Finding my Footing at Blue Whale Media
Many people’s inevitable question when they get to know me is, “Why Manchester?” and my answer usually doesn’t satisfy them. Sometimes I say it’s the people that brought me to Manchester, while other times I mention that I was looking for something different to do after finishing my degree back at home. I still haven’t found an answer that leaves people satisfied, and many still look at me in disbelief when I simply say, “I just like the city”.
The truth is, despite being an English literature graduate, I rarely explain how coming to the UK seemed like an inevitable stepping stone necessary to foster an independent working career abroad. In my eyes, Manchester (and the rest of England) had the magical allure of foreign lands and new adventures, something which I couldn’t resist when I had finished my degree.
Finding my First Job in a Foreign Country
I had come to Manchester with the single goal of finding a job as soon as possible to begin getting settled and comfortable within English life. My first day was spent with a folder full of copies of my CV, roaming around the city, asking anywhere and everywhere for job openings and volunteering opportunities. At the end of the day, my folder was a bit lighter, but nothing had presented itself in the way I had been hoping.
While my daily CV carrying adventures continued, it was about a week later that I received a call from the Manchester Aquatics Centre. I had dropped off my CV there on my very first day after having looked at the facilities for my own interests, and not long after I received an offer to be trained up as a lifeguard with a full-time position waiting for me if I passed the exam.
Settling in as a Lifeguard
The next couple of weeks sped by in a blur, my time split between practising CPR on plastic dummies, learning and memorising first aid particularities, and continuously swimming. While I knew how to swim fairly well, trying to transform myself into a lifeguard-worthy swimmer in the space of a couple of weeks was a hefty and new challenge for me.
Before I knew it, I was spending my days lifeguarding at the Manchester Aquatics Centre. While it wasn’t a flashy graduate job or even mildly related to my English degree, I had found a job in a foreign country that allowed me to be completely independent. As the months flew by, I became a swimming teacher and began volunteering my time as a coach for the City of Manchester Aquatics Swim Team, settling in comfortably within the Manchester Aquatics Centre’s community.
Coming Across Blue Whale Media
While I was enjoying my time exploring the world of leisure and aquatic sports, I knew that I eventually wanted to transition into a position related to my degree and previous interests. With a year of lifeguarding and swim teaching under my belt, I came across Blue Whale Media’s job posting for a content writer. After doing some freelance work for Blue Whale Media and getting to know their ethos and business, I interviewed and successfully received the offer for the full-time content writing position.
While it took some time, finding and working for Blue Whale Media was a huge achievement in beginning my writing career here in the UK. While I had initially moved to Manchester with a burning desire to immediately find the perfect job related to my studies, during my time here in England, I’ve learned that great things take a lot of time and even more hard work, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try.
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