seen too many bright graduates burn out within two years after joining high-pressure firms just for the CV prestige, only to realise they despised the day-to-day work.
That conversation had a massive impact on my decisions. Instead of chasing corporate marketing roles, I took a position at a small non-profit organisation. Although the pay was modest, I was given real autonomy, ran community outreach campaigns, and worked alongside a brilliant mentor. That foundation boosted my confidence immensely and helped me discover my real strengths, proving that treating career growth as a marathon rather than a sprint was the best choice I could have made.