Every August, we are proud supporters of the #NoWrongPath campaign, an award winning initiative launched by Developing the Young Workforce (DYW) Scotland in 2017. The campaign encourages people to share their own career journeys to reassure young people receiving their exam results that there is no single route to success.
For the past nine years, we’ve joined thousands of people and organisations in sharing our stories because we believe the message is so important. In fact, I don’t think this message is just for young people collecting exam results.
It’s for apprentices starting their first job.
It’s for someone wondering whether to retrain.
It’s for the engineer considering leadership.
It’s for the parent returning to work.
It’s for anyone wondering if they’ve somehow fallen behind.
Because I genuinely believe there is no wrong path.
If someone had asked me at sixteen where I thought my career would take me, I honestly wouldn’t have known.
What followed certainly wasn’t a straight line.
16 – Left school with minimal GCSEs and no clear career direction.
18 – Started working in recruitment in an administration role.
20 – Became a Recruitment Consultant.
22 – Packed my bags and headed off on an Italian adventure.
24 – Returned to the UK and restarted my recruitment career.
26 – Began managing teams.
35 – Started my own business.
43 – Went back to university part time whilst running the business.
47 – Graduated with a Master’s degree.
Looking back now, every stage mattered.
Not because I planned it.
Because each experience gave me something I needed for the next one.
At sixteen, I couldn’t possibly have imagined that journey.
Last week, I had the privilege of attending the graduation ceremony for Birmingham City University’s Business School. One of the speakers shared a line that immediately made me think of this article.
“Don’t let the qualification become the destination.”
I thought it was such a powerful message.
Whether it’s GCSEs, A Levels, an apprenticeship, a degree, a Master’s or a professional qualification, they are all milestones worth celebrating.
But they aren’t the finish line.
They’re simply another step on the journey.
One of the biggest misconceptions I see is that we somehow need to have our careers mapped out from the beginning.
Choose the right GCSEs.
Choose the right apprenticeship or university.
Choose the right career.
As though one decision at sixteen determines the next forty years.
It simply doesn’t.
Careers evolve. People evolve. Confidence grows. Interests change. Life happens.
Sometimes opportunities appear when we least expect them.
Sometimes redundancy becomes the catalyst for something better.
Sometimes parenthood changes our priorities.
Sometimes we discover a passion we never knew existed.
The qualification isn’t the destination.
It’s simply the next chapter.
During more than thirty years in recruitment, I’ve had the privilege of meeting thousands of people. Very few followed the career they imagined when they were sixteen.
I’ve seen apprentices become Managing Directors.
Engineers discover careers in sales and business development.
People return to education in their forties and build entirely new careers.
None of those journeys were planned from the start, but every one of them found its own direction.
That’s why I think this message matters just as much for leaders, parents and mentors as it does for students.
We often underestimate the influence we have on someone else’s future.
A conversation.
An opportunity.
A bit of encouragement.
The confidence to apply.
Permission to make a mistake.
Believing in someone before they believe in themselves.
One of the reasons I admire the #NoWrongPath campaign is because it encourages people to share the stories behind their careers.
Not the polished version.
The real one.
The detours.
The setbacks.
The unexpected opportunities.
Although the campaign began in Scotland, I think its message belongs everywhere.
So, this month, I’d love you to do one thing.
Not because your career has been perfect.
But because someone else might be standing where you once stood.
Wondering if they’re good enough.
Wondering if they’ve made the wrong decision.
Wondering what comes next.
Your story might be exactly what they need to hear.
I’d genuinely love to read it.
And if you do share it, please tag me, I’d love to hear about the people, opportunities and unexpected moments that shaped your career.
After all, that’s what #NoWrongPath is all about.
Ruth
