Staying motivated as an undergraduate during this pandemic: Youth Ambassador View

Youth Ambassador Shaniah shares her tips on staying motivated during the pandemic, find out more about how she keeps productive and positive.

As a law student, I already study a degree that is known to be isolating due to the intense amount of  independent study required. The most important thing to me is to socialize, there are so many online  communities where you can find like minded people, you just have to engage! 

Here are some things you can do to keep you busy, motivated and that will help when things start to go back to normal.

Updating your cv:  Create multiple variations that you can swap out when applying for opportunities. I have one cv template with my necessary information and then 3 pages of different skills, experiences, and real-life examples that I tailor when making job applications. 

These also double as a great base for answers to online job applications. Focus on key employability skills like communication, teamwork, and organisational skills as these are common questions for lots of job applications.

I find updating my cv to be really motivating because it is a showcase of my achievements  and pivotal moments. This gives me that drive to continue being productive during this pandemic. 

LinkedIn/ social media: Follow companies that you are interested in, read their social media, and keep  an eye out for any virtual events they may have. Read any blogs and sign up to their newsletters, be sure  to have some brief notes so that you have a ton of information to draw from when you decide to apply  for any opportunities. 

Now is also the time to connect with other young people, have some conversations, share perspectives,  you never know, you could receive some amazing advice. Many students make the mistake of assuming only people more advanced than us can give good advice, but it is so  important to gain different perspectives. Now is the perfect time to do this because more people are actively engaging in social media. (Make sure to keep yourself safe when connecting online) 

Commercial awareness: Read news articles, podcasts or even conversations from social media related to the field you are interested in. Think about how you would handle the pandemic if you were in your future job, try to be innovative, talk through these solutions and ideas with your friends and family and get comfortable with the idea of being commercially aware.  

Virtual work experience: can develop your organisation, research and working without supervision skills but  the list truly goes on. Not only do you gain some insight into the type of work you could be doing in the future, but it should also excite and motivate you. Be sure to thank the company or recruiters via social media, get used to communicating with recruiters. I find these types of engagements to be motivating as  it is a taster of what my career will be like! 

Webinars: keep an eye out for any webinars that companies may be holding, be sure to make some notes and always thank the hosts. Before I started university, I would attend so many webinars because generally any age and educational background can attend. These webinars were the main reason I decided to apply for a law degree because after leaving legal webinars I felt so inspired I realised they ignited my passion for law. Simply search the field you are interested in followed by ‘free webinar’ (I.e. commercial law free webinar) and you will find so many online events to choose from. 

If you manage to complete even one part of any of my suggestions you have already put yourself in an  advantageous position, motivation fluctuates some days we want to sit in bed watching tv and others we  want to be productive from morning to night and that is perfectly okay. Just remember to do what is  best for yourself and follow your own path.