I am now in the process of improving and updating my linked in profile. This means adding a profile picture , choosing 5 skills that I have and also writing a brief summary about myself.
I know that I need to get some work experience in a position that I want to be in. Linked in is a really good way of doing this because you can connect with people who you study with , who you have worked with previously and who you know personally as well.
With all the research and planning I have already completed into my chosen career in the media which is digital marketing , specifically for a fashion brand. I will now create personal promotional material that would be used in interviews or at pitches for jobs.
The first step for me was creating a linked in profile. This gives me the opportunity to connect with people in the same industry , for example free lancers. Here is the direct link to my profile.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ebony-powell-238931176/
If I want to have a successful career , maintaining a presence on linked in is really important which is why I got one set up. It will be useful for me currently looking for work experience , jobs in the future , other successful digital marketers and also free lancers. Not only is it a network surrounded with other professionals but it could also land me good job opportunities. In order to build my linked in profile , I need to get myself some work experience in relation to the fact that I am an aspiring digital marketer. This will of course help build my network and connect me to new opportunities. Linking this back to my research into the media and digital marketing , it is vital to have some work experience in order to get the best possible job and if its written on my linked in profile , people are more likely to notice and be interested in the fact I am interested and driven.
I have also created a mock up business card that I could potentially use if I was a free lance digital marketer and I had my own business. I wouldn’t really want to do free lance digital marketing , preferably I want to work among others for a fast fashion company. The business card I have created is only very plain and simple but I Feel as though it looks more professional and sophisticated, which I think people are more drawn towards. I created my mock up on a website called vista print.
Business cards are often handed out to people , and they are a highly personalized form or marketing if you have your own business. They also enhance credibility and create a sense of legitimacy for a business.
As my future career I want to work in either advertising or brand management , or digital marketing within fashion. I want to do this for a large fast fashion company or an e-commerce fashion brand. In order for me to sell myself to company’s , I will need a CV to hand out to people when I am applying for jobs. I have created a mock up CV however , I have analysed what I need to do in order to fill in the gaps that are missing.
The CV template I found is very suitable to the career path I have chosen and want to pursue. It has sections for both experience and degree’s which has pushed me now to want to get a degree more and do a year on placement to get some experience.
As part of my self promotion , I have now set up a twitter to keep up to date with current fashion trends and give my input to whats on the market. When being a digital marketer it is all very fast paced and its vital that you keep up with whats going on , especially when working in Fashion.
In order to get started I have followed a few other fashion pages such as London fashion week , Paris fashion week and a few fast fashion brands. This way I can see how their pages are ran , what marketing and promotion methods they are using and take inspiration from this for my potential future in a career in digital marketing.
A great way of increasing engagement is by encouraging the audience to share their thoughts and opinions as well as sharing yours. I have done by this putting out a pole onto my twitter asking followers what look they preferred in this years London Fashion Week.
Here is a current popular influencer on social media who has recently collaborated with one of the most popular fast fashion brands in the UK and America. Its important to give your view on what you think about the latest fashion trends and ask open ended questions to your audience. Fresh happenings are interesting for the audience.
People are three times more likely to engage with tweets that contain visual content. Target audiences today love a visual experience including videos , GIF’S , images. This captures peoples attention when they are scrolling through a feed therefor , I have used a moving image in one of my tweets in order to try and get people to engage. Hashtags are also great if you use the right ones. They indicate that the content you are putting out is relevant to a certain topic and in front of an audience who is interested.
Running a fashion blog is something I am able to say I do on Job applications and it is also some form of work experience in the field I am interested in which is digital marketing for fashion. I want to run social media pages for larger fast fashion brands and if I already have experience in this it will go a long way.
Since I am considering going to University , I need to carry out some research in order to understand how I actually apply. All applications to Universities in the UK are made through UCAS and you have to fill in a UCAS application form. Its important to get university applications way before the deadline.
There are 5 steps involved in a UCAS application. Firstly I will need to actually register my details with UCAS and then identify the course that I want to do. There are over 100’000 courses to choose from. The course I am interested in the most is fashion promotion at Manchester met. Once I have found the course I want to do , I need to type in the unique UCAS code for the course and this needs to be filled out on the application form.
The next step in applying is finding which University you want to go to and short listing a few others. I don’t want to move away or live out when I go to Uni therefor Manchester Met is perfect for me as I could get public transport. You also need to make a note of all the UCAS codes for each University short listed. One University application form can be used for 5 different choices however my personal statement needs to be specific to the course I am applying for.
Personal Statements give you the opportunity to show off what skills you have , how passionate you are about the route you want to take and how you want to get there , and also what value you can add to the university that you are applying for. Universities want to accept people and this makes the decision a lot easier for the people that are making it.
Working in the media is very fast paced and extremely competitive. There are thousands of different job roles to explore and employers in the media look for a wide range of people with different technical and personal skills. Through research , I discovered that you don’t necessarily need a degree for many of the roles within the media industry however , they do make you stand out from the huge crowd. It is getting tougher and many of the applicants are now graduates, Therefor it seems a better idea to have a degree before applying for the more desirable roles. My desired role is digital marketing which involves advertising using the internet and social media platforms. The UK remains the biggest internet advertising market in Europe, growing by 15% in 2018 to reach £13.3bn. PwC. (2019). UK edition: Entertainment & Media Outlook 2019-2023. [online] Available at: https://www.pwc.co.uk/industries/entertainment-media/insights/entertainment-media-outlook.html [Accessed 18 Sep. 2019].
In order to vary my research , I watched a documentary from the BBC about how difficult it is to get into the media industry. A lot of it comes down to who you know in the industry and interestingly 70% of people who have a job in the BBC , have family members who work in the BBC. This makes it extremely hard to get jobs in the high up positions within the media. In certain occupations the power of being able to follow on in your family’s footsteps goes a long way for example , if you have a parent who works in television or film , you are 12 times more likely to go down the same route with a better chance. The likes of BBC and channel seem to be stuck in a posh bubble therefor the majority of the staff working there , are from upper or middle class backgrounds and have had some sort of previous connections to people within the industry. Only 9% of Chanel 4’s staff come from working class backgrounds. They are now setting up a new base in Leeds to try and spread some opportunity beyond London.
Having done some research into digital marketing , there is plenty of room for people like me who want a career in it. By 2020, there will be 150,000 digital jobs and not enough professionals to fill them . The most in demand skills are content and creation. social media strategy, and analytics which is something I have spent time doing previously . The way to stand out within the digital marketing sector is through investing in building a powerful media presence on your own personal social media. For example your followers , blog posts that you have written. There are also lots of online exams you can take in order to boost a CV when applying for Jobs within the digital marketing sector.
Pathways / routes
The route that I want to go down is the Degree style apprenticeship route. Degree apprenticeships are a new type of program offered by various universities which give students the opportunities a full bachelor or masters degree as part of the apprenticeship.
I have looked into what degree apprenticeships are on the UCAS website to find out in some more depth what they are about. I discovered that Degree apprenticeships combine working with studying part time at a university. Apprentices are employed throughout the programme, and spend part of their time at university and the rest with their employer. This can be on a day-to-day basis or in blocks of time, depending on the programme and requirements of the employer. They can take between 3 to 6 years to complete depending on the course. They are still quite new , so they have a limited number of vacancies which make them extremely competitive but it is anticipated that the number of vacancies will grow over the next year or 2.
UCAS. (2019). Degree apprenticeships. [online] Available at: https://www.ucas.com/alternatives/apprenticeships/apprenticeships-england/what-apprenticeships-are-available/degree-apprenticeships [Accessed 17 Sep. 2019].
One of the main reasons I am hesitant about going to Uni to get a degree is because of the cost. With an apprenticeship , if you meet the entry requirements , you don’t have to pay anything but you get a degree at the same time. Also , working for a real employer means that you are earning money and gaining experience at the same time.
Degree Apprenticeships
I have carried out some research on the pro’s and con’s of getting a degree level apprenticeship. Here are some of the postives and all the things that you can benefit from.
Shu.ac.uk. (2019). Why do a degree apprenticeship? | Sheffield Hallam University. [online] Available at: https://www.shu.ac.uk/study-here/higher-and-degree-apprenticeships/the-benefits-of-higher-and-degree-apprenticeships [Accessed 19 Sep. 2019].
However there are definitely some con’s to doing a degree level apprenticeship as well , even though this is what I want to do. One danger of taking on an apprenticeship is that you are potentially limiting yourself to just one industry. That is why it is important to do thorough research into the the career we want. They often require a lot of dedication so if I ever decided I didn’t want to pursue a career in the digital marketing industry, I will have limited qualifications to show employers.
Another Con is that apprenticeships are funded by the government. This means that when you apply , you have to meet a very specific criteria. Typically, apprenticeships are only on offer to those aged 16-24, living in England and not in full-time education. However, there may be additional restrictions, such as for those who already have A-Levels but decide they want to pursue a vocation. This means that your ideal employer won’t receive government funding for employing you as an apprentice, so they may choose another candidate.
University
I haven’t ruled out University as an option after college so I am now going to look into the pro’s and con’s of university.
There are definitely lots of pro’s to University, one of them being that you develop transferable skills. Degree’s show employers that you have a wide range of skills which include communication , group work , and the ability to work independently. Although you develop these skills earlier in life , University is more intense which is something I would need to prepare myself for if I did decide on going to Uni. When you’ve spent your whole working life in one career and don’t have any other relevant qualifications, it can be very difficult for you to change direction. With a degree, this is less of an issue. Going to University also gives you increased learning power. Research by the Institute for Employment Research has found that graduates earn more than non-graduates and are more likely to enjoy high-level careers and promotion prospects thanks to the skills they’ve acquired at university.
Getting a Degree also gives you the opportunity to get involved in extra curricular events. For example joining a society. This gives employers the impression that you have good social skills. One of the things that has always put me off Uni is the cost. However student loan companies offers tuition fee loans paid directly to the university to fund the course for you. In addition to this, you can also have a maintenance loan for you to use on accommodation and university supplies. You will only have to pay back your student loan when your income is over £21,000 a year.
I have also looked into the con’s of University. Its a well known fact that even with a degree , a job is not guaranteed upon graduation. This can leave people feeling like their degree wasn’t worth it and this would definitely be a fear of mine.
One of the key disadvantages is that in the three years you could of been studying , others, who may very well be competing with you for a job in the future, will have been earning work experience. The digital marketing jobs within fashion I have looked into all ask for work experience along with a degree , therefor it is vital you get some work experience whilst being at University. This will make you stand out from other candidates wanting the job. This could be a part time job or a placement year during the University course. Another disadvantage of Uni is if you have a lack of direction. A lot of people enroll onto a degree course because they don’t know what career they want to go into. You may also come out of Uni and not do the Job that you have based your degree on and therefor this does not allow you to put in the practice that you have learned.
A final disadvantage of University is that when you graduate , you may not be able to find a job in the field that you want. This could lead to an entry level low paying job. Some employers may also be hesitant to employ over qualified graduates because they fear they might leave once they can secure a different position. I have looked into different Universities in the UK and potential courses that I may want to do. I don’t want to live away if I was to go
In order to apply for these jobs and have a better chance of getting them , they look for someone with previous and proven creative experience , previous fashion and e-commerce experience , experience working within a fast paced fashion business , and a strong understanding of digital marketing and social media trends. University will give me the knowledge that I need about fashion and digital marketing. Also in relation to the research I did on fashion in digital marketing , there are also opportunities for me to do an online course to develop my knowledge further. Through doing a year on placement or getting some work experience in an e-commerce fashion brand , this will give me what I need in order to have a shot at getting a job within this industry later on in life.
The University that stands out for me the most and that I want to apply for is Manchester Met. There are some open days on the 12th and 19th of October however , I can’t participate in these. The next available open day I can attend is on the 23rd of November. You are able to book your place from the 7th of October therefor , I am waiting till then. I don’t want to live away if I go to University therefor I haven’t booked a place for open days at Universities not close to home.
I am also looking into University of Arts London doing a course in Fashion Marketing. The course is 3 years long , 4 with a year on placement. The project focus is to work on consumer and industry focused projects learning about marketing and consumer needs. Graduates have progressed to post-graduate study or secured employment with fashion businesses in marketing and consumer insight roles.
year 2 media blog 