Welcome to the third series of the HE Knowledge Hub Podcast
In this second episode we’ll be talking to three industry experts to find out more about and what it takes to get into Media, Marketing and Manufacturing. From applying to study in these fields at HE level, to understanding how your digital footprint can affect your career. This episode is another collaboration with our colleagues at HOPP, and as ever I hope you find it as illuminating and informative as we did making it.
Rich Sutherland – sobananapenguin.com:
Rich is the founder of marketing agency sobananapenguin.com, his conversation with Rach asks some important questions about the impact of social media on your prospective career, and whether your digital footprint as it’s known is representative of you. As Rich starts by pointing out your digital activity, from obvious stuff like perhaps writing a blog to the less obvious like the comments you make, all of this can help to show people what you’re all about, and where your passions lie, but beware if you’re not representing yourself in a good light this will be evident too – and people who want to work with you will look. So try to make your social media channels reflective of who you are, and what you want to be associated with.
Tom Palmer – Ocean City Media:
Tom is co-founder of Ocean City Media (OCM), a production company based in Plymouth. OCM make content and promotional campaigns for all sorts of organisations from big brands to smaller local charities. Tom’s experience as a journalist and film maker is varied, yet he says the fundamentals are the same – it’s all about story telling. So as much as applying to work in the media can be about your technical skills, what Tom says is, it’s also about your ability to tell a story, connect with an audience and work flexibly as part of a team. He looks back on the things he did when he was younger that helped him build the skills that helped him form the crucial ability of being able to connect.
When you’re making a video to accompany an application – it’s just that, not a filmed version of all the information in your application or cv. It needs to be the reason someone will want to read your application or cv – and how do you do that? Well, keep it simple, forget about the details, tell one story, and tell it well, with honesty, what’s your connection to the job/course – it’s all about WHY. Everyone’s why will be different, so when you find your why that will be what makes your application unique. Tom gives a good tip for how to drill down to find the essence of your story – ask someone else what they think of you and find a way to showcase that.
Encouragingly Tom also states that it’s a really exciting time for media, especially working in rural areas, as digital technology means you can work anywhere in the world. And there are a lots of small organisations specialising in different areas of media, often working together – it’s about being part of that network.
Dr Kirsty Clode – Chair of WiME, Professor and Freelance Plant Manager:
Dr Kirsty Clode is the chair of Women into Manufacturing (WiME), she has had a successful and varied career working for BP. Having trained originally as a chemist, Kirsty rose to become an Operations and Safety Manager with over 26 years’ experience managing teams within a major global multi-billion dollar business both in the UK and US. Kirsty talks to Rach at HOP about how she realised it was chemistry that she wanted to study at university.
When asked why – Kirsty says with her qualifications she could join higher up the ladder and go further. She says try to think about how you’re going to get to where you want to go.
In 2016, after retiring from BP Kirsty started Why Me? Kirsty realised that manufacturing as a sector was struggling to attract women into jobs, and with the knowledge that diversity in the workplace brings better ideas and better products she started running events to encourage women and girls into engineering that were based solely for girls.
Kirsty is instrumental in many events designed to encourage women into the engineering and manufacturing industry. Her advice is to be proactive, find the people who might be able to answer questions, and ask questions – don’t be afraid of asking “silly questions” there’s no such thing.
Another of Kirsty’s tips is to know your worth – it’s something that we all struggle with. It inspired the campaign #IAmRemarkable, watch this short video to find out more.
Discover what three things make you remarkable and have the confidence to share that at interview. If you want to get into STEM why not take The My Skills My Life Quiz to discover your personality types and see how your skills match up to STEM careers.
Sound credits – https://www.bensound.com/