Month: May 2015

The Media Careers Conference 2015 – what the students thought

Posted on by Careers Service

On the 30th and 31st of March, over 90 students gathered in the Arts Complex for the Media Careers Conference. Over the course of the two day event, various media insiders (including Bristol alumni) came to meet students and deliver talks, providing students with an all-important insight into the world of media. Here two students, a fresher and a final year share their experiences of the event.

Emily Faint, First Year

As a fresher, I initially questioned the value of attending a careers conference. My career plans were hazy, and I certainly wasn’t looking to secure graduate placements given that graduation is still a mercifully distant future for me. By the end of the event, however, I was startled by how much the talks allowed me to clarify my thoughts regarding which career paths did, and didn’t, suit me. Each speaker had a wealth of information and advice to share, which included everything from the obvious suggestion of opening a LinkedIn account to dispelling myths about the perceived glamour of media careers.

Alex Ayling, a Bristol graduate who now works at BBC Worldwide, was a particularly notable speaker. He spoke of the importance of humility and resilience for those seeking a media career. I was startled to learn that companies such as the BBC rarely hire full-time staff, instead opting to recruit employees on a short-term basis depending on current projects. Patrick Ayree, a wildlife filmmaker and presenter, was also a delight to listen to. One of the most encouraging messages I received from Ayree was for young people to remember their value; young people are essential to the media and it is important to guard against feeling undervalued because of your inexperience at the beginning of your career.

For someone on the first rung of what I hope will be an interesting and varied career ladder, I’m certain the guidance I received at the conference will continue to benefit me for years to come.

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Emily hard at work at the conference!

 

Niamh Callaghan, Final Year

As a final year English undergraduate, I came to the conference looking for some careers advice and some tips on how to get into the media industry. On the first day, I went to sessions about digital television, copywriting in advertising, multi-platform production, and radio presentation. The networking sessions with previous graduates were really encouraging and gave some great advice. The careers service discussion about using resources (other than Google) to research careers was also useful, particularly as that is what I am currently doing after Graduation!

On the second day I went to two different workshops, one from Cardiff School of Journalism and another from Immediate Media. The journalism discussion encouraged everyone to find how they personally stand out from the crowd – learning technological skills is, apparently, very advantageous. The magazine publishers from Immediate Media spoke about identifying audiences and product pertinence. I also attended a talk from BBC Talent Management about routes into the BBC.  It was interesting to learn about career-specific skills and I was inspired to start learning some more.

One thing that seemed to come up a lot from every speaker was that, in order to work in the media, you should be creating a portfolio: filming videos, writing scripts, and building blogs. The general consensus was to make things!  The whole conference gave me some great advice for me to really begin my careers search. I left a lot more certain about my future career, with a handful of new connections on LinkedIn to get me started!

 

 

Getting into the field of wildlife conservation

Posted on by Careers Service

Wildlife conservation is a rewarding but competitive sector and gaining work experience and thus developing your skills is really important. Developing your skills and knowledge when you first start your studies makes things more manageable but, if this is not possible, there’s no time like the present! A good source of general information is the agriculture and working with animals sector guide on our website. This will help with your initial research of the sector.

Explore the conservation sector within Bristol and see if there are any charities or organisations you’d be interested in volunteering with – you may find our employer directory useful when searching for local, regional and even national organisations. You can then contact them asking if there are any opportunities available but remember to check on their website first to see if there are any positions already advertised. It is also handy to sign up to any newsletters they may offer in order to keep up to date with potential opportunities and news regarding that organisation.

You may want to look for a regular volunteering role, enabling you to build a relationship with the organisation during your time at university. It’s invaluable to have someone you can ask when you have questions about the sector, and it’s a really good opportunity for networking and showing your enthusiasm. One-off or sporadic volunteering is also still really valuable, so if something sounds interesting, go for it!

In addition, there is a group called Bristol Nature Network who advertise volunteering opportunities and also events such as identification walks. Any type of volunteering or work experience is going to build your skill set and increase the chances of you getting where you want to go so make the most of the opportunities available. It might be worth noting down the volunteering you’re doing as you go, detailing what activities you did and what skills they gave you, so when it comes to writing your CV and filling in application forms, you’re ready!

You might want to attend some events e.g. lectures, work days held by the organisations you’re interested in. These will be attended by like-minded people and professionals within the sector, enabling you to form even more connections. They may also be helpful to you in deciding if you’re interested in a specific area within wildlife conservation, whether that be particular taxa or certain aspects of wildlife conservation e.g. public engagement or research.

The vast majority of conservation volunteering is unpaid so be prepared for this. However, a way of earning money whilst you are gaining experience is applying to the University of Bristol Internship Scheme. A number of organisations advertise posts on the vacancies section of mycareer or a student can approach an SME, including charities, social enterprises and NGOs, asking if they would like to participate in the scheme.

You can also approach lecturers regarding advice and possible work experience. They are a particularly useful resource regarding work experience over the summer, so if you’ve found their area of research interesting, get in touch! The Careers Service is another valuable source of help regarding locating work experience and internships. You may find the information discussed and presented at the Snapshot: Wildlife Conservation helpful.

So, what are your next steps?

Start looking for organisations you’d like to contact regarding possible volunteering or work experience. If you’re unsure, attend some events or workdays, perhaps chatting to people to get an idea of what is involved.

  • Be prepared! Remember that long-term volunteering or work experience is often unpaid. However, don’t forget to check for positions via the University of Bristol Internship Scheme.
  • Use the resources available to you! This may be from numerous avenues e.g. lecturers, the Careers Service.
  • And finally, good luck!

                                                                                        Alice Lawrence, final year Zoology student

Making the most of your summer internship

Posted on by Careers Service

Congratulations on getting a summer internship! Now that you’ve received your offer, you may want to think about how you can get the most out of the experience.

Clarify your expectations

No matter whether it’s a structured or a relatively informal internship, it’s important to be proactive. At the beginning of your internship it’s crucial to set expectations. You may already be clear about your goals and you may even have made a checklist of what you hope to gain from your experience, for example developing certain skills, getting involved in certain types of projects or meeting certain people. However, you should also consider the organisation’s needs, particularly your manager’s needs and priorities. Communicate with your manager to confirm the organisation’s expectations and lay out your and their objectives. In this way you can match your goals to the organisation’s needs and ensure you get an experience that both you and the employer value. Being proactive is particularly important for less formal internships. To get the best experience, consider proposing your own meaningful assignment that would be beneficial for the organisation. Examples include performing market research / consumer surveys, evaluation projects or assessment analysis with recommendations.

Deliver the work to the best of your ability

An intern’s work can vary significantly between different organisations. Work can be as easy as making the coffee to being as complex as developing a new system from scratch. No matter what you’re assigned, take your responsibilities seriously by completing work on time and to a high standard. Also, don’t forget to be punctual and professional as well as being polite and respectful along the way. One great piece of advice that made the rounds in the early years of my career was “come to me with solutions not problems!” This means try to think of answers to your own questions or suggestions about resolving issues before asking your manager. However, as an intern, you will also earn a lot of points for simply showing eagerness to learn and being willing to do what’s needed at the time – you’re not expected to know everything up front! Ultimately, if you’re ever unsure about how to do something, don’t assume. Your manager will almost certainly prefer taking five minutes to answer some thoughtful questions up front to get you on the right track, than for you to guess wrong and spend hours fixing it later.

Another thing you may want to try is to have regular catch-ups with your manager to review and understand your progress, share your concerns and receive advice and feedback. These meetings can help you understand what you are good at and what you need to develop. This may even allow you to shape your own internship by telling your manager what you enjoy and the areas in which you’d like to get more experience.

Finally, given that summer internships can provide you with opportunities to learn new ways of doing things and opportunities to work on different projects, it’s a great idea to step outside of your comfort zone and volunteer for extra assignments when possible. For example, offer to help another department or group that’s of interest to you. It could really open doors for your career and provide useful insight years down the line.

Scrub up that handshake and get networking!

An internship is a great chance to build relationships with people at all levels. So get out from behind your desk and get to know people. You never know what you might learn from different people and how useful these people will be for your career. Spend time getting to know your managers and colleagues in your immediate team, often these will be your strongest and longest-lasting connections. Ask how your colleagues got to their current jobs. Some may have more colourful histories than you expect! This can help you understand the skills you are likely to need to get to a similar place in future and the different paths available. If you’re drawn to certain people or are inspired by them, seek opportunities to work with them and understand what they do.

If possible, get involved with out-of-work activities like social events, charity volunteering days and so forth. This is a great way to get to know your colleagues on a personal level without the hassle of work formalities. And don’t forget to join professional networking sites such as LinkedIn and add your colleagues. Finally, get to know your fellow interns (if you have any!) They are a great resource and will be good people to know for the future, as they will grow and progress with you. By going through a similar situation, you can relate to each other, share ideas and ask those silly questions!

In summary, summer internships are a great way to meet new people, learn new skills, learn about the industry you have chosen and discover what working full time is really like. I hope you have a great experience and create some lasting connections! Good luck!

–Xiujuan Wang