Personal Resources Audit

Resources I already have:

• Camera
• Laptop
• Adobe Photoshop
• Workspace
• Driving License
• Contacts
• Nanna Mexico - Luis
• Gavin Chappell-Bates
• Ian Lorello-Creed
• Brook Dellar

Resources I need and how to access them:

• MacBook (ESSENTIAL)
• Use the College MacBooks until I leave
• Work to save up and purchase one
• Car (ESSENTIAL)
• I have a car but not the funds to run it whilst still at College
• Work more hours when I leave College to pay for insurance, petrol, tax
• Degree (DESIRABLE)
• Apply to go to University next year for either a Public Relations (PR) or Advertising/Marketing degree
• Funding (LUXURY)
• https://www.gov.uk/browse/education/student-finance
• https://www.gov.uk/apply-online-for-student-finance

Resources Plan: Actions to Complete:

I will need to purchase

• A MacBook
• Purchase instore or from the Apple website www.apple.co.uk
• Prices range from £749 (11" 128GB MacBook Air) to £1999 (15" 2.5GHz Macbook Pro with Retina Display)
• Having a MacBook will allow me to work efficiently and to take it around with me because of it's portability.
• Car Insurance
• Look at the different car insurance companies to find the best deal, i.e. moneysupermarket.com or confused.com
• Look at the different options to help with finding the cheapest insurance, i.e. look into taking a Pass Plus Driving Course or look into having a black box fitted
• Having a car that I can drive will allow me to travel further for jobs independently

I will need to look into

• Applying for work experience in a marketing/PR/advertising agency
• Talking to my Dad and trying to get some marketing/PR/advertising related work experience within his restaurant company
• Research some degree courses related to marketing/PR/advertising to apply for September 2017

Current Actions

• Working for my Dad as a waitress, planning on talking to him about moving into the marketing side of his business 
• Saving up for car insurance and a MacBook
• Researching my degree and University options

Currently I do not have access to the essential and desirable resources that I need to progress towards my ideal career. I already have a laptop, whereas a MacBook would be much more efficient for my work as my current laptop doesn't work very well. However, after finishing college, I have the opportunity to work full time to be able to fund a new laptop and my car, so it won't be an issue for too long.

Areas for development

I would like to build a stronger portfolio, with more related work experience and contacts. Being at college has allowed my to gain contacts with Nanna Mexico (Cambridge-based fast food Mexican restaurant) and Gavin Chappell-Bates (Cambridge-based musical artist), however I would like to build more contacts myself by working for my Dad and networking within the company.

Understanding Employment and Education Opportunities in the Media Sector

The area of work in media that most appeals to me is the marketing and advertising industry. I've chosen three different jobs that interest me and looked at them in further detail: marketing executive, advertising media planner and public relations officer. After collecting all of the relevant information, it's apparent that choosing to do a degree in either advertising or marketing will give me the best chance in securing a job in that sector, and getting my foot in the door, alongside some work experience to get some hands-on experience that employers will value just as highly as my degree.

Links to University Courses:

Degrees -

Advertising BA (Hons) - Bournemouth University
http://courses.bournemouth.ac.uk/courses/undergraduate-degree/advertising/none/3049/

Communication and Public Relations BSc (Hons) - Northumbria University
https://www.northumbria.ac.uk/study-at-northumbria/courses/communication-and-public-relations-ft-uufcpr1/#modules

Multimedia Journalism BA (Hons) - University of Essex
http://www.essex.ac.uk/coursefinder/course_details.aspx?course=BA++P500

Marketing Communications and Advertising BA (Hons) - Sheffield Hallam University
http://www.shu.ac.uk/prospectus/course/576/

Business Management and Marketing BA (Hons) - Nottingham Trent University
http://www.ntu.ac.uk/apps/pss/course_finder/164262-1/39/ba_(hons)_business_management_and_marketing.aspx?yoe=9&st=2&s=1&sv=B&sl=1|2

Apprenticeships

ITV Apprenticeships
http://www.itvjobs.com/working-here/apprenticeships/

• Graphic Design Apprentice - London

https://itv.taleo.net/careersection/2/jobdetail.ftl?job=150001IH&lang=en#.VXBt1vpx0Vc.gmail

PRCA (PR Apprenticeships)
http://www.prca.org.uk/learners

Graphic Design and Marketing Assistant - Cambridge (£18,000 per annum)

Evaluate Your Own Qualities

Evaluating my qualities:

I think that my strongest skills are in Adobe Photoshop and my hard-working and ambitious personal characteristics. Alongside my Media Diploma, I've taken an A-Level in Art (Digital Mixed Media), where I have developed strong skills of Adobe Photoshop. I've also used this program through my Media Diploma, so my Photoshop knowledge is the strongest out of all of the Adobe programs and will be beneficial to me if I apply for jobs in Graphic Design/Advertising.

My ambitious and hard-working personal characteristics are my strongest qualities and they will help me push further for a rewarding career. I'm willing to put in the effort and go the extra mile to build up my CV and make myself more appealing to potential employers. Having these qualities will help me work more to secure work experience and because I am a career-driven and work-orientated person, I like working a lot and always looking for career developments and evaluating how I could make myself better in and out of work.

Skills that I would like to develop:

Now that I have finished college, I would like to get more valuable work experience to put on my CV. I have experience from College and my part time jobs, i.e working with live briefs at College and working with customers face-to-face (working in a customer assistant role), however I don't have much experience in the desired field I would like to work in - PR. I think that the easiest way to get some experience working in this field is to either get a job as an assistant (e.g administration assistant) in a PR firm (in Cambridge or London) and work my way up the company, or to go to University and take a Sandwich degree, with University helping me to secure a 3rd Year Placement in a PR firm, which will look really good to prospective employers alongside my degree.