After being bombarded by “A day in the life of…” type of articles for any sort of successful, career-driven professionals from all over the world, on any sort of social platform, MBA Global Banking and Finance graduate Francesco Fiorenzo Furino, decided to join the hoards and to write about his average day in a period of my life that could be anything but enviable.
8 am
I wake up quite late in comparison with my old routine during my MBA programme, where I would wake up at 5.30 am and heading to the Uni library at 7 am to start working on my assignments. This is one of the perks of being unemployed, I guess. So, first thing first, breakfast! I can’t function without food in my stomach, but I’m also braving Keto right now so it’s half an avocado, a boiled egg and a drop of extra virgin olive oil with a black coffee. Fully fueled, I can now start with my first activity of the day, 30 minutes of meditation. For me this is genuinely central to my day, it helps me to ground myself in the day, fend off negative thinking, anxiety and prepare me for my day.
9.30 am
I start looking for jobs on LinkedIn, Reed, Indeed, surfing career websites and write down a list of the best pick of the day. Once I have shortlisted the best positions, I move on to writing the cover letter for the ones that require it, for the other such as Easy Apply on LinkedIn, they just need a quick click, job done. If the company I’m interested in has employees in my connections I would reach the contact for an informal chat about internal culture (this might not always bring leads, although it is worth trying).
12.30 pm
Time to hit the Gym. Three hours have gone by job hunting which can produce mixed feelings depending on the day and the opportunities available. Therefore, we need to vent off any frustration with an intense workout session. I have been lifting weights for years now and I love the intensity, pressure and the endorphin realised afterwards, which is the best part. I follow the old school programme of three days per week, Pec + Biceps, Back + Triceps, Legs and shoulders, never change something that works well. All followed by a post-workout shake of protein 50g and creatin 10g; I would add some glucose 25g for muscle recovery, but unfortunately, Keto has barred me from that so no sugary rush for me.
2 pm
Back home, lunchtime. Keep it nice and light, as you don’t want to end up having to take a power nap to get back on your feet. I get my keto lunch and I will spare the details this time. Alongside lunch, I keep an eye on my investment portfolio to see how it is doing (Up 14% so far, no bad; although it was doing pretty badly last year 😉). After lunch it’s time to leave my flat as the worst thing possible in this period is dwelling, physically and mentally in the same place for all day. So, as the lunch is over it’s time to go.
3 pm
I got my favourite coffee shop in Birmingham next to Victoria Square, where I can plug in my computer, headphones on, and watch some online courses to keep my skills up to date. Right now I am finishing the financial modelling and valuation analyst course (FMVA®) provided by the Chartered Finance Institute, which I found great for corporate finance, and I highly recommend it. On top of that, I also use LinkedIn resources which are great, enabling me to access knowledge in specific areas of interest. I am getting into SQL for data analysis, and my next step will be Python, Power BI and Tableaux, all great tools to gain more exposure to business intelligence, and new area of analytics which will be essential for business professionals to understand their organization.
5.30 pm
Time to get back home, I guess I have the right to feel tired now. I turn on Bloomberg TV (free, by the way) and browse the Financial Times (my all-time favourite) to see what’s going on. I choose to read the news in depths in the evening as I don’t want to have my mood conditioned first thing in the morning. It is important to start with the right mindset.
This is also time to reach people, having a chat is important, and nurturing your relationships is essential for your wellbeing.
7.30 pm
Dinner time, catching up with my fiancé about her day, being a secondary History teacher there is usually a good story from the day. Then having some chill-out time so that I can get a good night sleep, and do all this all over again.
My day looks very similar.
Job hunting can be a really draining process, it took me a while to realise that its so very important to break down your day and not go crazy with applications!
Loved this! Really important to remember that job hunting is a job of its own and you’ve got to keep that resilience up. Thanks for publishing, nice to know someone else is in the same boat.