Making it Happen

In getting the career I want the best thing I can do is get credible experience and make a name for myself in a positive way. A way to do that is by gaining a work experience placement. Not only would this give me experience and help me learn elements of the career I want to go into but it will also help with getting my name out into the industry. In Careers in Media and Film : The Essential Guide it is written that “one of the most important employability skills you can develop whilst still at university or college is networking . This is because networking allows you to present yourself in a much more personal way than a CV or standard job application form can ever do” (Gregory, p 51). Using Gibbs Reflective Cycle I will be accounting my initial experience in gaining the placement with Lamb Films that I am currently in and will reflect on the aspects of gaining the placement that intimidated me and taught me how I can do better.

https://www.lambfilms.com/

Description

Being given a list of potential placements and their emails really gave me direction into pursuing what I was interested in doing my placement in. I knew before I even got the list that I wanted to pursue a film placement. Being in a  Film and Theatre Making course really gives me many options in both streams which is helpful. But my heart was definitely set on film. So in getting the list, I did some research on the placements that peaked my interest and emailed all of them. In the emails I simply introduced myself, stated my situation as a university student who needed a placement for the next year and asked if there was any spots available for a placement opportunity. I also offered a CV upon request. In the coming weeks a few places responded mainly saying they were not taking any students for placements. This was mostly due to the ongoing Covid 19 pandemic. This made me feel relieved that I got to emailing placements early in the summer instead of waiting until closer to the beginning of the school year. However, I luckily heard back from one of the places I emailed. I was lucky that Larry Cowan from Lamb Films decided to have me come on board after a phone call. And from that summer my placement began.

Feelings

The experience of applying for placement gave me a wide range of different emotions. When first looking at the complete list of potential placements and their contact info, a sense of wonder and excitement came over me as the possibilities of what I could be doing became apparent for me. With this excitement also came nerves. The nerves came from worrying about potentially not getting a placement due to Covid or nobody wanting a student for placement in general. I am fully aware how ridiculous it is to think that way before I even begin to look for a placement but frankly I’ve got a bad reputation for being nervous over silly things. Speaking of silly things, in my email I internally struggled with the necessity of attaching my CV when emailing about gaining a placement. Looking back now I strongly believe it was a no brainer to attach a CV in every email. Why did I not do that? It could have been one of two reasons or both reasons, I was not sure if they would even read it and I also felt my CV did not have enough film related experience in the CV. Looking back now I fully realize how silly that is. Of course I am not going to have a lot of film experience as I am still a film student and in getting this placement the experience will come that I can add to my CV. I should have been more proud of my accomplishments that are currently included in my CV as they show how valuable I am when it comes to working in any variety. This is because “if you don’t believe you are worthy, then you need to question some of the assumptions you are making about yourself” (Gregory, p. 54).

Evaluation

Let us think of the good and the bad in this experience. I was very lucky that I heard back so quickly, I know there were many who were not so lucky and did not even have a placement until the semester was well started. I also got lucky that I was taken without a resume even though I would have gladly sent one in. The experience was good overall in the excitement of the possibility of what I was going to get and what I was going to learn remained prevalent in throughout. In this experience the worry of not giving enough when applying was definitely weighing on my mind. As stated before I really should have attached a CV to my emails. It may not have made a difference as some of the companies were not taking placements to begin with but I believe it could very well have made a difference in how I am seen in the eyes of the employer.

Conclusion

So what could I have done? As I said earlier, doing something different may not have made a difference due to the current state of not just the work world but the world in large. However, doing something different may have at the very least given me some sort of peace of mind in knowing that I did everything I could have possibly done to make sure I was fully seen in what I am capable of. I believe I should have just bitten the bullet so to speak and attached my resume to all  my emails. In almost all cases, too much is better than too little. I also believe I could have called some places instead of emailed. This could be seen as more personal and more tenacious in making  a good impression and getting what I want.

Action Plan

So therefore my action plan in going forward is going the extra mile and attaching a resume to all queries of getting a placement or just work in general. I believe I need to make more of an effort when it comes to more personal growth and career progression. This will not only make me a better worker but a more responsible one as well.

References

Gibbs’ Reflective Cycle (Gibbs 1988, summarized in Jasper 2013)

Gregory G, Healy R, Mazierksa E. Careers in Media and Film : The Essential Guide. New York: Sage Publications; 2008. https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.queens.ezp1.qub.ac.uk/lib/qub/detail.action?docID=420885 (accessed 24 November 2021).