Where rivals fear to tread.

Today's post is for those who have not finished school or university yet. Those who are perhaps not yet seeking permanent full-time work or considering how to get their career underway.

Please don't make the mistake of assuming that your working life starts when your education is complete. If you wait until the certificate is in your hand before contemplating job applications, you will have joined a very long and slow-moving queue for meaningful employment, alongside all the other individuals who have finished their studies at the same time as you.

Approaching the onset of your working life can feel like a guessing game. Perhaps you don't really know what you want to do yet, or you are not sure what employers out there are looking for. Don't wait until you are at a crossroads to find out. Wouldn't it be great to look forward to a VIP entry pass that got you out of the queue? If you're someone who knows people, that can happen more easily than you think.

The reported average number of advertising messages we are all exposed to everyday is anywhere between 3000-5000. Career ideas can start with inspiration. If you like what a certain company does and how they get their point across, start making a list of employers you'd be interested in working for. Then research their websites. Do they have graduate programs? Call them and find out what they would be looking for from a new trainee or entry level employee.

Plenty of people lack the confidence to do this. But they are also the ones who have not planned ahead, and expect options to fall into their lap. We both know you are not one of them, because you are not in that queue.

Make sure you write down who you talk to. You never know if you might want to follow up with them in a year's time and say "how about a job there?" Not only will you show more initiative than the average person, you are also networking.

You have nothing to lose and everything to gain. It just starts with being inspired. See who captures your imagination and let your Wants control what happens next, not your Needs.