“ONE SMALL STEP FOR A MAN, ONE GIANT LEAP INTO YOUR FUTURE CAREER”

TAKING THAT FIRST STEP….

Before the battles of proving your usefulness in a job, there is one initial fight that is all important to win. I am of course referring to the dreaded first impression.

First impressions have always been source of anxiety for me. The uncertainty of how to interact with a stranger in an unfamiliar environment, the nagging voice from deep within convincing you your new peer dislikes you.

This irrational fear of mine was only amplified when coming to my work placement. Working in the theatre has been a lifelong dream for me, sparked from the very first drama class I attended age 5. When it came to finding a placement, it was strikingly obvious to me that I wanted to take this opportunity to gain experience with a theatre company, and ‘Big Telly Theatre Company’ were kind enough to take me in.

All this being said making a good first impression with my first professional connection in the theatre world was of the upmost importance.

This blog aims to reflect on my experience of trying to make a good first impression on my first day at my placement with Big Telly Theatre Company.

“Reflection is an important human activity in which people recapture their experience, think about it, mull it over and evaluate it. It is this working with experience that is important in learning.”

(p.19, Boud, D., Keogh, R., & Walker, D.)

I will be using Boud’s reflective model in this essay to aid me in learning from my experience on work placement.

PREPARING THE BATTLE PLANS

The night before the big day, I frantically clawed through my wardrobe looking for the perfect professional but artistic outfit, set on making a good first impression even from my visual appearance. I then spent an hour hunched over my laptop, carefully planning out a morning itinerary to ensure I was in top shape for the day.

I showed up fifteen minutes early to the workspace. Big Telly, as unconventional as their productions had set up in a shutdown bra shop. As I nervously waited outside for the producer to show up, I found myself greeting other people from the company. I was firstly mistaken as being the makeup artist, but firmly made sure to make my position as ‘intern’ known.

READY, SET, GO!

Upon finally entering the building more chatter commenced, and I found myself feeling out of place, as everyone else already knew each other, but my prayers were answered when two of my classmates entered the room ready to start their placement journey alongside me. Having a newfound safety blanket with my peers was a huge relief and filled me with confidence, allowing me to start conversing with the rest of the team with ease.

Once the clock struck 10am, our official start of the workday the whole team sat in a circle, and we were all invited to introduce ourselves and our roles with the company. It was a relief to know for certain who everyone was. Once all introduced, we listened to the cast do a read through, afterwards I was asked to share my thoughts on the script which let me know my opinions were valued.

To finish off my first introduction to the team we all got together for a group photo, cementing in my mind that I had been accepted as part of the team.

After a pretty decent first introduction with the team, I felt ready to deal with any task handed to me and prove myself as being a useful asset to the team.

TIME TO REFLECT

Thinking now on that first day that took place over two months ago, I can’t help but reflect on how far I have come from that first initial meeting. My relationships with the staff at Big Telly have certainly developed since my first day, but that is of course a result of me initially putting my best foot forward. Although I was plagued with nerves on my first day, I managed to maintain my cool when interacting with industry professionals and have consistently put my all into the tasks I was given.

Admittedly, it’s certainly difficult not to focus on what I could’ve done differently, perhaps I should’ve presented myself as more outgoing, or been more proactive in initiating conversations with my new colleagues. But I’ve concluded that filling my head with ‘What If’s’ is in the plainest terms, pointless. I cannot change my first impression with Big Telly but can bring my experience from my first day to future opportunities I will have in the professional world.

SO, WHAT NOW?

In future first meetings I will aim not to overthink so much, instead of focusing on my worries of what could happen I will focus on what I hope will happen. This should ultimately lead me to be more confident in my approach, being more proactive in conversations, and engaging with as many people as I can.

My journey of combatting my fears of making a first impression has just begun. Being on placement has shown me my own natural ability to put a strong foot forward when working with a new company and has also made clear to me the areas I need to improve on for my next career opportunity. All in all, I am feeling a lot more positive about making a good first impression and am looking forward to making a great first impression with my first post-Graduate job.

Bibliography

Boud, D., Keogh, R., & Walker, D. (Eds.). (1985). Reflection: Turning Experience into Learning (1st ed.). Routledge. https://doi-org.queens.ezp1.qub.ac.uk/10.4324/9781315059051