How I made it: three successful young graduates share their stories | The panel

Radio 1 DJ, a member and a contractor appointed new graduates to work hard goal to be the best and never give up

Greg James, Radio 1 DJ, 26: "Some people succeed

In fact, I think most people agree that your dream job is very difficult, and very competitive, "Well this is a matter of chance." All this is true in reality, but why should I stop? People really determined to succeed and always will be, in many ways, the need for people to give up and looks like work too hard to make room for them.

course, is a very difficult time economically to find a job immediately after college, but it is far from impossible. It may take several months to find a job after graduation that maybe five years ago, but not work there. My career has always been competitive, but I never thought about other people going for the same job. It is human nature to compare their progress with their peers, but I guess my advice would be not to try. Focus on what you want and how you will get.

have a plan in place, even if it remains vague. With both short-term and long-term. In my last year of college, my short-term goals were to gain experience at the BBC local radio station work in the local community, trying to find the actual experience FM file to get a room Meeting / pilot Radio 1. My long term goal has always been to do a show on Radio 1. It seems easy for me to say now, but I always thought really bloody hard work, dedication, commitment to each other and to a lot of luck, could reach Radio 1. You also need to be a complete nerd now you want to achieve. Learn everything you can about it, then you can be a part of it and understand how it works.

hate to say this to people, but in reality, this board is the key shot. Do not get trampled by knockbacks because there will be charges. You can get your dream job or anything, but ... Here the cliché ... simply should not be waived. Be prepared to work hard and long hours, and probably for little or no start, but it will be worth it in the end. The best jobs are not supposed to be easy, that's what makes them a challenge. If you like challenges, do not listen to nay-sayers, keep your head down and go. And look, one day, you can even write your own goalkeeper prude article.

Pamela Nash, MP for Airdrie and Shotts, 27: "Keep clear objectives"

not want anyone graduating in 2012, was difficult when I got my degree in 2006, and even then, there were not many jobs for new graduates social sciences. He lived alone and was struggling to stay afloat, and was surprised and embarrassed by the situation I was in.

I knew it was important to balance income with improving the skills and employability, but it was difficult to get a part-time job. While looking for a job, I wrote to my MP to complain about the situation of graduates in general, but also to ask if there was the slightest chance in his office. I asked to meet him and offered me an internship. This was fortunate, but also the result of me trying everything I could do to continue. I finally got a part-time job at House of Fraser, Glasgow has allowed me to earn money three days per week and acquire relevant experience in all the others. After a year I was promoted to a full-time position as parliamentary assistant.

• pressure on this year's graduates are higher than ever, with many opportunities to be pressed. At a time like this, it is important that you keep clear career goals and do everything in their power to get there, through volunteering or learning new skills is essential. Get involved as possible with organizations in their field of work, for example, in addition to being active in my local Labour Party, who also joined the campaign and associated reflection and be elected to the Scottish Parliament youth
• not worry if you take a job that prefer not to make ends meet. Get your finances as soon as possible and make sure you get the benefits you are entitled to if you are still looking for a job and live within your means.
most important thing is not to lose courage. Luck is when preparation meets opportunity, so be prepared.

Jonnie Shearer, founder of Pussy energy drink, 30: "Aim High"

University

was fun, but really not much help in the creation of a society - if hindsight, I wish went right to work

was in college, I tried to sell the concept of food at different airlines. None of them was for him, so when he was still a student, I saw another opportunity.

decided to create a natural energy drink. At first, we did not have money to spend on marketing, so I thought of the name to get pussy says. Be normal, you nowhere and if we had a normal name, I thought it would be a 0% chance of working. We were competing against brands that spend tens of millions of dollars in marketing.
It took about a year to get the £ 30,000 needed to create the product - I borrowed money from friends and family. During this time, I worked out of my room at home. It was a bit of a nightmare, my mother vacuuming in the background while you are taking important sales calls or accidentally picks up the phone in my name. During my first sales presentation I sat with a beefy nightclub promoter told me he wanted to pay £ 10,000 per year to provide drink or take free "fuck fuck I'm busy," did he said. Clearly it is difficult to get yourself taken seriously when you're young and starting out. But eventually we negotiated a decent price, and the company now sells 500,000 boxes per month and tens million pounds.