Alumni Tommy shares his experiences since leaving Sheffield Hallam University.

Can you give us a brief overview about yourself and your journey so far?

I completed my undergraduate and master’s degrees at Sheffield Hallam University and am currently working abroad. Working in recruitment for two years after graduating, the Covid-19 pandemic meant that I couldn’t find work within the subjects I had studied, as both were industries effected massively by the pandemic (Performing Arts & Events Management).  I saved up and set off on my adventures with the aim of finding my dream job in Australia.

Relocating to the other side of the world was more stressful than it looked on social media and that finding my dream job on a working holiday visa was near impossible. After six weeks of spending every day looking for a job, I decided to work on setting up my own business. If you can’t get your dream job from someone else, give it to yourself!

Instead of spending eight hours a day creating value for someone else’s company, I have spent that time building knowledge, skills, and a strategy that I hope will bring me everything I could ever dream of in the years to come.

I will return home and plan to set up my business as a lean startup. I would have never been in the position, with the knowledge and confidence to work independently, if it wasn’t for taking myself away from ‘reality’ and constant distraction.

What career advice did you receive, or do you wish you’d received, when you we’re a student? How did you use the support given?

I wish I had sought more advice about working for myself because I did not use the resources that are available at SHU. My mindset was fixed on getting a degree and securing a job, but I have since learnt the value of creating something for yourself. If I were a student again, I would make the most of all the Enterprise Team has to offer!

What is the most important lesson you have learnt since you graduated?

It sounds cliché, but I can now relate to the phrase ‘if you love what you do, you won’t work a day in your life’. I have found setting a business up for myself has been 100% enjoyable. Even though I spend eight hours a day working hard on it, it has never felt like work and I have found more value in it than I ever could have if I had worked for someone else.

So, give yourself time to figure out what makes you excited, find a way to make it profitable, and do it all day every day.

What one piece of advice would you give your undergraduate self if you could go back in time?

Failure is more valuable than success. If something goes wrong, that’s okay! You will learn and grow from it and have a brighter future because of it.

How did working abroad shape your career choices or personal view on the world? / Or What did you do in your last summer before you started your first full-time job? How did this shape your career choices or personal view of the world?

Moving abroad isn’t all sunshine and happiness. Sometimes it’s stressful, sometimes it’s lonely, and sometimes it rains so much that it floods! However, you will learn a lot, and this will make a positive impact on your life.

My adventure put me in a position where I had to think a lot about my career and what I wanted from it- something I would never have had the opportunity to do if I had stayed at home. With huge change comes huge growth, and I am so glad that I made the leap and I am now someone who knows confidently what they want from their career, instead of being someone person who didn’t have a clue!