Author

Macey Hutchins

I share my personal experiences, challenges and growth as a young person finding her place in the working world. From navigating unemployment and building confidence to discovering new skills and opportunities, my articles reflect the lessons I’ve learnt along the way. By sharing my journey with I’M MORE, I hope to encourage other young people to believe in their potential, recognise that everyone’s journey is different and understand that where you start doesn’t have to decide where you’ll finish.

Finding time for yourself after a busy working day has become one of the most important lessons I’ve learned since starting my employment journey. There’s something about coming home after a long day, closing my bedroom door and finally having a moment where nobody needs anything from me. No conversations to keep up with, no questions to answer and no responsibilities that need my immediate attention. Just me, my own space and usually some music playing in the background.

It’s a part of my day that I’ve grown to appreciate more than I ever thought I would.

I’ve always been somebody who enjoys having time to myself. Even before I became employed, I loved spending time in my room, listening to music, enjoying my hobbies and doing things at my own pace. I’ve never needed to have something happening every minute of the day to feel content. Sometimes, having absolutely nothing planned is exactly what I want.

But over the past few months, I’ve started to notice how much more those quiet moments mean to me, especially now that so much of my day is spent surrounded by people, conversations and responsibilities.

It’s not that I dislike being social. I genuinely enjoy working alongside other people and being part of a team. But what I’ve come to understand about myself is that enjoying something doesn’t necessarily mean it won’t take energy out of you.

And sometimes, by the time I get home, I’ve simply run out of words.

When Being Social Takes More Than You Realise

Something I’ve noticed since becoming employed is just how much communication happens throughout an ordinary working day. Before I started working, I don’t think I fully understood how much energy could go towards simply talking, listening and being around other people.

It’s not always about having long conversations, either. Sometimes it’s answering a quick question, listening to somebody explain something, concentrating on what someone is saying or switching your attention between different conversations happening around you. Individually, those moments might not seem like much, but when they happen throughout an entire day, they begin to add up.

There are days when I feel like I’ve spent so much time communicating that by the time I get home, I don’t particularly want to speak anymore. I can become non-verbal, not because something has necessarily happened or because I’m upset, but because I’ve reached the point where I’ve had enough social interaction for one day.

And I’m completely fine with that.

I think sometimes people misunderstand the need for quiet. When somebody comes home and goes straight to their room, it might look like they’re being distant or uninterested in spending time with others. But for me, it’s simply a way of allowing myself to settle after spending so much of my day interacting with people.

I don’t always need another conversation about how my day went. Sometimes I just want to put my music on, get comfortable and enjoy not having to respond to anything for a while.

I’ve also realised there’s a difference between being physically tired and being mentally tired. You can spend most of your day sitting at a desk and still come home feeling completely exhausted. Your body might not have been doing anything particularly demanding, but your mind has been concentrating, processing information and communicating throughout the day.

For me, music has always been one of the things I enjoy turning to when I want time to myself. There’s something comforting about being able to choose what I listen to, sit in my own space and let the rest of the day fade into the background.

I don’t need to make that time productive. Sometimes, listening to music and doing nothing else is enough. Finding time for yourself after a socially demanding day can make those quiet moments feel even more valuable.

I Used to Think There Was All the Time in the World

Before I became employed, I genuinely loved having so much time to myself. I had the freedom to organise my days however I wanted, whether that meant being productive, enjoying my hobbies or simply having a day where I didn’t need to do much at all.

I could work around my own routine without having to think about travelling somewhere, completing tasks within working hours or preparing myself for the following day. If I wanted to spend longer doing something, I could. If I wanted to move something to another day, there usually wasn’t much stopping me.

And I loved that freedom.

I know unemployment is often spoken about as something entirely negative, and I understand why. There are challenges that come with not having a job, particularly when you’re trying to find opportunities and work out what you want to do next. But that doesn’t mean there weren’t parts of that chapter of my life that I genuinely enjoyed.

Having control over my own time was one of them.

Something Bradley often says at work is, “There’s not enough hours in a day.” And before I started working, I probably would’ve disagreed with him. I would’ve thought there was plenty of time in the world to get things done, because that’s what I was used to.

But now, after experiencing days where I’ve had so much to complete and not enough time to get through everything, I finally understand what he means.

There have been days when I’ve planned to finish something, only for other tasks, conversations or unexpected situations to take up the time I’d set aside. Before I know it, the working day is coming to an end, and something I thought I’d easily finish has to wait until another day.

And it isn’t just the working day itself. There’s the time spent getting ready in the morning, travelling into work, travelling home again, eating, showering and preparing for the following day. All those little things take up time, even when you don’t necessarily think about them.

It’s strange how much your perspective can change when your circumstances do. I used to think having time meant having the freedom to do whatever I wanted with it. Now I’m learning that time is something I need to make room for, whether that’s completing my responsibilities, getting enough sleep or spending an evening doing absolutely nothing.

And perhaps that’s why the quiet moments have started meaning so much more to me. I still enjoy the same things I did before becoming employed, but now I appreciate having the opportunity to enjoy them. Finding time for yourself becomes more important when your daily routine is filled with work, responsibilities and commitments.

The Difference Between a Work Night and a Weekend

One thing I’ve become particularly aware of is how differently I spend my evenings depending on whether I’m working the following day.

On a work night, my main priority is allowing myself to de-stress as much as possible. I want to get comfortable, relax my mind and make sure I’m getting enough sleep before waking up and doing everything again.

Sleep has always been something I’ve cared about. Even before I started working, I understood how important it was for me to feel properly rested. But now that I have a routine involving getting ready, travelling and spending the day around other people, I’ve become even more protective of it.

So my work evenings aren’t usually about trying to fit as many activities as possible into the few hours I have left. They’re about making sure I feel comfortable and ready for the following day.

But when the weekend arrives, something changes.

There’s a different feeling that comes with knowing I don’t have to wake up the following morning and immediately start preparing for work. I don’t have to think about getting ready at a certain time or making sure I leave the house early enough to catch my transport.

I can slow everything down.

During the working week, my evenings often feel like a chance to recover. But on the weekend, I can take my time without constantly thinking about the next morning. I can wake up without feeling rushed, spend longer doing something I enjoy or simply have a slower day because that’s what I feel like doing.

And after a week of following schedules and working around other people’s time, being able to follow my own again feels really nice. Finding time for yourself during weekends gives you the freedom to slow down and enjoy activities at your own pace.

Self-Care Saturdays

Something I’ve made part of my routine is what I like to call my Self-Care Saturdays.

It’s a day where I make a conscious effort to look after myself, whether that’s doing my nails, having an everything shower or simply taking a little extra time doing things that make me feel good.

They’re not necessarily big activities, and I don’t need to spend lots of money or organise something special for the day to feel worthwhile.

Sometimes it’s just the little things.

Throughout the week, so much of my time has a purpose attached to it. I get ready because I need to leave for work. I go to sleep because I need enough rest for the following day. I organise things because I need to make sure everything is prepared.

But on a Saturday, I can do something simply because I want to.

Self-care doesn’t have to look the same for everybody. For some people, it might mean going out, meeting friends or spending time doing something exciting. For others, it might mean staying home, having a quiet day and enjoying their own company.

For me, it’s about having the freedom to slow down and give myself a little attention after spending so much of the week focused on everything happening around me.

I’ve also realised that looking after myself doesn’t always mean doing something. Sometimes it means recognising when I don’t have the energy for anything in particular and allowing myself to rest without feeling like I’ve wasted the day.

Because a day doesn’t have to be full of achievements to be a good day. Finding time for yourself through simple self-care activities reminds me that rest and personal happiness matter just as much as productivity.

Mondays Have Become My Little Reset

My working week begins on Tuesday, which means Mondays have become a completely different kind of day for me.

While Saturdays are about slowing down and enjoying myself, Mondays are usually when I start getting things organised for the week ahead.

I’ll put my washing on, clean my room if it needs doing and make sure the little things around me are sorted before I return to work. And one thing I always make time for is preparing my lunches for the working week.

There’s something satisfying about knowing I’ve already taken care of things that would otherwise need my attention later in the week. Preparing my lunches means I don’t have to worry about sorting something out every morning or thinking about what I’m going to eat during my working day.

It’s one less thing to think about.

And I think that’s something I’ve learnt about myself over time. I enjoy having freedom with my time, but I also appreciate having a routine that helps me feel organised.

Those two things might sound like opposites, but for me, they work together.

Having a productive Monday doesn’t mean I’m giving up my last day away from work. It means I’m using part of that day to make the rest of my week a little easier.

I think that’s one of the biggest differences between my routine before employment and the one I have today. Before, I could organise things whenever I felt like doing them. Now, I tend to think a little further ahead because I know there will be days when I won’t have the same amount of time or energy available.

It doesn’t mean my life has become completely planned out or that every minute needs a purpose. It just means I’ve learnt that a little preparation can give me more freedom later.

Keeping the Parts of Myself I Enjoy

Something I didn’t want to happen when I became employed was losing the things I enjoyed doing before I started working.

When your routine changes so significantly, it can sometimes feel like your whole life has to change alongside it. Suddenly, you have different responsibilities, different priorities and less freedom to decide how every day is going to look.

But I don’t think moving into a new chapter of your life means you have to leave everything from the previous one behind.

There were things about my life before employment that made me happy, and I still want those things to have a place in my life now.

I still love having time to myself. I still enjoy listening to music, spending time in my room, taking care of myself and having days where I don’t feel the need to do anything particularly exciting.

Those things haven’t become less important just because I’m working. If anything, they’ve become more important.

I think we sometimes put a lot of emphasis on becoming a different person when our circumstances change. We talk about growing up, becoming more responsible, developing new habits and learning how to manage adult life.

And while those things are important, I don’t think personal growth always has to mean changing everything about yourself.

Sometimes it means learning how to make space for the person you already are within the life you’re building.

For me, that’s meant understanding that I can enjoy being part of a busy workplace while still needing quiet when I get home. I can appreciate having responsibilities while still loving the freedom of an unplanned day. And I can be proud of how much my life has changed while still missing certain parts of the routine I had before.

I don’t think those feelings contradict each other. They’re simply different parts of my experience. Finding time for yourself allows you to maintain the interests, routines and personal experiences that make you feel comfortable and happy.

Finding Time for Yourself: Learning That My Time Matters Too

If there’s one thing these past few months have taught me, it’s that time isn’t something I want to take for granted anymore.

Not because every hour needs to be productive or because I should constantly be thinking about what I could achieve next, but because I’ve started to understand how quickly the days can pass when you have so many different things to fit into them.

I’ve also started to understand that my time doesn’t always need to belong to somebody else.

Sometimes looking after myself means getting an early night. Sometimes it’s spending a Saturday doing my nails and taking my time with an everything shower. Sometimes it’s having a productive Monday so I feel more prepared for the days ahead.

And sometimes it’s simply closing my bedroom door and listening to music without having to say another word.

When I think back to the freedom I had before becoming employed, I don’t look at it as time that was wasted. I look at it as a chapter where I learnt what I enjoyed, how I liked to spend my days and how much having my own routine meant to me.

And now I’m learning how to carry those things into a completely different chapter.

I used to have what felt like all the time in the world. Now I’m learning how to make the most of the time I have.

The quiet after a day full of noise isn’t just about escaping conversations or recovering from a busy day. It’s about returning to a part of my life that belongs entirely to me, where I can slow down, enjoy my own company and remember that I don’t always have to be doing something to make my time worthwhile.

Because after spending so much of the day listening to everything happening around me, sometimes the nicest thing I can do is give myself the chance to enjoy a little quiet.

And I’ve learnt that those moments deserve just as much space in my life as everything else.

“I don’t have all the answers, but I’ve got experiences worth sharing and a story that’s still being written.”
— Macey Hutchins

The Room Is Full. Now I’m Finding My Place in It.

Adjusting to a new team at work has been an exciting but challenging experience, as I’ve learned to balance supporting new colleagues with managing my own responsibilities. Coming towards the end of this month, I’m also coming towards the end of my first month working alongside a full team at I’M MORE. It’s something I’ve wanted for a long time, and after spending months watching the business slowly grow, seeing the room finally filled with people has been an amazing feeling. But what I hadn’t quite prepared myself for was how much adjusting to that change would take out of me.

When I first started working alongside Bradley, things were very different. There were fewer people, fewer conversations happening around me and a routine I’d slowly become comfortable with. I had my own responsibilities, my own way of working and the time to concentrate on what I needed to get done. As the business grew, I became more and more excited about the idea of having a proper team. I wanted coworkers, people to collaborate with, people to share ideas with and people who were beginning their own journeys within I’M MORE.

And now I have exactly that.

Going from a workplace of three people to a team of eight is a massive difference. Suddenly, the room is full of different personalities, different experiences, different ways of working and people who are all trying to find their feet in a new environment. It’s exciting to see, especially knowing how long we’ve been working towards it, but I’ve also learnt that something you’ve wanted for so long can still be difficult to adjust to once you finally have it.

At the beginning, I absolutely loved being able to help everybody. I enjoyed guiding people in the right direction when they were unsure about a task, explaining how certain applications worked and sitting beside somebody for a little longer when they needed that extra bit of support. There was something really rewarding about being able to share the things I’d learnt over the past few months with people who were only just beginning.

When I first joined I’M MORE, I already had some experience using certain applications and software, which helped me become familiar with my responsibilities a little quicker. But not everybody has had that same experience. Some of the new team members had never used those applications before, meaning we needed to start right from the beginning. Others were entering their first paid job or returning to employment after spending a long time away from a workplace.

And I understand that everybody has to start somewhere.

Some people will understand something almost immediately, while others might need a little more time, a few extra explanations or somebody sitting beside them until they feel comfortable enough to do it themselves. That doesn’t make anybody less capable. It simply means we’re all arriving with different experiences, and what might feel straightforward to one person could be completely unfamiliar to somebody else.

But while I was helping other people find their feet, I slowly started losing track of my own.

Adjusting to a New Team at Work: Finding the Right Balance

What began as answering a few questions or helping somebody understand a task gradually became a large part of my working day. I’d stop what I was doing to explain something, sit beside somebody to work through a problem and then return to my own responsibilities, only to realise how much time had passed. I genuinely wanted to help, but the more time and energy I gave to everybody else, the less I seemed to have left for myself.

And that started catching up with me.

I found myself becoming mentally and physically drained. Some days, it felt like I’d used up all my energy before I’d even had the chance to properly concentrate on my own work. I was constantly trying to balance helping other people, completing my responsibilities and adjusting to the changes happening around me. By the end of the working day, I was exhausted, and that exhaustion started following me throughout the week.

For the first time in a while, I began really cherishing my weekends, not because I didn’t enjoy my job anymore, but because I needed that time to switch off. I needed to relax my brain, have some time to myself and do the little things that helped me feel like me again before returning to work the following week.

And I think that’s something people don’t always talk about when it comes to starting work or being part of a growing team. We talk about learning new skills, meeting people, gaining experience and building confidence, but we don’t always talk about how much energy those things can take, especially when you’re still adjusting yourself.

I’m coming up to my fifth month of employment next month, and despite everything I’ve learnt since joining I’M MORE, I’m still figuring things out every single day. There are still tasks I don’t completely understand, situations I haven’t experienced before and moments where I need somebody else to guide me in the right direction. Having a few more months of experience doesn’t suddenly mean I have all the answers.

Yet somewhere along the way, I think I started putting pressure on myself to have them.

Because I’d been there longer than the new team members, I felt like I should be able to help whenever somebody needed me. I wanted to be somebody people could approach, somebody who could explain things clearly and somebody who made their first few weeks a little easier. But I hadn’t really considered how much responsibility I was putting on myself by trying to be available all the time.

It reached a point where even Bradley noticed something was different.

He told me that I’d “lost my smile” and that we needed to get me back to my normal self. Hearing that was strange because I hadn’t necessarily realised how noticeable the change had become. I knew I was tired. I knew I was feeling overwhelmed. But having somebody else recognise that I wasn’t quite myself made me realise just how much the past few weeks had affected me.

I think one of the biggest things I’ve started to realise throughout this first month is that there’s a difference between being willing to help somebody and feeling responsible for helping everybody. When you’re one of the people who has been there the longest, it’s easy to fall into the habit of putting your own work aside because somebody else needs assistance. And while I genuinely enjoy helping people understand something new, I’ve had to recognise that my own responsibilities, time and energy matter just as much.

It’s also made me appreciate how different everybody’s starting point can be. Some people will pick something up within minutes, while others might need it explained a few times before it starts making sense. That doesn’t mean one person is more capable than another. It simply means we’re all bringing different experiences into the same room, and learning to work alongside those differences is something I’m still figuring out myself.

As we come towards the end of our first month together, things are beginning to settle. Everyone is finding their own responsibilities, becoming more familiar with the work they’re doing and gradually building their own routines. Having some of the workload taken off my shoulders has given me the opportunity to focus on the things I need to get done, rather than constantly feeling like I’m trying to catch up.

And I think that’s what I needed more than anything. Not to stop helping people or to distance myself from the team, but to find a balance where I can support others without losing the energy I need for myself.

I still love having a team. I love walking into a room that was once so quiet and seeing people working, talking and slowly finding their own place within I’M MORE. But I’m also learning that the excitement of something new doesn’t mean it won’t come with challenges, and being happy about where we are doesn’t mean I have to pretend every day has been easy.

Maybe that’s what this next chapter is teaching me. When I first joined I’M MORE, I was learning how to find my place within a workplace. Now I’m learning how to keep that place while making room for other people to find theirs.

The room is full now, and I’m genuinely happy about that. But somewhere amongst the conversations, the questions, the responsibilities and the changes, I’ve realised that I need to make sure there’s still enough room for me, too.

“I’m still learning, still growing, and still proving that where you start doesn’t decide where you’ll finish.”

— Macey Hutchins

The Room Doesn’t Feel So Empty Anymore

For months, I had an idea in my head of what I’M MORE could eventually look like. I had heard Bradley talk about building a team, bringing more young people in and creating something that could give people opportunities. I believed in what we were trying to build, but for a long time, the reality looked very different from the picture we kept talking about.

There were empty tables. Empty chairs. A lot of ideas, but not many people there yet to bring them to life.

Now, when I look around the room, it doesn’t feel so empty anymore.

Finding My Voice at Reed in Partnership

A few weeks ago, we went to Reed in Partnership to introduce I’M MORE to a room of around 18 young people aged 18–24, alongside a few employment advisers. Even writing that sentence now makes me realise how different things have become, because this time I wasn’t sitting in that room as somebody looking for an opportunity. I was there representing the company that had given me mine.

I knew before we arrived that at some point Bradley was going to hand things over to me. I knew I wanted to speak, but knowing that didn’t make me any less terrified.

Public speaking has never been my thing. It wasn’t something I enjoyed at school, and it certainly wasn’t something I ever imagined myself willingly doing as an adult. Sitting there waiting for my turn, knowing there were all of those faces in front of me, I was completely on edge.

Then it was my turn.

And I did it.

I spoke about myself, my journey, what I do at I’M MORE and what getting an opportunity had meant for me. Somehow, I even managed to make a few people laugh. Hearing that reaction loosened me up slightly. I was still nervous, but for a moment it stopped feeling like I was standing in front of a room giving a presentation and started feeling more like I was simply telling people my story.

That was enough.

When My Story Made a Difference

After we’d finished, Bradley received a message from somebody who had been sitting in that room. They said they’d listened to my story, related to what I’d been through and wanted to make a change for the better after hearing what I’d said.

I remember reading it and almost not knowing what to do with it.

My words. Mine.

I actually teared up, because ever since I started sharing my experiences, that has been what I wanted. I’ve written personal stories about employment, confidence, opportunities and everything I’ve been learning along the way because I hoped that maybe somebody my age, sitting in a position similar to the one I’d been in, might read or hear something and recognise themselves in it.

But there was always a part of me that wondered whether anybody actually would. Would anybody care? Would anybody relate? Would sharing something personal really make any difference?

That day, somebody did care. Somebody did relate. And even if my story only reached that one person in that room, that would have been enough for me.

But that day wasn’t the end of what changed.

From Being Interviewed to Interviewing Others

After presenting I’M MORE to young people looking for opportunities, we moved into the interview process. Suddenly, I found myself experiencing another moment that felt completely backwards compared with where I’d been not that long ago.

I wasn’t being interviewed. I was interviewing them.

I’ve spent enough time being the person waiting for somebody to decide whether I was good enough. I’ve sat on the other side of those conversations, wondering what an employer thought of me and hoping I’d said the right things. Now I was listening to other young people tell us about themselves, their interests and what they wanted to do.

Being involved in those interviews and eventually helping decide who would become part of the team was something I don’t think I could have imagined when I first started working here. It wasn’t just another task. It made me realise that my position within I’M MORE had changed. I’d gone from being somebody receiving an opportunity to being involved in the process of giving other young people theirs.

Watching the I’M MORE Team Grow

And eventually, we reached a number that has meant something to me from almost the beginning.

When I first started working alongside Bradley, he talked about wanting to build a team of around five or six people. At the beginning, I thought I’d be joining that team.

Instead, for a while, it was just the beginning of something that hadn’t fully taken shape yet. There were plans, ideas and conversations about where I’M MORE could go, but building the actual team took time.

Slowly, things started moving. Interviews happened, plans changed, we learnt as we went along, and the idea Bradley had talked about from the beginning kept getting a little closer.

Now there are seven of us.

It’s difficult to explain how strange that feels after being there when so many of those tables were empty. I can walk into the office now and there’s someone sitting at each one. There are conversations happening around me. There are different personalities, different ideas, different interests and different people finding their own place within what we’re building.

I have coworkers.

I’ve even started to have people there that I can call friends.

Every Occupied Chair Represents an Opportunity

And I think that’s why this stage of I’M MORE feels different to me. My journey isn’t only about finding my own place anymore. I’m now watching other people walk through the door at the beginning of theirs.

I don’t know what their stories will look like, and I don’t want to tell those stories for them. They deserve to experience and tell their own journeys in whatever way they choose. But I do know what it’s like to be new. I know what it’s like to sit at a desk and not completely understand what you’re doing yet. I know what it’s like to lack experience, question yourself, make mistakes and slowly realise you’re becoming more capable than you thought.

Maybe that’s why seeing the room full now means so much to me.

It isn’t simply about having more staff.

Those occupied chairs represent opportunities that weren’t there before. They represent people being given somewhere to start, somewhere to learn and hopefully somewhere to discover things about themselves that they didn’t know when they first walked through the door.

Realising How Far I’ve Come

And somewhere in the middle of all of that, I’ve changed too.

A few months ago, I was the new person. Now I’ve stood in front of a room and told my story. I’ve discovered that my words can actually mean something to somebody else. I’ve sat on the opposite side of an interview. I’ve helped make decisions about who joins us. And now I’m part of welcoming people who are beginning where I once began.

None of this means I suddenly know everything. Far from it. We’re still learning what works, the business is still developing and all seven of us have our own growing to do. In some ways, it feels like we’re only just getting started.

But perhaps that’s what makes this moment worth stopping to appreciate.

The Beginning of Something Bigger

For so long, we talked about what I’M MORE was going to become.

Now I can look around and actually see the beginning of it.

There’s somebody at every table. There are voices where there used to be silence. There are people where there used to be empty chairs. There are new stories beginning around me while I’m still writing my own.

I don’t know exactly what the next chapter will look like for any of us.

I just know I’m really happy that when I walk into work now, the room doesn’t feel so empty anymore.

“I’m still learning, still growing, and still proving that where you start doesn’t decide where you’ll finish.”

— Macey Hutchins

Week One Me Had to Exist Before Week Ten Me Could

Ten weeks doesn’t sound like a particularly long time. It’s two and a half months, a small part of a year. But when I look back at the person who walked through the door during my first week at I’M MORE and compare her to the person I am now, it somehow feels much longer.

Week-one me didn’t walk through the door knowing how to do everything I’m doing now. I had very little actual workplace experience, I was trying to understand what was expected of me, and everything around me was new. New people, new responsibilities, new software, new conversations and an entirely new routine. There were things I’m doing now that I couldn’t have imagined myself comfortably doing then.

The strange thing is, I didn’t really notice the change happening.

There wasn’t one morning where I walked into work and suddenly felt more experienced. There wasn’t a particular day where everything clicked and I thought, I’ve got this now. It happened gradually. One task became something I knew how to do. One conversation became easier. Something that made me nervous the first time became normal by the fifth. Before I knew it, things that once required so much thought had simply become part of my day.

That’s why I’ve started thinking about the difference between week-one Macey and week-ten Macey.

In ten weeks, I’ve learnt how to create and optimise articles, produce social media content and reels, contribute ideas, work on websites, be involved in recruitment and even find myself on the other side of an interview. I’ve sat in conversations about businesses, events, marketing and future plans that I wouldn’t have understood in the same way ten weeks ago. More importantly, I’ve become much more comfortable having my own opinion within those conversations rather than assuming everyone else must know better than me.

But not all of that growth can be written down as a new skill.

Some of the biggest changes have happened within me. I’ve become more comfortable communicating with people. I’ve learnt that I can be trusted with responsibilities and actually deliver what is expected of me. I’ve made mistakes and discovered that making one doesn’t mean I’ve failed. I’ve been pushed outside of my comfort zone, sometimes willingly and sometimes before I’ve even had enough time to overthink it, and I’ve repeatedly discovered that I’m capable of more than I initially give myself credit for.

I’ve also realised how much the environment around you can influence what you start expecting from yourself. When you’re surrounded by people who have ideas, want to create things and actually act on those ideas, some of that drive starts rubbing off on you. That doesn’t mean I’ve suddenly become Bradley or that I want to work exactly like anybody else. I’m still myself and I still have my own way of doing things. But being around people who believe something can be created and then watching them actually create it has made me question some of the limits I’d quietly placed on myself.

A positive workplace can’t magically give somebody confidence or experience overnight. What it can do is give them somewhere to develop those things. It can give someone responsibility before they’re completely confident in themselves, allow them to ask questions without feeling stupid for asking them and recognise what they could become rather than only looking at what they can already do.

Recently, I’ve had the strange experience of watching someone else enter their own week one. Their journey is theirs, so I’m not going to tell their story for them. But seeing somebody else at the beginning made me stop and think about my own.

It reminded me that the person people see working at I’M MORE today isn’t exactly the same person who first walked through that door ten weeks ago. And she shouldn’t be. She has ten weeks of experiences that week-one Macey simply didn’t have yet.

I think that’s particularly important for someone my age who is looking at job descriptions while trying to find their opportunity. It’s very easy to read everything an employer wants and immediately start comparing it against what you can do today. You see something you’ve never done before and think, I don’t know how to do that, so maybe this isn’t for me.

But sometimes we’re judging our week-one ability against the person we could eventually become.

There are things I can do today that I couldn’t do when I started. Not because I was secretly experienced all along, but because somebody gave me somewhere to gain that experience. I had to be allowed to be new. I had to ask questions. I had to get things wrong. I had to learn. Most importantly, I had to show up on that first week without knowing what week ten would look like.

I’m proud of week-ten me. I’m proud of what I’ve learnt, what I’ve created and how much more confident I’ve become. But looking back, I think I should be just as proud of week-one me.

She didn’t have ten weeks of experience behind her. She couldn’t do everything I can do now, and she had absolutely no idea what she’d eventually be capable of.

She just walked through the door and started.

And without her, week-ten me wouldn’t exist.

“I’m still learning, still growing, and still proving that where you start doesn’t decide where you’ll finish.”

— Macey Hutchins

A CV Can Tell You What Someone Has Done, But Not Who They Are

For a long time, I didn’t think a CV meant much at all.

That probably sounds strange considering how much importance is placed on having the “perfect” one. Throughout my time looking for work, I lost count of how many conversations I had with employment advisers and work coaches about updating my CV. Every time another application went unanswered or another interview never came, the first suggestion was almost always the same: “Let’s update your CV.”

So we would.

I’d rewrite sections, change the layout, add new wording, create different versions for different jobs and keep sending them off, hoping this one would somehow be different. But after a while, it became difficult not to question how much difference those changes were really making when I was still hearing nothing back.

Eventually, my perspective shifted. I stopped believing my future was hidden somewhere inside a perfectly worded document. It wasn’t that I thought CVs were useless—they absolutely have a purpose—but after spending so long trying to perfect mine without ever getting the opportunity to show who I actually was, I started wondering whether employers ever got to meet the person behind the paper.

That was before I started working alongside Bradley.

That perspective changed even more during my first experience being part of an interview. It wasn’t what I expected. In fact, I had no idea it was even going to happen.

Bradley and I were on a phone call with an applicant, and completely out of the blue he said, “Alright, I’m going to pass the phone over to Macey to tell you a little more.”

My mind immediately started racing. What do I say? How do I say it? What if I say the wrong thing? I’d gone from quietly listening to suddenly being part of someone’s interview without any warning. Before I had time to overthink it, the phone was in my hand.

As soon as I held it to my ear, the applicant’s first words were, “I didn’t know this was going to happen.”

I couldn’t help but smile.

Neither did I.

In that moment, the nerves I was feeling became a little easier to manage because I realised we were both experiencing something unexpected together. I was still tense, of course, but hearing that immediately reminded me what interviews actually feel like from the other side. It’s easy to forget that everyone involved is human. The person asking the questions can be just as nervous as the person answering them.

That first interview was only the beginning of changing how I viewed recruitment.

Over the following weeks, Bradley would send me the CVs of applicants before we spoke about them together. We’d look over what was written on the page, but our conversations never stayed there for long. Instead, we’d talk about the phone calls he’d had with them, the messages they’d exchanged and, more importantly, the impression each person had left behind.

One conversation has always stayed with me. After speaking to an applicant, Bradley asked them to spend a little time looking through the company websites and then come back with their thoughts. The reply didn’t come half an hour later. It didn’t come that evening. It arrived around three days later saying they were ready to talk.

At first, I didn’t understand why that mattered so much.

Then Bradley explained that he wasn’t testing what they knew about the business. He was looking for something much harder to write on a CV: drive.

Looking back, I realised I’d done the exact opposite. After speaking to Bradley for the first time, I remember sitting at home debating whether I should call him back that day or wait until the following week. My parents encouraged me to pick up the phone, even though I was nervous. So I did.

That one phone call changed my life.

It’s funny how, for so long, I believed employers were looking for the perfect CV. Now I’ve seen the other side, I realise they’re often looking for something much harder to describe on paper.

A CV can tell you what someone has done.

But it can never tell you who they are or what they’re capable of becoming if somebody is willing to give them the opportunity to prove it.

I’m still learning, still growing, and still proving that where you start doesn’t decide where you’ll finish.

— Macey Hutchins

Watching Someone Build More Than a Business

What Working Alongside Bradley Chapman Has Taught Me About Purpose, Leadership and Opportunity

When I first walked into Bradley’s office, I thought I was starting a new job.

I expected to learn new skills, gain experience and hopefully build my confidence along the way. What I didn’t expect was to witness how much work goes into turning an idea into something that can genuinely change people’s lives.

Over the past few weeks, I’ve learned how to write articles, manage website content, understand SEO, use WordPress and create social media content. Those practical skills have been incredibly valuable, but they’ve only been part of the experience.

The biggest lesson has been seeing what happens behind the scenes when someone is building something with purpose.

More Than a Business

Before joining I’M MORE, I assumed businesses simply grew because they had good ideas or offered useful services.

Working alongside Bradley has shown me that reality is very different.

Every project begins with a conversation. Every article, campaign, website update and event is carefully planned long before anyone else sees the finished result. There are countless discussions, revisions and decisions that most people never realise happen.

I’ve watched ideas evolve into plans, plans become projects and projects begin creating opportunities for other people.

Seeing that process has completely changed my understanding of what it takes to build something meaningful.

A Vision That Creates Opportunity

The more I’ve learned about I’M MORE, the more I’ve realised it isn’t simply another organisation.

Its purpose is to help people recognise their potential, build confidence and discover opportunities they may never have believed were possible.

That message feels personal to me because, not long ago, I was searching for an opportunity myself.

After spending eighteen months unemployed, I understood what it felt like to question my future and wonder whether anyone would give me a chance.

Today, I’m helping create content for a platform that exists to encourage others to keep believing in themselves.

Being part of that journey has given my own experience a completely different meaning.

Leadership Behind the Scenes

One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned has come from watching leadership up close.

It’s easy to admire successful projects when everything appears to be going well. What people rarely see are the challenges that happen behind the scenes.

Working alongside Bradley has shown me that building something worthwhile requires resilience as much as creativity. There are obstacles, setbacks and unexpected difficulties, yet the focus always returns to the bigger purpose.

Watching someone remain committed to creating opportunities for others, even during challenging periods, has shown me that leadership isn’t about having an easy journey.

It’s about continuing to move forwards when the journey becomes difficult.

That lesson will stay with me far longer than any technical skill I’ve learned.

Growing Along the Way

When I first arrived, I doubted myself more than I realised.

Every new task felt unfamiliar, and I questioned whether I was capable of doing it well.

Now, I can look back and see genuine progress.

I’ve learned skills I never imagined I’d use. I’ve become more confident speaking up, asking questions and taking on responsibilities that once felt intimidating.

The experience has reminded me that confidence doesn’t appear overnight.

It grows one challenge, one lesson and one opportunity at a time.

Looking Ahead

Looking back, I realise I didn’t just find somewhere to work.

I found an environment that encouraged me to learn, challenged me to grow and helped me see opportunities from an entirely different perspective.

Before joining I’M MORE, I believed opportunities were simply things people waited for.

Today, I understand that someone has to create those opportunities first.

Watching Bradley build I’M MORE has shown me that businesses can certainly grow.

More importantly, it has shown me that people can grow too.

I’m proud to say I’m one of them.

The View Looks Different From This Side: What Working Alongside I’M MORE Has Taught Me About Opportunity

There was a time when I believed finding a job was simply about sending applications and waiting for someone to say yes. That was my reality for a long time. Day after day, I would send application after application, hoping that this one might finally be different. My phone was never far from me because I was constantly waiting for an email inviting me to an interview or even just a message letting me know I’d been unsuccessful.

As frustrating as rejection was, sometimes no response at all was even harder because you were left wondering if anyone had ever seen your application in the first place.

Like so many people searching for work, I believed employers held all the power. If a company advertised a position, I assumed people would naturally apply and that finding the right person was the easy part. I never stopped to think about everything that happens before and after a vacancy is advertised because, from where I was standing, all I could see was my own search for an opportunity.

Working alongside Bradley has completely changed that perspective.

For the first time in my life, I’ve had the opportunity to see what happens behind the scenes. I’ve watched conversations that most job seekers never hear. I’ve seen ideas develop into projects, discussions about funding, planning sessions, and the determination it takes to build something that genuinely helps other people. It opened my eyes to challenges I never even knew existed.

Watching Opportunities Being Created

One of the biggest things I’ve learned since joining I’M MORE is that opportunities don’t simply appear—they have to be created.

Through the Youth Guarantee Scheme, Bradley has been working to build a team of young people who are eager to learn, develop their skills and become part of something meaningful. I know exactly how that feels because I’m one of those people. Only a short time ago, I was the one hoping someone would believe in me. Today, I’m helping to build a platform that exists to encourage other people to believe in themselves.

That shift in perspective has been one of the biggest lessons I’ve learned.

Before joining the team, I never realised how much work goes into creating opportunities in the first place. It’s easy to look at a job advert and think that’s where the journey begins. What I’ve come to understand is that the journey starts long before that—with planning, preparation, investment, conversations and a genuine commitment to helping people succeed.

Seeing Employment from the Other Side

Working alongside Bradley has allowed me to witness something I never expected to see.

I’ve watched him spend hours thinking about how to create more opportunities for young people. I’ve sat in conversations about funding, business development, future projects and ways to grow the team. I’ve seen the amount of planning that goes into trying to create something much bigger than just another business.

I’M MORE isn’t simply about offering employment. It’s about creating an environment where people can rebuild their confidence, learn new skills and discover that they’re capable of far more than they believed.

As someone who spent eighteen months unemployed, I never imagined that one day I’d be sitting on the opposite side of those conversations.

A New Perspective on Opportunity

Watching all of this unfold has changed the way I think about employment altogether.

I used to believe employers only needed people who wanted to work. What I’ve learned is that they also need people who are willing to believe in themselves enough to say yes when an opportunity arrives.

Sometimes the biggest step isn’t getting the job.

Sometimes it’s believing you’re capable of doing it.

Working alongside Bradley has shown me that creating opportunities is never as simple as advertising a vacancy. It takes time, planning, patience and an enormous amount of belief. Most importantly, it takes people who genuinely care about making a difference because they’re the people who inspire others to believe change is possible.

Looking Through Different Eyes

Only a few months ago, I was hoping someone would give me an opportunity.

Today, I’m watching opportunities being built for other people.

That change in perspective is something I’ll never take for granted.

When I look at what Bradley is building through I’M MORE, I don’t just see a website or a project. I see a vision that has the potential to change lives. Every conversation, every article, every social media post and every new idea has one goal in common: helping people realise they’re capable of more than they think they are.

The biggest lesson I’ve learned isn’t simply how a business grows.

It’s understanding that businesses like I’M MORE don’t grow because of websites or marketing alone.

They grow because somebody cared enough to create an opportunity where one didn’t exist before.

Only a few months ago, I was searching for that opportunity.

Today, I’m incredibly proud to be helping create it for someone else.

From Job Seeker to Building I’M MORE: Finding My Place in Something Bigger

A New Chapter

Walking through those office doors for the first time felt like stepping into a completely different world. I was excited, nervous, and honestly didn’t know what to expect. After everything I’d been through over the past couple of years, I knew I was ready for something new. Whether this opportunity was going to change my life or simply become another experience to learn from, I was determined to give it everything I had.

A Journey in a New Direction

The day I travelled to meet Bradley is one I’ll always remember. It was the first time I’d ever taken a bus in that direction. Looking back now, it almost feels like foreshadowing. I wasn’t just travelling somewhere I’d never been before; I was heading towards a completely different chapter of my life.

I remember walking up to the building feeling a mixture of excitement and nerves. The only problem was that I had absolutely no idea how to get inside. I spotted a man nearby and asked if he knew how to get in and he pointed to another man who immediately helped me in.

He smiled and asked,

“Who are you looking for?”

I replied,

“Bradley Chapman.”

He laughed and said,

“Well, I’m Bradley.”

Looking back, I still laugh about that moment. I didn’t even realise I was talking to him. It wasn’t exactly how I imagined introducing myself, but it definitely broke the ice.

As funny as that moment was, it reminded me why I was there. I was ready for something new. After everything I’d experienced, I wanted to move forwards. Whether I got the opportunity or not, I knew I was finally heading in the right direction. Looking back now, I’m incredibly grateful that things worked out the way they did because they led me to where I am today.

Discovering Something Different

As I settled into the role and began working alongside Bradley, I quickly realised this wasn’t like any workplace I’d experienced before.

There was information everywhere. New ideas. New conversations. New software. New ways of thinking.

Bradley often jokes about “information overload” and how your brain can turn to jelly. At first, I completely understood what he meant. Every day seemed to introduce something I’d never heard of before, and at times it felt overwhelming.

Even though it was a lot of information to take in, I knew it was all for a good reason. Every new piece of knowledge was helping me learn something that would make me better, not only in my role but as a person. That was something I really loved about working here. It didn’t feel like a typical office job where every day was the same. Every day felt different, and every day I was learning.

The more time I spent working alongside Bradley, the more I began to understand his personality, his determination, and the vision he has for I’M MORE. I could see how passionate he was about creating something that genuinely helps people who, like me, have struggled to find direction or opportunity.

That was the moment I realised I’M MORE wasn’t just another project. It was something that could genuinely change lives, and I felt incredibly proud to become a small part of building it.

Learning Skills I Never Thought I’d Need

If somebody had asked me a couple of months ago whether I’d be writing blog articles, helping with SEO, researching news stories, or preparing content for publication, I honestly would have laughed.

Computers were never really my strongest point. Before joining Bradley, I already had some experience using ChatGPT, Canva, and Cap Cut, so I wasn’t completely new to those. Everything else, though, Bradley has patiently taught me, guiding me through how things work and explaining why they matter.

I’ll be honest, I still ask him plenty of questions because my brain forgets things quite easily. But every week I notice myself becoming a little more confident than I was the week before, and that’s something I’m really proud of.

Only six weeks ago, I probably couldn’t have told someone what SEO even stood for. Now I’m helping prepare articles ready for publication. When I stop and think about that, I realise just how much I’ve grown.

It’s something I’ve noticed in myself. My family has noticed it too, and Bradley has seen that growth as well. Sometimes we don’t realise how much we’ve changed until we stop and look back.

Looking Back and Looking Forward

When I compare the person, I am today with the person I was just a few weeks ago, or even three months ago, I can honestly see the difference. I see more confidence. I see more motivation. I see someone who has found a drive that was always there but just needed the right opportunity to bring it out.

More importantly, I now understand why I’M MORE matters so much. It’s about helping people who genuinely want to move forward but perhaps don’t yet know how. It’s about showing people that they are capable of more than they think, even when life has convinced them otherwise. I understand that because I was that person.

I spent eighteen months unemployed, desperately wanting to change my situation but not always knowing what the next step looked like. Even though I was applying for jobs and trying to move forwards, I still felt like I wasn’t getting anywhere.

Today, I’m sitting in an office helping build something that I genuinely believe can make a difference to other people’s lives. That feels incredibly powerful. Not because I’ve reached the finish line, but because I’ve finally started moving in the direction I always hoped I would.

My journey is still only just beginning, but for the first time in a long time, I genuinely feel like I’m exactly where I’m meant to be.

Author

Macey Hutchins

Articles By

Macey Hutchins

When Being Social Takes More Than You Realise

I Used to Think There Was All the Time in the World

The Difference Between a Work Night and a Weekend

Self-Care Saturdays

Mondays Have Become My Little Reset

Keeping the Parts of Myself I Enjoy

Finding Time for Yourself: Learning That My Time Matters Too

Adjusting to a New Team at Work: Finding the Right Balance

Finding My Voice at Reed in Partnership

When My Story Made a Difference

From Being Interviewed to Interviewing Others

Watching the I’M MORE Team Grow

Every Occupied Chair Represents an Opportunity

Realising How Far I’ve Come

The Beginning of Something Bigger

I’m still learning, still growing, and still proving that where you start doesn’t decide where you’ll finish.

What Working Alongside Bradley Chapman Has Taught Me About Purpose, Leadership and Opportunity

More Than a Business

A Vision That Creates Opportunity

Leadership Behind the Scenes

Growing Along the Way

Looking Ahead

Watching Opportunities Being Created

Seeing Employment from the Other Side

A New Perspective on Opportunity

Looking Through Different Eyes

A New Chapter

A Journey in a New Direction

Discovering Something Different

Learning Skills I Never Thought I’d Need

Looking Back and Looking Forward

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