PR!

I found the lecture on public relations very interesting, PR is driven by the news agenda and as i’m interested in the news and advertising the talk we were given was very insightful.

The media landscape is changing so rapidly PR would be a fast work environment that poses new chalenges everyday, this type of career interests me and it would be good to get some experience in this area. Especially as the business side of working in public relations did put me off slightly, I would be worried that in this type of job you risk losing your creativity.

Another interesting side of public relations was the power of social networking. It’s amazing that because of internet sites like Facebook and Twitter demographics are becoming less important. We all advertise ourselves so much that we get targeted instantly, we’re doing the advertisers work for them!

“Public realtions is about reputation. What you do, say, and what is said about you.” This quote from the lecture made me think, am I good at building relationship? Can I be objective and creative with clients and do I have thick skin? Just some ideas that may help to decide what I think about PR and whether it’s right for Me.

Freelance.

Was anyone else a little unsettled when we had a lecture on self employment and freelancing? I had honestly never really thought about setting up my own business before, and the thought is daunting to say the least. Where would you start? I thought we were film and media students. I wasn’t expecting it to be my cup of tea.

Surprisingly though, the lecture was interesting and although the disheartening  sound of “there are no jobs”, will resonate in my ears for a while, I guess we have to face up to the facts now that the market is becoming more and more competetive, and the thought of freelancing could turn out to be a serious consideration. Perhaps a little more training in this field first though?

Pearls of wisdom.

Jan was back again this week to help us out with getting started in the world of work. Working in the Media! A very interesting part of the lecture was the advice we were given when it came to making our CV’s better. “Articulate with confidence your knowledge, skills, apptitudes and enthusiasm” – Pearls of wisdom from Jan.

The ‘STAR’ technique we were shown was also very useful when writing a CV, or preparing for an interview.

• S- situation
• T- tasks
• A- action you took
• R- results

We also discussed useful tips on how to create a good portfolio, should you need one. A hard copy of A2 or A3 size should contain twelve to fifiteen images of your best work from the past two to three years.

In the seminar we looked at writing our CV’s in more detail, it’s amazing how many different CV templates people have, but essential that you have a good foundation to express attributes and achievements to a potential employer. Working in a group in the seminar was also useful as we could use eacother to recognise our own, and others skills, which can sometimes be a difficult task on your own.