Digital media graduate Ranjetha Ravichandran walks us through her story in obtaining an internship with the help of the Roehampton careers team

Many young people these days struggle to get themselves into their respective careers – and I can say I’m no exception. My story isn’t unique, it’s one many can relate to. It’s difficult to push yourself forward without foundation and support. Luckily Roehampton gave me the hand which helped my journey to securing my internship.

Let’s start at the beginning… In my digital media undergraduate course at Roehampton I was given  the freedom to learn – this opportunity built up the skills and creativity for a variety of fields with modules such as web design, animation, excel, and video editing. So, when I graduated, I felt as if I was ready for everything, I had an arsenal of skills and tools and with them I was prepared to take on whatever came at me – go wherever the wind takes me.

However, that wind ended up feeling more like a slight breeze in this current job climate. I struggled to get my foot in and ground myself to pave away the career I longed and worked hard for. I would apply to almost every application that would come through my emails only to face rejection after rejection. I had tried to put myself out there and even did some volunteer roles while balancing work to give myself the time to build up my experience but even that wasn’t enough to secure a genuine role. That was until the university had reached out offering career opportunities and internship roles.

When the careers team reached out the slight breeze became a breath of fresh air, I finally found an opportunity to push myself forward into the creative sphere. The careers team listened and gave me the chance for my experience and skills to be heard – it was so refreshing to be able to talk to an actual person rather than an automated email. With this support, the careers team heard my enthusiasm and connected me with not only one, but two paid internships which are Alumni Marketing and Digital Marketing purely based off my skillset and degree. I felt a genuine weight off my shoulders.

The simple word of ‘successful’ was the light of the tunnel that gave me the confidence to not lose hope in myself and look forward to what my future has ahead.  

But like I said this journey isn’t unique to me it’s something that can happen to you too. My advice? Take the leap and be confident in your skills, and don’t push away an opportunity because you never know where it can take you.  Without risk there’s no reward – step out your comfort zone and be you. 

Find out more about your career journey at Roehampton here.