The average UK graduate starting salary sits around £28,731, but structured graduate schemes pay closer to £35,000+. Same level. Same experience. Nearly £7,000 a year apart. So what actually separates them? Two things: research and articulation. Strong research This isn't just "know the company before your interview." It starts way earlier than that. Find the roles and companies advertising the salary range you actually want. Then work backwards. What skills are they asking for? What kind of person are they trying to find? Start building that now - so that by the time you're applying, you're not just a candidate who ticks boxes. You're the person they were looking for. Research gives you direction. Clear articulation This is the one most graduates overlook - and it's probably the most important. Being able to clearly explain what you bring to the table, in language they understand, is genuinely rare. Employers aren't just hiring your skills. They're spending £28k, £35k, or more - and they need to feel confident that money is worth it. They're asking themselves: in a year's time, will I look back and think this was a good hire? An easy tip: practice talking about your value out loud. It will feel weird, but do it anyway! (Honourable Mention) Reassurance Back everything up with examples. Stay calm. Make it easy for them to say yes. The gap between £28k and £35k isn't luck - it's preparation. We've got a course covering all of this coming out now on the Applied Skills Fellowship. Sign up today and lock in your discounted price for life. Comment ASF for the link 🔗

When do you quit your job? When do you ask a grumpy manager for help? How do you decide whether or not to take out a personal loan? We discussed this on a coaching call yesterday, looking at about questions just like this, and we came up with a framework to help decide when it’s the right time to give in or ask for help. Keeping it simple, we divided it into “strong” and “weak” decisions. A weak decision is coming home from work after a bad shift, and deciding that you can’t handle it (and therefore, it’s time to quit). A STRONG decision is coming home after a string of bad days at work, and working out that by leaving your Job, you will be happier, healthier, and you have already found another opportunity you can start pursuing. Making a strong vs weak decision doesn’t mean reaching a different conclusion; it means having a PLAN before you get there. Taking a loan to cover your rent may always be the right thing to do (living somewhere is always optimal); however, feeling the panic of a bill one day and immediately getting the first loan you find with bad terms and a horrible interest rate is a WEAK decision. Stepping back, taking your time, and finding good solutions that will save you money or stress long term is a STRONG decision. So I've got a question: How do YOU work out how to make decisions from a strong place, not a weak place?

So this week I've been doing some work with a mentor on resilience - and honestly, it's been more challenging than I expected. Not in a bad way. But when you actually sit down and try to figure out what's going on in your own head - what's really holding you back - it's a bit uncomfortable. I've never really done it before! And the more I thought about it, the more I realised it's exactly the same with job searching. Everyone has a stumbling block. That one thing - whether you know what it is or not - that keeps getting in the way. For some people, it's confidence. For others, it's perfectionism, or fear of rejection, or just not knowing where to start. The CV and the applications matter - but sometimes the real work is figuring out what's going on underneath all of that. So I wanted to ask you... What do you think your stumbling block is right now?

Not posting consistently and unsure how to... This solve it...

You need to stop making these mistakes if you have starting posting. 1. ❌ Don’t chase viral posts ✅ Do stay consistent Showing up once = nothingShowing up weekly = authority 2. ❌ Don’t post and disappear ✅ Do engage before & after Your reach isn’t just content…It’s conversations. 3. ❌ Don’t share tips with no story ✅ Do share real experiences People don’t follow advice.They follow perspective. 4. ❌ Don’t start from scratch every time ✅ Do repurpose your best ideas 1 good post =→ 5 pieces of content→ 1 week covered 5. ❌ Don’t pitch instantly in DMs ✅ Do build relationships first Stop trying to “post better”. Start building: Consistency + clarity + connection. Do this for 30 days straight… And you won’t need to chase jobs anymore. They’ll come to you. Who here is actually committing to this properly? 👇