For most recent graduates, the prospect of starting a job after university is exciting yet onerous. Exciting because after facing several rounds of interviews, tests and — usually — rejections, successful trainees can finally breathe a sigh of relief. Onerous, however, because of the daunting breadth of what there is to learn in the world of work. This mix of emotions is normal, but the pandemic has amplified them.

I started my graduate scheme in communications and advocacy at BP in September 2020, with my first rotation in corporate reporting. Given a precarious graduate jobs market, I consider myself lucky — BP went to lengths to reassure new recruits that the programme would proceed. According to research by Milkround, a graduate careers site, only 18 per cent of 2020 graduates had been able to secure jobs before graduating, compared with 60 per cent usually doing so before the pandemic.  

Once they get stuck into the job, graduates battle anxieties and fears that come from not yet understanding corporate etiquette — a state compounded by working from home. I felt paranoid: was it best to try to figure things out alone as much as possible? Should I check in with the team to actively show that I am working? What if I am not able to complete something in time because I have to prioritise another task?