Heart and Hustle. Patricia Bright
the interviewer. Preparation is important of course, but once you’re in there don’t be afraid to let go of the pressure to remember every tiny detail. You don’t need to remember to ask what happened to the company’s tech division in the last quarter. Try to be a little more personal and find common ground.
Break the rules
I know a lot of people can feel scared about applying for jobs. The list of requirements can seem so daunting! And this lack of confidence in our abilities seems to affect women in particular. You might have heard this statistic before: men will apply for a job when they meet just 60 per cent of the requirements, but women only apply if they meet 100 per cent of them.1 It’s been called the ‘gender confidence gap’ – we can be hesitant about taking action to push ourselves forward.
My thinking is: just do it – even if you’re not sure of the outcome, try it and see what happens. When I applied for the internship, the odds were stacked against me. I knew I didn’t have the grades they wanted. I wasn’t in my second year of university, like most applicants, but in my final year. The bank required 360 UCAS points to apply, but because I had dropped an A-level (chemistry – I hated it!) I only had 280 points. That, in normal circumstances, would have automatically taken me out of the running for most of the graduate schemes I was interested in. But I completed the application form, despite my situation. Some people would have thought to themselves, ‘I don’t have the right grades so I’m not going to apply’ – to be honest, that’s what I thought at first! I had never submitted any other similar applications because I was scared of rejection. But, encouraged by my friend Emeka, I did it despite my fear, explaining honestly why I didn’t have the UCAS points, and why it wasn’t an issue. In that way, I set the ball rolling for my future.
Later, as part of that process to get an internship, I failed one of the maths tests. I cried straight after taking it, as I knew it hadn’t gone well. With thousands of people applying for the internship programme, I knew that if you failed one of the tests, you didn’t get in – that was the general rule. But because I had tried to build those relationships at the dinner, and connected with a few of the right people – because they’d seen my drive and determination first-hand and considered my potential to be more important than my ability – they gave me the opportunity to come in and retake the test. This time I made sure I was ready. The questions were mainly algebra (my nemesis!), so I spent a few weeks improving my knowledge of the principles, doing practice test after practice test, night after night. When it was time to do the real test again, I smashed it and got the internship.
LIFE LESSON: Your limits are based on how you perceive yourself. Challenge your perception and you might be surprised. Every time I hit a stumbling block, I might have been momentarily disheartened, but I pushed through and the results were better than I could ever have imagined. Sometimes that’s all you have to do: push through.
The upshot was, I graduated, did my three-month internship in London, then was offered a job at the bank! I couldn’t believe it. My starting salary was £35,000, with a £5,000 sign-on bonus. For a twenty-one-year-old, that’s a lot of money. I’d done it! I thought to myself, I’m rich! I’ve made it in life.
Of course, I didn’t know then but this was just the beginning. And we’ll get into my time as a full-time employee. But I want to stress that as much as I talk about ‘doing your own thing’ and being an entrepreneur, I 100 per cent appreciate the values I picked up in the workplace. The skills I gained from all of my collective experiences and side hustles brought me to where I am today, providing me with valuable knowledge and experience that university could never have given me.
Nail that interview
It can be difficult to get that crucial first role and the dreaded interview can be a major stumbling block. But a good interview can also be the most impactful thing you do. So I’m going to share my cheats to make it a little less painful:
> You do not have to know everything – what you want to show is that you are willing to learn everything.
> Draw on your experiences to give specific examples of what you would do in the role. For example, ‘If scenario X happened I would do Y, because when I dealt with situation A I applied B and XYZ was the result.’
> There are a lot of cookie-cutter questions (some of which I’ve listed below) you can be asked, so prep a response for each one that has a little more fire than, ‘I’ve always wanted to work for this company because [insert what you read on their online bio].’
> Practise your interview technique out loud. Yes, it could be embarrassing but it makes a difference. Find a friend to ask you questions and practise your response. Alternatively, you can find a mirror and practise with yourself.
> INHALE. EXHALE. SMILE!
The old chestnuts
Think of strong responses to the following before you walk into the interview room (and keep them safe for future use):
> Why do you want this job/internship?
> Why should I hire you?
> What can you bring to the role or the organisation?
> What relevant experience do you have?
> What relevant skills to you have?
> Where do you see yourself in five years’? (Progressing within that company, of course!)
> What are your strengths?
> What are your weaknesses? (Talk about areas in which you’re already improving and what strategy you’re applying to do this. You want to be honest but not too honest.)
> And if you’re thrown a curveball? Don’t panic. Take a moment to think, then take a stab at the most sensible, thoughtful answer you can reach for. So much of this is about delivery. Be enthusiastic, respectful, and make eye contact – you’ll have them eating out of your hand in no time!
2 | Yes, I work for myself on the internet!
I do sometimes get tired of answering the ‘What is it you do?’ question I hear time and time again, coupled with the ‘Is that even a job?’ remark IRL. But in the digital space, people like me get a different reaction. I see a lot of #GIRLBOSS, #HUSTLE and #Buildingmyempire hashtags, sprinkled with copious amounts of praise in the comments. It can make it look like going it alone is the most exciting thing in the world – the one thing everyone should be aiming for. In 2017, it’s estimated that nearly 660,000 companies were started in the UK, a new record – and that figure is expected to be broken year-on-year.1 So what’s the truth?
The myths around being your own boss …
WARNING: I’m going to bust some myths around being in the coveted role of boss. ‘Entrepreneur’ has become a bit of a buzzword of late, and it can feel like being an employee is second best. But some people are amazing employees, great at hustling within their roles and climbing the ladder. They love the structure, they like the industry they’re in and they’re able to deliver consistently. My sister, my dad and my husband are all amazing employees. Never missing a day of work, they thrive. And being an employee can offer a great work-life balance and lots of stability, depending on the job you do. I’ve worked with some amazing ‘employees’ – my bosses and other senior executives around me – who were making a huge impact in their industries and the wider world. There is plenty of power and skill involved in being a mover and shaker in the workforce. Doctors, nurses and members of the armed forces for example, are all employees, providing essential services.
Meanwhile, some people think being self-employed means a life where you can wake up when you want, go to bed when you want, go out when you want, in between drinking champagne on a yacht. Well, that ain’t it! While being self-employed, I’ve learned that it involves sacrifices bigger than I could have ever imagined, that income is not guaranteed, that you can lose all you achieved in a second,