Consequence of my Own Actions

Finding Placement

It seems like just yesterday I was first applying to Queens to study Broadcast Production and now here I am three years later starting to decide what I am going to do with the rest of my life – what a scary thought! Before we went our separate ways at the end of semester two, we had to decide between a dissertation or work placement. I knew straight away I was all for work placement, I could not pass on the opportunity to bring my newfound skills and knowledge to the real work environment, “Knight and Yorke (2004) believe that work placements, even if only for a short period of time, make a positive contribution to an individual student’s skill and sub- sequent employability” (Brooks et al. 1546). This would be my first experience of working in a broadcasting environment, so I knew I had a busy summer ahead of me trying to hunt down the perfect place to get a taste of what my future may have in store.

For reflecting on my workplace experience I will be using Gibb’s model (see Fig. 3), “It offers a framework for examining experiences, and given its cyclic nature lends itself particularly well to repeated experiences, allowing you to learn and plan from things that either went well or didn’t go well”. The model covers six stages: description, feelings, evaluation, analysis, conclusion, and action plan. 

Description

As expected, summer came and went in a flash and third year was looming, which meant it was time to start hunting for work placement. I spent all of August searching for somewhere to work and had no luck. I got the contact number for Brendan Mallon, head of product and services at BBC NI, and I could not have been put in better Brendan gave me amazing advice on the industry and guided me through the application and interview process. 

I took everything Brendan taught me and put it into my application process. I applied to work at many companies but quickly ran out of time. My last resort was the SARC media team, and I was successful in my application. The role was to record weekly music recitals and stream them for the public. It was perfect as I live right next to Queens, I have a huge interest in recording (especially live programming), and it meant I could enjoy the music Queen’s had to offer – it was too good to be true? And that was exactly what happened. 

The concerts take place every Thursday at lunch time which clashed with my Media and Time lecture which resulted in our work placement co-ordinator John D’arcy having to figure what myself and two of the other girls were going to do for a full semester. Resulting in us having to create posts for QUB Screens Instagram and TikTok.

Feeling

This all left me feeling quite anxious as I had applied to be on the video team as it was something I had two years of experience of doing and I knew I was going into a familiar setting and now it felt like I was back to square one again and trying to figure out what to do. However, John reassured us that we would be gaining just as much experience as the others whilst also been given the opportunity to learn new skills such as creating social media posts and having to be aware of what people want to see on social media. After a few weeks of test runs, I feel in love with making TikTok’s and running the social media, I felt like I was acquiring new skills whilst also having fun, which has really made the whole experience enjoyable. 

Evaluation

Although I have enjoyed my work experience over the past three months, I cannot help wishing that I could experience the weekly concerts and to be able to lend a hand to the video team. As my work placement involves making posts for the different social media accounts, I do spend my free time making content, whereas the others get to come in once every two weeks to record the showcases and they leave their work behind them at Queen’s. However, every cloud has a silver lining as the best part of my work experience has been learning from my peers, the two girls I have been working with have taught me so much, “Becoming skilled at doing more with others may be the single most important thing you can do to ensure that you remain employed in the emerging knowledge economy”, (Avery, 2001), during our sessions that occur each Tuesday, we show off the media content we have made during the week and show each other how we made it, thus allowing us to showcase the different tips and tricks we may have.

Analysis

This whole experience has taught me that I am by myself out there in the big bad world and the only person I can rely on is me. It was up to me and me only to find work placement, I could not rely on my teachers, parents, or peers to help me. I have little confidence in myself, which resulted in me feeling like I am incapable of working in big firms like the BBC, which is not the case, as I have done well in my last two years at university, and everything I have produced for the social media team has been top quality. 

Conclusion

In conclusion, what I haven taken from this experience is that I need to be prepared earlier for my deadlines. I tend to leave things to the last minute, which results in unnecessary stress and not getting the outcome I want, “Even though procrastination results in more stress in the long term, people may delay action with the idea that they will feel better in the short term”, in this case, the work experience I wanted to get. 

Action Plan

In future, I will make sure to get my name out there and be more confident in myself. My time working on the media team has shown me that I am talented and have a lot to offer. So, when I graduate from Queen’s I will leave with this mindset and apply it to my future workplaces.

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References 

Brooks, Ruth, and Paul L. Youngson. “Undergraduate work placements: an analysis of the effects on career progression.” Studies in Higher Education 41.9 (2016): 1563-1578.

Avery, Christopher M., Meri A. Walker, and Erin O. Murphy. Teamwork is an individual skill: Getting your work done when sharing responsibility. Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2001.

‘Gibbs’ Reflective Cycle’ https://www.ed.ac.uk/reflection/reflectors-toolkit/reflecting-on-experience/gibbs-reflective-cycle (Accessed: November 20, 2022)

Why you put things off until the last minute (2022) The Real Reason You’re Procrastinating | McLean Hospital. Available at: https://www.mcleanhospital.org/essential/procrastination  (Accessed: November 24, 2022).