In 1997 Apple launched a new ad slogan to help shift their products. The promotion proved to be something of a success, going on to win the 1998 Emmy Award for Best Commercial, and marking the beginning of Apple's re-emergence as a technical giant.
The tagline, 'Think Different', was intended to convey innovation, youthful liberation and cutting edge technology. Now before readers think I've suddenly been signed up to the Apple marketing team, allow me to bring things back to a graduate related point. Re-read this paragraph from the perspective of an aspiring graduate. In a way it sums up exactly the kind of perception which we'd all like to impress upon a potential employer.
So, although the campaign reached its conclusion in 2002, the words of those Californian supergeeks still ring true... If you're struggling to find work, and feel as though you've plumbed all possible options, don't despair. Consider your degree and the skills (emphasis there) which it has left you with and try to think differently.
Sure you may have always had your heart set on being an investment banker, a lawyer or a journalist, but have you ever considered working as a bungee jump tour operator in New Zealand? Maybe you would fit the exact requirements to be a hedge-fund manager? You might have even been born to go into horse-whispering and wine tasting.
It all seems rather farfetched but statistics indicate that the majority of graduates don't end up following the career path they'd always envisaged they would. Further evidence can be found in your distant past. Hands up if you wanted to be a footballer aged 5? Or a fireman? Or a nurse? Or a part-time penguin and part-time fairy.
Times change and we all have to roll with the punches. Here is an idea for starters. Steve Jobs has just stepped down as CEO of Apple. You may well not get his job straight away but the company has at least one employee vacancy now. Think different.
