Climbing up the career ladder- how close are you to your dream job?

Everyone knows just how hard it is to break into a career that you really dream of doing. Every day you have more and more people applying to the same jobs, trying to reach the same dream. It's even harder when the industry that you are trying to break into is such a competitive one- such as the media. Unfortunately for me, it has always been my goal to work in the media, and as I get older I realize just how difficult it is going to be to achieve my dreams. However, as I get older I am also being presented with new opportunities and 'ways in'...so it is getting a little easier for me.

On Wednesday the 24th of September, I traveled to London (alone...for the first time!) to participate in two sessions that I hoped would help me on my way to becoming a media superstar. The first session was in the morning- 'A Day In The Life Of Q Magazine's Art Director'. As you can probably guess by the title of the session, I was past excited. Q Magazine is huge. I could hardly believe this opportunity was happening to me! I wasn't exactly sure what an Art Director did though, so I wasn't sure what to expect of the job.

The session turned out to be a very laid back few hours with the Art Director, Dan Knight. He gave us an insight into what he spent his days doing, how he got to where he was and, most importantly of all, gave us all some great tips on how to get to where we wanted to be. For those of you who weren't at the session, I have the same tips right here for you...don't say I don't spoil you!

1. A degree does not matter. Dan could not reiterate this enough. He acknowledged that yes, whilst a degree was good, it pretty much stands for nothing without work experience. You may know everything there is to know about being an Art Director, a photographer, a journalist, but if you haven't put this knowledge into practice before, then your knowledge alone stands for pretty much nothing.                                                                                                                                                  
2. Following on from that point, get as much experience in a relevant field of work as possible. Experience is so important, and is the best way into the media. Not only does it help you to become adaptable to the fast paced environment of the world of media, but it also tells you what you will and won't like. You may think you're going to be a journalist, but then you may do some work experience and actually learn that you hate doing that. Furthermore, all work experience in a certain area of the media e.g. magazines will be transferable to another magazine. The same applies with film, photography, graphic design. There's no way experience will not benefit you.                                                                                                                         
3. Have a portfolio filled with relevant work that you can present to potential employers. If you're lucky enough to get an interview because you have the experience behind you, they will want to see physical evidence that you actually picked something up from the experience you have done.                                                                                                                                                  
4. Don't be afraid to create your 'voice' in order to help you to stand out from the crowd. In such a competitive industry, standing out is key.                                                                                        
5. Keep grounded. Don't ever believe that you are too good to just be making tea whilst on a placement, and don't ever feel you have nothing left to learn- there is always more to learn in such a versatile and ever-changing industry. Have confidence in yourself, but don't get above yourself. 

After such a useful session in the morning, I couldn't wait to get on with my afternoon session, 'Breaking Into Journalism', held by someone who worked in social media for Go Think Big and a multimedia journalist- as I have applied to potentially do a degree in Multimedia Journalism at university next year, I was very interested to hear what would be said...and of course, to share these tips with you!

1. Whilst both of the speakers did indeed have a degree, both felt that their degree hadn't helped them get to where they are today- and if they were 18 in the period we are living in now, they wouldn't pay the extortionate prices for a degree. Again, they were firm believers that experience is key to getting to where you want to be, whilst university served better as gaining a qualification in 'life experience'.                                                                                                            
2. Don't expect to get straight to the top- start low and work your way up. You'll find there's more to do and less competition this way too.                                                                                            
3. Gain skills that will make you stand out from competitors- especially IT skills, and the use of relevant computer programs. Journalists today have to be so versatile within radio, TV, IT and just plain writing, it's good to demonstrate a wide variety of skills.                                                                                                       
4. Take every single opportunity that comes your way, even if you think you will hate it and learn nothing from it. Wrong. You will learn something from every single opportunity you take. And it all adds up as extra experience behind you anyway!                                                                            
5. Be memorable. Go above and beyond, butter people up, do your research on the business before an interview and follow up all job/placement applications.

Both sessions were more than useful for me- I filled my 'media notebook' up with pages and pages of notes, but I have picked out the key tips to help you guys out too! The most important tip of all though, one that was mentioned at both sessions was this: 

Once you're in, you're in. Your name will start to spread around, people will begin to recommend you from day one in that first placement. Don't slag off any placements or employers, because everyone knows everyone- the word will spread as quickly as your name did, and you will be black listed. Once you're in, you're in- don't ruin that opportunity. 

I hope these tips have helped you guys! If you have any more questions or want to know more, please get in touch using the comments below or any of the links in my sidebar! 

Love from, 

Florence Grace