Work Experience | Lecture

After a lecture all about gaining work experience and how to develop and use my skills when approaching placement opportunities I gained helpful information which I can put into practise in the right situations. I need to be looking in the right places when wanting to invest my time in some work experience. Places such as galleries, exibition centres, visual producers (i.e card/ posters), larger institutions or companies. Looking for the experience on a wider base will give me a much more varied skill set when dealing with new people and companies whilst allowing me to learn and perhaps still get my work out there and more accessible. 

Not only was I able to gain insight into place I could look for experience but I found out the kind of jobs I could be doing after as well. For example, an In-House Designer, Advertising, Picture Researcher, Web Designer etc. I will be doing more research into these job titles and see what they could involve and if they are something I may be interested in so I could therefore cater my work experience towards something along the lines of what I've researched.

Being professional when dealing with another established, professional figure was already something I was considering but I was informed of making a better/ memorable first impression which I definitely want to be doing so that I will not be forgotten. I will be taking into account things such as knowing a little about whomever I am contacting to prove I have an interest in what they are doing and that I want to involved in some way. I want to telling them why I would be a useful short term member of their team so this leads me to consider catering my CV in a creative yet professional manner. 

When my work experience is taking place I will now have a log/ diary to write down any useful information, things I am learning, contacts or how I can relate this experience to my own practice. 

Alongside of looking for work experience and trying to put my work out there and more accessible I will now be taking into account that if nobody knows what I want to do then it will be much harder to gain contacts and network. I will therefore be making sure to be more open about discussing my work  and what I may be looking for so that anyone looking at or talking about my work could be a possible contact of a contact. Networking will be an extremely important part of my professional practice as with no contacts there will be no work. An active, positive approach to networking will go in my favour the more I do it.