The Life Of An Intern | Networking

So I started my first ever Intern just a couple of weeks ago at Creative Academies, a non profit organisation in the West Midlands. In a hope to gain some experience within my chosen field of work, this being marketing and PR, I was finally given the chance to learn some more about the industry. As mentioned in some of my previous blog posts even getting an Intern these days can prove to be quite difficult, so as you can imagine I was very grateful when director Jerrel Jackson decided to take me on along with three others Interns. Even though originally I wanted to gain some experience in the fashion and beauty PR sector, I think just Interning generally is good as it enables you to not only pick up some valuable skills, it also provides you with the chance to network and build a list of contacts within the industry.

The Creative Curriculum

Also the fashion and beauty PR sector is mainly based in London and without somewhere to stay this can prove to be quite pricey when travelling back and forth. My plan of action now is to gain as much experience whilst living at home and then move to London once I have secured a paid job. So what do I do as a marketing Intern you may be wondering. Well my role is mainly to update social media platforms and check for user activity when increasing sales within the business. The organisation as noted is non profit so it is all about giving back to the community and works closely with the local community and children using creativity to inspire learning. In fact my director on Friday won an award for Young Educator of the year as part of Inspire Birmingham. This is not only an outstanding achievement, it will also hopefully bring in more funding which will result in more business. At the moment the company is quite small and unrecognised so getting the message out there about the company is vital and this is where I come in...

The Company's Goals

I have a keen interest in social media and this is an industry that seems to be growing by the second. I can't wait to get involved with some of the upcoming projects at Creative Academies and I am sure there will be a lot to learn along the way too. The one thing I really love about this company is that Jerrel the director really allows me to have a voice which is unusual for an Intern as you will find in most companies you have to take a back seat. I am able to have a real impact on this company's growth and this is experience money cannot buy.

If you are reading this and think this sounds like something you want to be a part of, get emailing companies and do not take no for an answer. Working for free isn't all that bad and a lot of the time there may be a full time paid role waiting at the end of your placement. Make an impact and take home the rewards.

Happy Interning! 

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How To Land Yourself A Grad Job | Life After University

Because I don’t feel any university degree fully prepares you for life after university, I am here to let you on to a few tips and tricks. Whether you are just starting out- an eager fresher, coming to the end of your degree or taking a well deserved gap year, this article will give you more of an insight into what life is really like after completing your three (or more) years at university. 

Firstly, don’t think it is going to be plain sailing after leaving university. I sat through hundreds of graduate applications before I even got any sort of response. Remember that competition is tough and thousands of graduates will be applying for just one position. It is down to the recruiter to find the very best graduates, so make your application stand out! Graduate applications are VERY time consuming so remember to put some time aside to really focus on writing a personalised response which leads me on to my next tip- don’t simply copy and paste information from one graduate application to the next. Recruiters want to know that you have genuine interest in their company and that you will be an asset to their team.

After filling out an application form you will then be asked to complete some online tests providing you meet the criteria. Tests you scream?! Yes, unfortunately even if you’re going for one of the more creative grad jobs like me, you are still expected to complete a numerical test the majority of the time along with a verbal reasoning test. Now for those of you who hate maths like I do this is just a no go! I chose English at university for a reason… It gets worse though, there is a time limit you have to complete these tests in. So now you’re probably thinking do I even bother? There’s no denying that these tests aren't easy and even more infuriating is the fact that you probably won’t be using half the calculations in the job itself. That’s what programmes such as excel are designed for right?

If you pass this stage you are guaranteed an interview of some shape or form. Easier said than done though! I was invited to a couple of graduate interviews which obviously demonstrated my academic ability to succeed but what about me as a person? This is where you really need to step it up a notch or two.

I don’t think anyone enjoys the interview process. Sitting in a enclosed space facing a board of two or three intimidating looking directors is not going to be anyone's idea of fun really is it ? One thing I would say from personal experience over these past few months is that the more interviews you attend, the better you will be become at them. Practice makes perfect right. Just don’t give up even if you're knocked back a few times. It’s easy to just settle for a job stocking shelves at Morrisons but none of us went to university to stock shelves that's for sure... 

So the interview was a success and you have landed yourself a graduate job. Oh wait maybe not as now an assessment day is in order so you’re told. Things to expect: team building, role play and the chance to scare off the competition. I told you this was a time consuming process! That aside, assessment days can be quite fun, but remember you’re being assessed at every stage so act fast- this is not the time to be going home empty handed! All this done, you will be notified as to whether you have been successful I am presuming within a couple of days. However don't be surprised if you don't receive personal feedback as a lot of the time you do have to ask for this. 

I don' think anything really prepares you for life after university. Intern, network and put yourself out there. Gone are the days of the paper C.V- today you need to use your initiative more than ever. In fact my latest application for a graduate job in London saw me posting a short Instagram video and using a single tweet both to describe myself. Even though this was for a social media job, sometimes allowing your personality to shine through on paper is more difficult than it seems.

In my next post I will be talking about two Interns I am currently doing at the moment and again hopefully help you to understand that there are many different routes after university which you can take. Don't just think that you have to apply for these long winded graduate schemes for corporate organisations. Find the SME's and make it personal!

Catch you soon!

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Insomnia | Counting Sheep

In a hope to find a niche so to speak for my blog, I want to get talking more about health related issues as this is something which I am really passionate about; health, fitness and well-being. I thought this would also be a great opportunity to get some further insight into other's opinions by seeing what you wonderful bloggers have to say on some of the issues I will be tackling. In this particular post I will be talking about insomnia, something I suffered with at university for quite a while during my final year. The cause? Who knows. I know this is an illness that can persist for months or it can occur in frequent bursts like it often did for me. It's not pleasant and it can totally mess with both your mind and your body.

After countless nights of trying to count sheep, taking deep breaths and finally coming to terms with the fact that I would not be sleeping that night, I decided it was time to get down to my local pharmacy. At first I was afraid to go to my doctors with such an issue. I would be laughed at I thought, but I have realised since having this illness that a lot of us take for granted how important sleep is and this is a matter we do need to be addressing more.

I was often left feeling lethargic after a sleepless night due to my insomnia which led me to napping in the day. Yes, I know I was a student so napping was technically allowed, however I wouldn't just nap for 10 minutes, this would turn into a few hours sleep which let’s face it is only really okay when you are either sick or hungover! Napping for this amount of time would only make me feel worse and saw me repeating the no sleeping cycle all over again that same night. Along with this my work at university would also take a beating. I was unable to concentrate in lectures and produce the quality of work I usually would. I put it down to stress now but at the time I would have done literally anything to just drop off to sleep like any other normal human being. The thing with insomnia is that you do feel tired and ready for bed but your mind decides to stay awake whereas your body is ready to relax. It’s such a bizarre feeling and I have had times where I have had sleep paralysis because of this. If you were wondering, this is where your mind wakes up but your body doesn't. Weird I know!

So what kind of treatments are available? Well as I said I tried everything in my path to start with (yes I did even try counting sheep). It was then that I decided I would need some sort of medical treatment and opted for calms herbal capsules which unsurprisingly failed to work. When I finally got round to visiting my doctor they were reluctant to give me any sleeping tablets as I hadn't been properly diagnosed as such, and at my age it was rare to be prescribing such medication. So back to Boots it was, this time opting for a stronger form of medication available over the pharmacy counter. 

Nytol was the solution to all me problems it seemed. Just one capsule a night an hour before sleep and I was guaranteed a good night’s sleep. However, a word of warning for anyone who buys these tablets, make sure you are very careful as I found myself starting to rely on these tablets. It was essential during my exam period that I was getting enough sleep but after this hectic period was over I found myself worrying about getting to sleep without the use of these tablets. Remember insomnia is not a lifelong illness and the excessive use of such medication is not recommended.  

Ways to avoid insomnia? Well I happen to think about everything and anything whilst lying in bed at night and this is when the stress builds up. What if my alarm doesn’t go off? What if I am late for work? I think writing a list does help but during this time whilst writing my dissertation and preparing for my exams it seemed as if no list was big enough to comply with my extremely busy schedule. It is also recommended that you avoid caffeine and eating late (generally after 8pm) as this could provide with you that extra energy that your body simply doesn't need. I am a tea addict so this was never going to go down too well for me. I now drink camomile tea which has no caffeine in and is said to aid sleep. I think this is a great way of winding down along with my lavender candle which infuses my room with wonderful soothing scents. Another classic is of course reading a book or relaxing in a hot bath...

I hope this article has helped to inspire any of you out there who have suffered or are suffering with this illness. I would love to hear what you think about some of the ideas addressed in this article and remember if you do need any further information please don’t be afraid to ask. Until next time...

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