Conquering Challenges: Navigating A Difficult Event at Work Placement

As I made my way into the city centre, excited for another day of placement at Start Together studios, I was thinking about what a fantastic learning experience it all had been. My confidence in my abilities had grown vastly since starting the placement and I felt that I was on the right track to becoming a successful sound engineer in the near future.

To reflect on the challenges I faced during my work placement, I will make use of the Gibbs Reflective Cycle. Discussing the challenging event, my feelings towards it, my analysis of the event, and my action plan for the future.       

Description & Feelings

I arrived at Start Together Studios 15 minutes early and proceeded to make my way up to the control room. Upon entering, I was surprised to see no sign of my boss, Rocky. I found this a bit strange but didn’t think much of it, assuming that he was running a bit late. I set my bag down and began marvelling at the room around me, wondering what amazing new music we would be recording today. My heart sank when I noticed a positive COVID test lying on the table. I hoped that it was an old test from months ago, but my hopes were soon dashed when Rocky appeared from the stairwell covering his mouth and appearing frantic. He confirmed that he had tested positive for COVID-19 and asked me to meet him outside to safely discuss what was going to happen next. As I made my way outside, I was convinced that the session was going to be cancelled and that I would have to head back home. However, Rocky had a different idea.

He explained to me that the session had already been paid for and that the clients were working towards a strict deadline, therefore the session had to go ahead. Rocky then said three words that turned my stomach upside-down “You’re in charge”. Suddenly my entire mood shifted, and I became overwhelmed with fear and anxiety. I began doubting myself and my abilities, wishing that I had stayed at home instead. I tried to pull myself together as Rocky ran through the details of the session and how to get the studio set up for the clients, but I found it difficult to concentrate as my mind was racing. After what seemed like an eternity, Rocky’s taxi pulled up. He wished me good luck and off he went, leaving me as head engineer of Start Together Studios for the day.

I made my way back upstairs, desperately trying to remember Rocky’s words of wisdom as I began setting up for the session. After about 30 minutes of asking myself “Is this what he said? Was it this microphone or the other one?” the session was ready. The clients arrived shortly after, and I welcomed them into the studio – making sure to do my best Rocky impression. They were from BBC Ulster and were recording music for an upcoming documentary (as if I needed any more pressure). However, as the session went on, my nerves and anxiety began to fade, and I began to enjoy myself. Being forced massively out of my comfort zone and ensuring the session ran smoothly had brought out the best in my abilities and made me feel that I was definitely on the right track to one day becoming a successful sound engineer.

Evaluation & Analysis

Before I knew it the session was completed, and it was time for me to start packing down the equipment. At the time I was unsure of how it had gone; Did I remember everything Rocky had told me? Did I represent the studio well? Did I even remember to hit record? But later that evening I received a text from Rocky thanking me for doing a brilliant job and praising me for performing well while out of my comfort zone. This made me feel immensely proud of myself and re-established the thoughts I’d had that morning as I was making my way into work.

Reflecting back on this challenging experience, I initially felt that I had dealt with the situation well, however, there were some actions I could have taken to help control my anxiety and nerves during the session. For example, [I could have drawn from the mindfulness exercises that I utilised during my simulated interview preparation from an article in The Greater Good in Action Science Magazine[1] that helped to reduce my levels of stress and anxiety. The article gives detailed guidance on mindful breathing and would have taken me five minutes to complete. This is something that I could have done in the studio before the clients arrived to help ground and relax myself. When Rocky was instructing me on how to set up the session, I hesitated from asking him any questions as I had already received a mass of information to remember. A study conducted at Washington University found that ‘asking questions works because it makes you an active learner instead of a passive recipient of information[2]’. Looking back, I believe that asking questions would have helped me to remember the key information, thus reducing my nerves and making me feel more confident about the task.

 

Conclusion & Action Plan

Overall, I feel that this experience has massively helped to develop my skills and abilities as well as my self-confidence. Being thrown in at the deep end and proving to myself that I am capable of dealing with highly stressful situations is a definite positive. Although I reacted negatively in the beginning, I feel this experience has equipped me with the necessary tools to implement when situations like this arise again, such as being prepared to ask questions and believing I can produce successful work under pressure. Gaining this experience and pushing myself out of my comfort zone is extremely important to my personal development, strengthening my abilities and allowing me to have less reservations about doing so in the future.

References

Greater Good in Action, Mindful Breathing, Available at: https://ggia.berkeley.edu/practice/mindful_breathing [accessed 02/04/23]

Rasmussen, Louise, (2021), Asking Questions Improves Your Learning if You Ask the Right Questions, Available at: https://www.globalcognition.org/questioning-improves-your-learning/ [accessed 02/04/23]

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[1] Greater Good in Action, Mindful Breathing, Available at: https://ggia.berkeley.edu/practice/mindful_breathing [accessed 02/04/23]

[2] Rasmussen, Louise, (2021), Asking Questions Improves Your Learning if You Ask the Right Questions, Available at: https://www.globalcognition.org/questioning-improves-your-learning/ [accessed 02/04/23]