Week 11

This week I continued working on the Current Issues in Media and Communications module as the presentation is this week, I feel quite positive about it as we have done a lot of preparation.

Next week is the last week of term and I am aiming to have much of the work that is due in January completed before I go home. The tasks for the next week will be finishing off the different assignments and conducting as many focus groups as possible for my dissertation, so I January I can concentrate as much time as possible to the editing and finishing of the documentary for Advanced Digital Media Production.

This week in LPD I have been concentrating on engaging with employers and agencies. I sent my CV to the BBC Jobs North employment site and was asked to complete a two-hour assessment. Within the assessment, I was asked to watch a series of videos and describe what I would do next in each given scenario. The next section was more of a challenge, I was given a series of logic puzzles and had to choose what should come next, the puzzles started off ok, but got gradually harder, I found the last few very difficult. I assessment finished with choosing statements which best described me. Overall, I think it went ok, so I am just waiting to hear back now – fingers crossed!

Week 10

This week, along with the other group members, I have being concentrating on the Current Issues in Media Communications module and the research project we are doing in partnership with The BBC.

We have gathered all the research for our project, Older Adults and Internet Use, and are now focussing on putting together the presentation. My task for the week is to relate our findings to The BBC paper regarding audience goals and drives. This model looks at the psychological factors that shape our human behaviour, and therefore our media interests.

These factors are:

Cognitive Goals:

-       Relax

-       Stimulate

-       Challenge

-       Inform

-       Discover

Emotional Drives:

-       Stability

-       Isolation / Company

-       Aesthetism / Pleasure

-       Self Realisation and Identity

-       Contextualising the Individual

-       Socialisation

-       Self Expression and Self Actualisation

For LPD this week, we have been asked to work in groups to carryout a mock interview, which will be filmed so we can analyse our responses to set interview questions.

The job role I have based my interview upon is Media Relations Officer. I have been preparing for the interview task by researching the role and the responsibilities of someone who works in this position, my research has helped me answer some basic interview style questions, for example:

Why did you apply for this post?
I applied for this post because I feel that this company has a lot to offer a new graduate, I am aware of the trainee development scheme you have in place, and it sounds very exciting, I would love to be a part of it and would welcome the challenges with enthusiasm. I think this company would be an ideal place to begin my career, develop my skills and work my way up the chain within media relations. Of what I have read on the company website, the working relationship between management and employees encourages career development within this organisation and is an exciting team-orientated environment, one that, I believe I could thrive in.  

 If you get this post where do you see yourself in your career in three years time?

I would first of all look forward to developing my skills at entry level and gaining a strong insight into the working environment, in the next one to two years, through hard work and the achievement of strong job ability, I would like to be promoted to an Account Executive with the vision of reaching management level post in the future.

Week 9

This week I have been doing some more filming for my Advanced Digital Media Production module. I interviewed the neighbourhood manager for Salford Quays from Salford City Council. He was very helpful, the interview went very well and I was pleased with his responses. He also took me around the local area to film some of the landmarks he had been discussing. It was interesting that on film he was describing the area has a newly developed place that does not deserve the stigma it has, but still wouldn’t recommend I walk round the estate on my own! I am happy with the progress of the documentary so far; I have also written the narrative scripts and will be recording the voiceovers later this week.  

For LPD this week, I have been looking at different interview styles and evaluating which style I think would most suit me. The different styles are:

·         Telephone interviews

·         One-to-one interviews

·         Panel interviews

·         Case study interviews

·         Creative or problem based interviews

·         Assessment centre interviews

I believe the interview style most suited to me would be the one-to-one interview. It is the situation in which I would feel more comfortable in, as speaking in front of several people usually makes me feel quite nervous and a bit tongue tied. I think I would come across well in a one-to-one interview as I would feel more confident, which would be evident in my body language and articulation.

Week 8

This week I got the feedback for my dissertation proposal and had a meeting with my supervisor. My grade was 75%, which I am very pleased with.

We also went through my literature and statistic review and discussed my next step. This week, I need to concentrate on narrowing down my research idea; I think I will concentrate on the younger generation and their increased use of online video, or young people’s objections to paying the license fee. Once I have written the rationale for changing my initial objectives I will start to write my focus group scripts.

As part of the LPD module, this week I have been concentrating on looking into future jobs. I have emailed my CV to some on the people I met at the ProDev day and been looking through graduate job sites for trainee schemes, but it is quite overwhelming and the application forms are very long! So I have concentrated on researching different graduate schemes and requesting information packs from various organisations. I plan to put aside a few days to work through the application forms, but first I am going to book an appointment with the MMU career services to get some guidance before completing the forms.

Week 7

This week I have been concentrating on the pre-production stage of the Advanced Digital Media Production module. The lecturer has signed off my narrative proposal, and I have been working on the storyboards, script and interview questions.

I have initially met with a local historian who has helped me with the narrative and script, he also took me on a walking tour of the area, which gave me the opportunity to do start some location filming and shots of landmarks. The weather was not ideal for filming outdoors on the day, but he has agreed to come into the university on Monday to do a sit down interview, in which he will be discussing the history throughout the industrial revolution and describe the poor housing and overcrowding issues.

Other interview will be taking place in the next two weeks and hopefully the weather will be nice enough for a least one day on outdoor shots!

For LPD this week, I have been working on the content of my CV. I have gathered information on my education, qualifications and work experience and have also been thinking about my personal skills and attributes that I want to include.

I find writing CV’s quite difficult, so I am hoping that the session next week on CV writing skills will be helpful for me.

I also attended the ProDev career event this week, which I find out about in the generating ideas session we did in LPD a few weeks ago. There were many people there, but I did speak to some very helpful people and got some information on a range of career paths and course available.

Week 6

This week was a learning/consolidation week for my department so no formal lectures took place. I used the week instead to make a start on an assignment for Media Law. The assignment is about Intellectual Property Rights, I am to write a report outlining the recommendations of certain rights for a newly set up software company.

I started first with some research using the key texts for the module and made a start on my recommendations for copyright, as we have already had lectures on that particular right. I also wrote a section on employee and employer rights. I will add to the report following the lectures each week with regards to patents, trade marks, design rights and confidence.  The assignment is due in January, but I aim to have it completed before the Christmas break.

In LPD this week, I concentrated on goal setting and action planning, to begin this exercise I was asked to detail a SMART goal, which is a personal aim that follows certain criteria: specific, measurable, accurate, realistic and time-measured.

I outlined my SMART goal as:

·         To graduate with a first class degree in July 2011 and begin a graduate trainee programming in Business and Communications by September 2011.

My action plan to achieve this goal is outlined below:

September 2010	Begin third year. Draw up work timetable
November 2010	Investigate graduate trainee process; collect information, prospectuses; research – apply for appropriate programme
December-March	Deadlines for assignments, aim to receive 70%+
January-March	Interviews for graduate programmes
May	Sit exams, aim to receive 70%+
July	Graduate with first class honours
July	Be selected for graduate scheme, accept place
August	Move into new flat in location of graduate programme
September 2011	Start graduate trainee programme

Next week I will be concentrating on my CV and covering letters, and learning more about the job application process.

Week 5

This week I started the assignment for the module Advanced Digital Media and Communications. The assignment is to make a twenty-minute film or documentary. I have chosen to do a documentary on the local area of Salford. The city has recently undergone vast regeneration in areas such as Salford Quays and is the site of the MediaCityUK development; it is currently an exciting place to live. My documentary will highlight the excitement of the area but will take a comparison look at some other places in the city, which are in much need of regeneration also.  The aim of the film is to compare ‘Old Salford’ with ‘New Salford’.

I have been in contact with a local historian of the area who has agreed to do an interview for the film and a representative of Salford City Council, these interviews will take place next week.

In LPD this week I have been concentrating on occupation research, I choose to use my idea of Public Relations Office for the research, but through this exercise, I think I may have ruled this option out! It seems to include many administration duties, which do not appeal to me. It also appears that the job entails very long working hours surrounding making many phone calls to various press offices. I am happy for the insight though, as I previously imagined it to be quite a glamorous career!

The decision making task, mentioned last week has also been completed, this has resulted in me looking more closely to a career in marketing and communications, which is one of the departments that the BBC is moving the MediaCityUK in Salford.