Working Gap Year: Student Profile

Undergraduate student Michelle Kelly explains how a working gap year helped her decide on the best university degree for her, gain valuable career experience - and of course earn some money to support her studies.

While studying hard for her A-levels, as well as working a part time job, Michelle Kelly felt she did not have time to properly research her undergraduate university options.

She decided to take a gap year and gain some experience working in order to help her make the best decision for her future, as well as earn some much needed cash! TopUniversities.com talks to Michelle about her defining gap year experiences.

Finding a focus

Michelle was unsure what direction to take when choosing her university degree; she was torn between choosing a degree subject that would be practical for work (business) and one that she had a personal interest in (English literature).

After a gap year spent working for different marketing agencies Michelle chose to study International Business with French at Kingston University. The decisions to take a gap year and then to study business have been ones that Michelle has never looked back on.

"I definitely think it was a wise choice. I got to work with some amazing people, make contacts that led to other jobs and learn integral skills that I still use today."

"I think that my gap year jump-started my passion for working in marketing. Learning that I wanted to work in that industry made me hungrier to apply myself at university, choose the right modules in my third and fourth years, and keep gaining experience in my holidays by returning to work. It also meant I always had an end-goal in sight."

Planning for the future

Michelle worked for the first few months as a personal assistant in an IT company, a job she found through an advertisement in the national press.

"I wanted to get my CV (resume) to a standard where I could temp in the future, during university holidays, so office experience, computer training and learning about switchboards were skills I needed."

Once she had this experience, she applied to be a team administrator for a PR agency. Both positions were based with companies in London, where Michelle continues to live and work.

She hoped that supporting a team and getting to know a little more about business in practice would help form her decision on her potential degree and ultimately her career choice.

The team administrator position Michelle found through a recruitment agent, Laura Brindley-Clark. "When I met with her I explained what I was interested in doing, why I wanted to focus on marketing and she explained all the different options and vacancies she had available. She also helped me prepare for my interviews with likely questions and gave me background on the agencies I was visiting."

Gaining confidence

This definitely helped Michelle, who initially found the interviewing process nerve-wracking but ultimately learnt how to answer the tough questions and present herself from an early age.

Michelle maintains that her gap year not only taught her a lot about working in marketing, but also about herself as a person. "I became a lot more confident and it was great working with people at different levels of their career; graduates, junior managers, senior directors, they all had stories to tell and advice to give.

"Seeing the strategy I touched on in the classroom being put to practice helped me understand it a lot more. It also grounded the fact that I wanted to work in marketing so I knew that my degree choice (business) was right."

Michelle recalls a highlight of her gap year being the time she had to get a train at 6am from Kings Cross to Derby to hold a press conference on a sponsorship campaign for Esso. "I was terrified going alone and being so responsible for the project, but I got real satisfaction seeing the story in the paper afterwards."

Strong foundation for studies

Not only did Michelle's gap year help her to decide on the right university degree for her, it also helped her in entering the employment market. "I got a call the week I was graduating from university from an account director I had worked with to ask if I wanted a graduate position at her agency."

Michelle maintains that having the relevant office experience, as well as a large name on her CV before graduating, all helped her in obtaining subsequent positions. 

"I've worked in many different areas since graduating: PR, design, direct marketing and digital, but I've always been excited about my work. Working with people within the industry that I view not only as friends but as mentors has also been invaluable."

Ultimately, choosing the university and course that is right for you can be one of the most important decisions you make so take your time and chose wisely. Michelles advice: "If you have any doubt in what you think you might like to do in the future, proof is in the tasting."