From Uncertainty to Purpose: My Diary of Determination

Starting your career can be an exciting yet daunting experience. If you’re reading this, you’re likely still in school, college, or university—or perhaps you’ve finished and are now staring at countless job applications, wondering when your break will come. The uncertainty can be overwhelming. I know this feeling because I’ve been there too. My journey wasn’t a straight line; it was filled with twists and turns that eventually led me to a place of purpose and impact.

The First Steps: A Levels and Finding My Options

During my A-levels, I was focused on securing a degree apprenticeship—a blend of academic study and work experience that seemed like the perfect start to my career. I dedicated myself to applying, attending assessment centres, and going through rounds of interviews. The hard work paid off. After months of balancing my studies with a rigorous application process, I was thrilled to receive 11 degree apprenticeship offers from various companies like: Amazon, Rolls Royce, JP Morgan, Deloitte, Aston Martin, Capgemini, Goldman Sachs, BMW, Accenture and more.

This felt like a huge success, and I thought the next logical step was to jump straight into one of these programs. However, as I was about to make a decision, something pulled me back. You all might say: but why? It makes no sense? Why would someone hold back even after obtaining 11 prestigious offers? I realised I wasn’t quite ready to lock myself into a long-term commitment. I wanted to take some time to reflect and explore my options further before diving into a full-time role.

So after completing my A-Levels and enjoying my last moments in year 13 as Head Girl, Events Director and a Peer Mentor, I decided to take a gap year. It felt like a smart decision at the time, but I didn’t want to spend the year unproductively. I thought about what I could do during this period to keep myself moving forward. After some consideration, I decided to pursue a Level 3 apprenticeship as a way to make my gap year more productive. I reasoned that an additional qualification could only help me in the future.

The Realisation: A Change of Direction

Halfway through the Level 3 apprenticeship, something shifted. The work I was doing didn’t align with my interests or the impact I wanted to make. I began to feel uneasy about continuing down this path. It wasn’t an easy decision to step away—after all, quitting something mid-way can feel like a failure. But deep down, I knew this wasn’t where I belonged.

It’s important to recognise when something isn’t working for you. We often feel pressure to push through situations, even when they don’t align with our values or goals. Realising this early on was a turning point for me. Instead of seeing my apprenticeship experience as a setback, I viewed it as a lesson. It taught me that what I truly craved wasn’t just a stable career, but a way to create lasting impact.

Founding a Community: The Birth of the Asian Arab Network

During this period of uncertainty, I started to reflect deeply on my passions and how I could use my skills to help others. I found that I wasn’t the only one struggling with finding the right path. Many individuals around me—students, recent graduates, and those navigating their early careers—were facing similar challenges. I wanted to provide them with the guidance and community support I wish I had when I first started out.

This desire led me to found AAN, a community for the Asian and Arab diaspora. I wanted to create a space where individuals could come together, share experiences, and build valuable networks that would help them navigate their personal and professional lives. The goal of AAN is simple: to empower young people from the same ethnic and minority backgrounds to achieve their full potential by connecting them with resources, mentorship, and each other.

AAN became a platform for meaningful conversations, collaborations, and growth. The sense of community I fostered through AAN gave me a renewed sense of purpose. I found fulfilment in helping others, building connections, and seeing people grow in their personal and professional lives. It was through this journey of creating AAN that I understood my core purpose; I want to pursue a career where I can make a difference on a larger scale.

Private Mentorship: Helping Over 700 Individuals

Alongside my work with AAN, I reflected that my experience of receiving 11 degree apprenticeship offers put me in a unique position. I had learned how to successfully navigate the competitive process of applying for apprenticeships, and I wanted to share that knowledge with others.

So, I started my own private mentoring course, offering personalized guidance to aspiring apprentices. I helped individuals with everything from CV writing to preparing for interviews and assessment centres. My course attracted a wide range of people, including school students, university dropouts, interns, and aspiring apprentices. Over time, I was able to mentor and guide over 700 individuals on their journey, helping them set clear personal and professional goals and providing them with the tools they needed to succeed and obtain their offers too.

Shortly after I started privately mentoring, I was scouted by The Future Leaders UK mentorship programme where I had the opportunity to mentor 4 students in goal setting and career planning. Here, I was able to nurture a professional mindset within these 4 individuals and get them back on track to what they’d aspired to be.

This experience taught me that helping others wasn’t just a temporary passion—it was something I was deeply committed to. I found immense satisfaction in seeing people thrive and achieve their goals, especially those who had felt lost or uncertain about their next steps.

A New Path: Studying International Relations and French

Through these experiences—leaving my apprenticeship, founding AAN, and mentoring hundreds of individuals—I came to a realisation: I wanted to create a broader, lasting impact on the world. I began thinking beyond personal success and started considering how I could contribute to larger global issues. After some deep reflection, I made the decision to study a 4 year long degree in International Relations with French (BA) Hons.

I will always be a strong apprenticeship advocate, and support those following the apprentice route. I was surrounded with people saying: you need experience, but one thing I have learned to understand overtime is that specific industries require more theoretical knowledge than experience i.e. medicine and international relations and a few more. Why? Because the experience varies on your understanding of the subject as a whole. You cannot perform surgery without understanding the anatomy of the human body and you cannot step into a diplomatic environment and contribute your opinions without understanding current affairs and policies.

Hence, this degree aligned perfectly with my growing interest in current international affairs, human rights, global diplomacy, and understanding different policies around the globe. My end goal is to eventually work on an international scope within the UN, helping to shape policies and initiatives that make a difference on a global scale. It was a far cry from where I thought I’d be when I first embarked on my professional journey, but it felt right. It felt like me.

What I Learned: Advice for Those Still Figuring It Out

If you’re reading this and still figuring out your first steps—whether it’s your first job, apprenticeship, or career—here are some important lessons I’ve learned along the way:

1. Embrace Uncertainty. It’s okay not to have everything figured out right away. Sometimes, taking a step back to explore your options is the best decision you can make. Don’t be afraid of taking time to reflect on what you really want.
2. Don’t Be Afraid to Pivot. It’s easy to feel like you need to stick with something because you’ve already invested time or energy into it. But if something doesn’t feel right, give yourself permission to pivot. You’re not “failing” by changing direction—you’re evolving. Don’t just “go with the flow” but instead, create that flow.
3. Seek Out Support Networks. Having people around you who understand your struggles can make a huge difference. Whether it’s through communities like AAN or through personal connections, build a network that lifts you up and provides guidance. Your network is also your net worth.
4. Leverage Your Experiences. Every experience, whether successful or not, teaches you something valuable. Even though my apprenticeship wasn’t right for me, it helped me clarify my goals and opened doors I hadn’t even considered before.
5. Be Resilient. There will be moments when you feel lost or unsure, but resilience is key. I know it’s easier said than done 100%, but please keep moving forward, and don’t let setbacks discourage you. Every step, even the difficult ones, brings you closer to where you need to be, even an improvement by 0.1% is still moving towards your set goal. Have faith in yourself.

The journey to finding your first job, apprenticeship, or career path isn’t always clear. But with resilience, self-reflection, and most importantly, the willingness to pivot when necessary, you can find your purpose—even if it takes a few twists and turns to get there. My path from an apprenticeship to founding The Asian Arab Network and mentoring hundreds of individuals has taught me that sometimes the road to success is far from linear, but every experience brings you closer to your true goals.

Whatever stage you’re at right now, know that it’s okay to take your time, explore your options, and make decisions that align with your passions and values. Stay resilient, keep learning, and trust that you’ll find your way—just like I did.

 

Sunmbleena Meghany

CEO & Founder of AAN | Public Speaker | International Relations with French (BA) Hons | Aspiring Diplomat | Human Rights & Global Diplomacy activist

You can find out more and connect with Sunmbleena on LinkedIn.