When I graduated from university to pursue a career in television the first thing the manager of a well-known production house told me was, “We don’t hire people with media degrees.” Having just spent the best part of £21,000 and now having to sign on to Job Seekers Allowance you can guess I wasn’t feeling too great.

This summer, thousands of young people will graduate hoping to find that dream job, and some actually will, but the vast majority will come up against a landslide of rejection. Here’s five traits you could learn from tree roots to help you get by:

1. Grow Deep – Don’t leave education thinking you’re learning is done. The biggest investment you can do after university is self-investment. Read everything you can get your hands on, here’s a great list to get you started.

2. Bend But Never Break – Initially I wanted to go into television but the truth is I just wanted to film, design, write and be creative and so I found Digital Marketing. Just because you studied Law doesn’t mean you have to be a Lawyer. Look for roles that let you do the things you love and never settle for less.

3. Spread Yourself Wide – You hear it all the time but it’s true, “Your Network is Your Networth!” Constantly go out of your way to meet great people and when you do, bend over backwards to help them because if you ever fall down you’ll have many hands ready to pick you back up.

4. Remember Where You Came From – Things won’t always go your way and the first person you’ll blame is yourself. Don’t. You’ve already come so far and achieved so much, don’t let a small hiccup knock you off course. A seed never chooses not to grow into a tree.

5. Break Through Stone – When you’re doing things with the right intention, nature has a strange way of moving things out or into your path to help out. Like the three roots below, if you’re brave enough to embrace your full potential soon enough you’ll be breaking through stone.

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Photo by Wei-Feng Xue