lo4 workbook

BTEC Extended Diploma in Creative Media Production

Unit 7: Understanding the CreativeMedia Sector

Learning outcome 4:

Know about employment opportunities and job roles in the media sector

Name: Amelia Browne


Employment opportunities and job roles in the media sector

The purpose of this workbook is to get you to understand different job roles, different ways of working and opportunities for professional development. You will have to explain different terms, give opinions and source relevant additional information in order to help you comprehensively explain employment opportunities and job roles in the media sector with reference to elucidated examples.

This first section considers different ways of working. You should use information from the lecture, your own experiences and further research to help you answer each question. Wherever possible, you should use specific and detailed examples. This will help you achieve a higher grade and also give you a deeper understanding of the subject.

Describe the following different types of employment and some of their advantages and disadvantages:Full time work is where a person works for around 40hrs per week (in the UK) an advantage of this is that full time work is usually a permanent job, with a guaranteed monthly payment allowing you to know how much money you will have in the future, meaning that there is a steady reliable source of income for the employee. The disadvantages to full time work are that you will be in work for a greater amount of time, resulting in a lack of free time and the possibility of having to arrange costly child care. The lack of free time and amount of working hours also means that you are tied to this single business as you only have time to have the one job as you are working around 40hrs a week. Another disadvantage is that employers are more likely to expect over time as they will know you have a commitment to the business as it is your full time job.Part time work is where you work from anywhere above 1hrs per week to under 40hrs per week. There are different benefits and disadvantages to having a part time job rather that a full time job, the less hours needed in work for a part time job mean that employees will have more free time to do as they please which may also mean that you may not have to pay as much for child care, a part time job also means that you are not tied to that single business as you have the ability to have more than one part time job, as you wont be spending as much time at a single job, this means that employers are less likely to expect you to do over time as it is more likely for you to have other commitments. However there are some negatives to part time employment, as there is less job security as positions are less likely to be permanent than if it where a full time job, this therefore means that future income is less secure as you may have to find another job in the future.Freelance is when a person is their own employer and works on an as and when basis for a range of different clients, as they don’t work for a particular company. There are a number of benefits to freelance work as because you are your own employer you are able to set your own prices meaning that there is often good pay for yourself when work for a client is done, not having an employer also means that you are able to choose when to work meaning that there is a great amount of flexibility, and you may even be able to have a second job and arrange your freelance work around that. Also as


mentioned before not freelance work enables you to work for a range of clients as you don’t have to work for specific clients given to you by an employer. These are all benefits as the provide the worker with freedom. However on the other hand there are also some negative aspects to freelance work such as it can be quite hard to find jobs if you aren't very good at networking, if so freelance work would provide an unstable source of income, as you wont be able to get much work. Freelance work may also provide you with fussy clients which you have to deal with directly as you are not part of a larger organisation, if a client is unsatisfied then this may have a negative effect on your work stream as they wont suggest you to others through word of mouth and you may even get a decrease in clients due to negative word of mouthVoluntary work is where a person will work for free in order to gain experience or to aid a charity this is particularly beneficial for people who are new to the world of work as, it provides them with experience to put on their CV which will help them to gain future positions. It may even give them a foot in the door for a particular company which they wish to work for in the future, as companies will be more likely to hire someone who has done well during their voluntary work with them over someone who they don’t know. although voluntary work is extremely beneficial in gaining experience for future positions, a negative is that it is unpaid meaning that you are unable to just simply do voluntary work and this may only be a temporary option or be done alongside another job.

Describe shift work. What does it entail and what types of media job might require it? Shift work generally involves a business being staffed and run 24 hours a day, this type of work happens in many industries. The 24 hour period is split up into shifts which last around 8-12 hours dependent on the company, each shift will be staffed by a different team of people. People often change their shift patterns from week to week either moving from a later shift to an earlier shift or visa versa, however others may stay in the same shift pattern for a longer period of time.This type of work is particularly common in the print industry, as these jobs may take many hours to complete, for example newspapers are produced overnight for people to buy and read the next morning.

A permanent contract is one where: a person works and is paid by a single company. There is not a guarantee for a job for life however the job is seen to be continuing indefinitely, and a source of stable income.

What are some of the advantages and disadvantages of such a contract?Some advantages of this type of work include, a stable source of income, as you are guaranteed a monthly payment. This type of job also provides stability for a person as although the job is not guaranteed for life, the position is seen to continue indefinitely.Disadvantages to this form of contract include a lack of free time as more hours are generally expected of the employee (perhaps even over time) this may mean that an individual has to pay for child care or other additional services. The individual is also tied to that single business as they do not have enough time to have another job.

A temporary contract is one where: the contract has a fixed length or could be ongoing from week to week . This type of contract has less job security than a permanent contract, however it does offer more flexibility. Temporary contracts are also sometimes used to see how well a person performs at a job before giving them a


permanent contract.What are some of the advantages and disadvantages of such a contract?Advantages to temporary contracts include more free time meaning that the person could pursue another job, providing them with more experience and a greater variety of work making their job more interesting, employers are also less likely to expect over time as they are aware that they may have another job unlike people on a permanent contract. However some negatives are that temporary contracts provide less security as they have a fixed time, a person on a temporary contract is also more likely to be let go by an employer than a person on a permanent contract as they work less hours for that business.

What is multiskilling and which skills could you combine together? Multiskilling is where an individual employee is trained in a number of different skill-sets. The workers will have knowledge on a variety of different skills needed for them to work on a number of different projects. For example a journalist being trained to have basic photography skills in order to take photos for their articles in order to cut down costs for the company, as they wont now have to hire a specific photographer. Multiskilling is particularly beneficial for companies as it can increase productivity and reduce costs as additional staff don’t have to be employed as one person can do more than one job. This however can put pressure on employees to have skills in a number of areas otherwise they may be cut from their job to be replaced by someone with multi-skills in order to save the company money.

What is casual work? Who does it benefit the most? What are some of the arguments against casual work? this is used when employer have variable demands for staff. Employees have a 0 hours contract meaning that the employer has no obligation to offer work to an individual. This means that an individual can say no to an offer for a shift. Shifts are generally offered last minute often if the workplace is busy and extra staff are needed, this means that it is often inconvenient for the employees. The nature of this work is mostly beneficial to the employers as they are able to have staff on stand by which they don’t otherwise have to pay. This type of work can be good for an employee if they simply want to have to possibility to earn an extra bit of money alongside another job. However a number of people are against casual work as it doesn't provide a stable source of income for the employees, which sometime this is the only job which they can get, therefore leaving them in a vulnerable position.

Explain hourly paid work. Find a job which pays by the hour to help you with your explanation. hourly work is where instead of having a yearly salary employees receive an hourly rat for their work instead. This type of pay can often be found with, casual work and temporary or short term contracts. an example of hourly paid work is a swimming teacher with 'Carol Saunders Swim School' a unqualified teaching assistant receives around £5 an hour, and the amount of pay received increases the greater the qualification you have for example a level 1 qualified teaching assistant receives around £7 an hour. Hourly work means that the amount a person earns depends on how long they have worked for as the more hours you work the more you earn.

What is Piecework? What do employers need to be careful about when employing


someone this way? This is where workers are paid per task/ piece of work they do. Workers must still however be paid minimum wage for every hour they work. Or they can work on the basis of a fair rate for each tasks or piece of work done. For example if someone is paid per shirt they make and can on average produce 12 per hour, this is divided by 1.2, making 10 the minimum wage is then divided by this number to work out how much the employee must make at least per shirt to reach the minimum wage. Examples of this type of work within the media include journalists paid per article or editors paid per episode edited. This work is beneficial for employees as if they work quickly they may be able to earn additional money on top of the minimum wage they are entitled to. Employers however need to be careful when hiring for this type of work as slow work must still get the minimum wage so they must be selective whilst employing to ensure they are getting the most amount of the product for the minimum wage. (it is beneficial to them to hire the faster workers)

This section is concerned with finding work. You will have an idea of the sort of job you might like to do in the future. Keeping a specific job role or industry in mind when completing these questions will help you provide more detailed and focussed answers. Starting to think about a specific area of employment at this stage will help you in later sections of the workbook.

Why would you use careers guidance? Provide the names of at least 2 organisations which can help people plan their careers. careers guidance is a useful resource for people who are unsure about their career path as it helps you to figure out the strengths and weaknesses of career paths and provides you with possible job suggestions. As well as providing you with information about the sectors you are interested in such as what skill, qualifications and experience id needed as well as job roles, earnings and opportunities for progression etc.There are a number of places you can go to for careers advice such as through college or at the job centre there are also a number of websites which you could visit such as Prospectus.ac.uk , Totaljobs.com , nationalcareersservice.direct.gov.uk or creativeskillset.org , this is a website which is targeted at jobs within the different media sectors and can provide a lot of useful information about these jobs.

What is a trade fair? this is where a number of people within a give industry come together in order to demonstrate their latest products or services and perhaps even make sales. Trade fairs are a great chance for companies to look at the work of their competitors and also anticipate future trends which are emerging. These events are also useful for the individual as you may be able to find out about companies which you could potentially work for, and also provides an opportunity for you to network with other people in the same industry which is an important part of media related jobs.

Which trade fairs could you attend to help you with your career? How could they help you? Be specific here to help you comprehensively explain. An example of an existing trade fair which could be used to help you with your career is the Publishing and media expo in London often attended by freelance workers as an opportunity to distribute business cards. In order to take part in the event you must contact the event organisers in advance and book a table for you to display your


business/ work.

What could some advantages and disadvantages be to using the national press to look for work? the national press provides the opportunity for employers to place an advert for themselves if they are looking for new employees. A newspaper with a strong focus on media related jobs is the guardian who operate both in print and online.Advantages to looking for work in the national press are that higher paying jobs are often being advertised as they want to reach a wider audience because they want to find the best talent. Another advantage is a greater number of positions are advertised as it is a larger paper meaning that you are more likely to find a job that is better suited to you. There are however some disadvantages to using this method to find possible jobs, firstly as the paper is national there will be more people who will see the adverts and therefore there will be a lot more applicants meaning that is may be a lot to get the job which you have applied for another disadvantage is that, the job which you find may require you to relocate as the paper advertises jobs from around the country, e.g. London has a greater concentration of higher paying media jobs.

What trade press publications could you use to help you find work? Would this be a better option than using the national press? Explain your answer using detailed examples. A trade press magazine is a sectors own specific magazine or form of press. This provides a good resource to find places to work as well as see what is currently happening in the industry. This is a particularly good place to looks for jobs as it provides advertisements more specific to this industry you wish to work in and for this reason can be considered a better option for finding a job than the national press. Examples of this type of publication are 'Total film magazine' who have columns advertising for media related positions. Or 'The Handy mag' which has a list of all of the traders in the are and is distributed in the Yorkshire and Humber area, it is used as a way to reach more rural areas.

What would be a good way of keeping track of and in touch with your personal contacts? How could this help you when looking for work?There are several good way to keep I contact with past workers etc. Social media is particularly a good tool to use with sites such as Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn. It is important to ensure you have a good online presence to ensure people remember you. This can be done by posting occasional statuses and comments, by spending 15 minutes of your day talking to different contacts or sending cards on special occasions. Keeping an online presence may mean that past colleagues/ employers etc. May get in contact regarding work. Around 80-85% of business comes through word of mouth recommendation so it is important that contacts are kept so that they may recommend you to others for work.

What is networking and how could it be useful to you? this is where individuals get together to discuss possible work opportunities. It is important to build up a network of contacts particularly in the media industry, as contacts may recommend you to others if they have work which they are unable to do or visa versa. This therefore is a good way of finding work especially for freelancers.


Explain word of mouth as a way of getting work. Is this a reliable method for obtaining work? word of mouth is similar to networking as you are able to find out about jobs from other telling you about them. Talking to others in the industry or past clients are a good way of finding work opportunities. If a client is pleased with the work you have produced they are more likely to recommend you to a friend which therefore may provide you with more work. This way of finding work is important as 80-85% of business comes through word of mouth recommendation and is often a reliable source of finding new work as long as the work you produce is of a good standard and your client is pleased with the outcome as if they are not they may not recommend you to others or may even give negative feedback which may have a negative effect on your business.

This next section requires you to do further research in to your chosen career. Creativeskillset.org is a fantastic resource which will help you learn about the qualifications, skills and experience you need to gain to work in industry. It also gives detailed overviews and case studies, to help you understand what each job really involves.

It will help you find other useful sources of information from details on unions, trade websites and publications to job adverts. You should investigate your chosen job role or sector and sum up the skills and qualifications you need to do that job as well as fully investigating what it involves.

What job role would you like? Explain your reasons? What kind of job is it (creative, technical, editorial etc.)?I would like a Job as a Graphic Designer. I have decided that I would like this job as it would suit my strengths which I believe to be more creative rather than technical or in other areas. I like that this job allows for diversity in the medium of the work you produce as it can either be drawn/ created by hand or in a computer software such as Photoshop, it also enables you to work with both moving and still image which both interest me. I believe that the variety in work that a graphic designer has to produce would keep me interested as, I like being able to create completely different ides/ concepts and I believe that I am able to do this in a number of different ways which could display a number of different meanings. A job as a graphic designer is a creative style of job due to the fact that that the designers have to come up with ideas and create a finished product based on a brief. There is not a massively technical or administrative side to this job however you must be competent at using the needed software, which I believe I would be able to quickly get the hang of, also self evaluation is needed during and at the end of the creation process in order to make improvements on your work for the next product.What skills will you need for that job?


there are a number of skills which is beneficial to have for this job these are: a natural artistic ability, competent with image editing and design software, professional standards when creating imagery, to be able to work to briefs, to be able to meet deadlines and an ability to network. I believe that I have the majority of these skills and the ones which I don’t currently have I am improving on such as my competence with image editing and design software.

Summarise what is involved when doing this job. A graphic designer designs visual messages for a clients product using words and images.They use an in-depth understanding of advertising and composition, to make a piece of work creative and interesting in order to help the product stand out.the graphic designer generally uses Photoshop in order to create their product and they must work out for example how prominent the background image should be, what formatting the body text should be, among other complex design decisions.What qualifications are required for that job? qualifications are not necessarily required for this job however a port folio of work is needed, this can be helped by attending university to gain a qualification in Graphic design or another design/ art based subject as this shows that you know the core basics of communicating via design, this may help to further you career..Find at least 2 courses you could do to help you get in to the industry. You should state the name of the course, the level of qualification (level 2, level 3, Degree etc.), the institution that you would attend and their entry requirements)

Degree Level Course at the University of Salford called Graphic Design BA (Hons) the entry requirements for this course are DMM with a BTEC National Diploma or 260-300 UCAS points

Degree Level Course at Nottingham Trent University called Graphic Design BA (Hons) the entry requirements for this course are DMM with a BETC Extended Diploma

Where could you find out more information? (Investigate at least 2 other sources of information and give a brief summary of why this resource is useful)Another source of information about possible courses in graphic design is the UCAS search tool http://search.ucas.com this allows you to search for a course by name and brings up all of the universities with this course you are then able to apply filters to narrow your search dependent what you are looking for example if you want a course with a placement year. You are then able to click on the links which will take you to the university site where you are able to read more about the course.Creative skillset http://creativeskillset.org/job_roles/4243_graphic_designer is a good source for finding out information about both courses and careers for jobs within the media it provides a range of information on the industry and what each given job entails as well as what skills qualifications etc. Are needed for it.

http://creativeskillset.org/job_roles/4243_graphic_designer

http://search.ucas.com/


This section requires you to do some job hunting, so you can see what is required from the perspective of employers in the industry. You should think about the different places you could look for work. It is good to see what jobs are available, what they pay, and what you need to do to get them.

Use at least 2 different sources to find a job that you would like to do.Job: Graphic Designer with Prospero Teaching- "My client an award-winning forward thinking digital design agency, who pride themselves on creativity and thinking out the box. Are looking for highly-talented graphic designers, animators and illustrators to join the creative team."

Source: http://www.reed.co.uk/jobs/media-digital-creative/graphic-designSummarise the skills required: 1 years + experience in a Design environmentShould be fluent The Adobe Creative Suite.Graphic Design or comparable degreeExcellent communication skills The ability to work to tight deadlines and on multiple projects simultaneously A strong work ethic with an eagerness to learn An eye for detailIs this job full time/part time/freelance? permanent Full-time

What do you need to do to apply? in order to apply you must contact the company with CV and Portfolio, and have 1-2 year of experience.

Job: Graphic Designer with Epsom- "We are looking for an innovative, talented and creative graphic designer to join our dynamic Epsom team. You will have excellent opportunities to display your creative talents and expand your skills, working with other designers on a wide variety of projects in a fast-paced, progressive environment."

Source: https://jobs.theguardian.com/jobs/design/?

https://jobs.theguardian.com/jobs/design/?Keywords=graphic+designer#browsing

http://www.reed.co.uk/jobs/media-digital-creative/graphic-design


Keywords=graphic+designer#browsingSummarise the skills required:

Proven graphic designing experience with 3+ years working in a professional environment

An appropriate degree-level qualification Up to date with industry leading software and technologies with an in-depth

knowledge of Adobe Creative Suite (specifically InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator) First-class design, layout and typography skills Able to work effectively within corporate brand constraints Confident with colleagues and clients with the ability to interact, communicate and

present ideas to win work Unafraid to challenge – happy with day-to-day tasks but always looking for ways

to add value Able to work under pressure and keep a cool head Commercial awareness towards time, costs and deadlines Passionate to deliver the best possible service, whatever the task Excellent attention to detail and quality Excellent organisational skills and comfortable with corporate process compliance Friendly approach and a real team player Ability and ambition to learn new software and skills

Is this job full time/part time/freelance? permanent full time

What do you need to do to apply? To apply you must visit it ATKINS website, login/ create an account and apply through the website. A portfolio is most likely needed

Work experience can be a good way to test out working in industry and can be a way to get a foot in the door. If you perform well during your work experience or internship, you will put yourself in a good position if a bigger role becomes available.

There are lots of media organisations that have work experience and intern programs as well as other companies who specialise in getting placements for their clients. Be specific when answering the questions below. Give website addresses and discuss what you have found. The more detail, the better your grade.

Work experience:What are some of the benefits of work experience? work experience is extremely beneficial as it is a great way to gain experience and new skills as well as testing different jobs. Work experience could also increase your employment opportunities as a company may want to employ you after your time doing work experience if you have done your job well. A negative to this is that you have to usually work for free however the gain experience is worth itWhere could you look for work experience?

https://jobs.theguardian.com/jobs/design/?Keywords=graphic+designer#browsing


There are a number of ways you could look for work experience such as websites: prospectus.ac.uk is a good recourse for finding work placements, you could also simply just approach a company yourself about weather they would take you for work experience, larger companies you may have to apply online.Where would you like to do work experience? How would you go about applying? I would like to do work experience with the graphic design company Bivouac it is a local company based in York, and produces a range of different designs for a varying number of clients. As this is a small local company I would simply email the company myself and ask if they would be willing to take me for work experience and explain a bit about my interest in graphic design and what I wish to gain from the experience.

As well as looking at your industry skills, employers want people who are able to work efficiently and communicate effectively. In this section, you should evaluate your own functional skills level and consider what action, if any, you need to take to improve your skills in this area.

What grades do employers normally like to see people have for GCSE Maths and English? employers tend to want possible employees to have at least a grade C in both GCSE Maths and English, this it to show that they are able to communicate at a competent level.

Why is it important to have good functional skills? functional skills are important for employees to have as they allow them to work and communicate in any industry as well as employees generally needing a grade C in maths and English it is also usually important that they have good general IT skills as well such as using power point and excel yet again this helps the employees to communicate with greater ease in the work place.

Are there any areas of Maths, English or basic I.T skills that you need to work on? I have above a grade C in both GCSE Maths and English, and am able to use basic IT software well however I believe that there is always room for improvement and, will therefore aim to improve on my current skill level.

This final section requires you to think about your own skills for employment. You will be assessed on this as you progress throughout the course. This helps formalise your ideas on these key skills. Some questions are very similar to those you might see on a detailed job application or are questions you may be asked in an interview. Thinking of examples of when you have used these key skills before an interview is a good way to prepare.

How reliable, committed and efficient are you? Give examples when you have demonstrated some of these qualities. Do you need to improve any of these areas? I believe that I have all of these qualities an example of when these have been demonstrate is when I used to be a swimming teacher, I would show up to the sessions I'm plenty of time in order to set out and plan the sessions, throughout my time teaching I was never late to a session and only missed one if I have given the certain amount of times notice, I was committed to this job as I provided additional help to those who


needed it and spent additional time trying to ensure that the children in my care enjoyed swimming as well as learning. I feel that I was efficient in my job role as I worked in a well organised competent way in order to ensure that the children where able to get the most out of their swimming session. I feel that my efficiency could however improve as sometimes I struggle with this dependent on the task which I am given.Attendance and punctuality are very important. What was your attendance and punctuality like at school? If your figures were good, how will you maintain them? If your figures need to improve, what steps do you need to take to improve those figures? Be specific in your answers. my attendance and punctuality at college have been good throughout the year, with my only absences being due to unavoidable reasons such as illness. In order to maintain these good figures I shall continue to arrive at college with plenty of time to get to my first lesson to ensure that I am not late, regarding may attendance I also need to remember to ring the absence line if I am off sick to ensure that my tutors know my reason for absence.

How important do you think self presentation is during an interview? I believe that self presentation is very important during an interview as people often initially judge a person by how they look, therefore if you show up to an interview dressed scruffily then the interviewer would be given the impression that you aren't committed and bothered about the job and they with therefore not want to employ you, however if you dress smart they are more likely to think you are reliable and committed to the job and will therefore be more likely to hire you.Can you think of a time when you contributed to a group project? What was the project? What role did you take and how successful do you think you were? during my time on NCS we needed to organise our social action project, which we worked in a group for, during the organisation stage I feel that I took on a key role as I researched venues and rung up places to conduct enquiries, I also contributes the posters and leaflets we created as well as going with a small group to take part in a radio interview about NCS and our chosen charity, I believe that my role in the group helped to motivate people as by taking part in a number of tasks I helped to encourage others to take greater roles in the group as they may not of necessarily wanted to do something by themselves. Overall our event was a success which I believe was down to the teamwork of the group which I believe was helped by me along with a couple of other members to help the quieter people get involved with the task.Give an example of when you have had to manage your time carefully and how you went about it? an example of having to manage my time carefully was when producing work for this college course, as we have a set time in which each topic of work has to be done by initially I struggled with this as I was not used to this way of working however towards the end of the year in the video games rotation I believe that I had worked out how to manage my time effectively as I managed to produce all of my work within the allocated amount of time to the standard I wanted to create my work. I did this by planning how much time maximum I needed on each piece of work in the rotation and planned when I would have to have each done by, in order to be finished on time, I also allowed some extra time as from experience I learnt that I can sometimes take a bit longer than I


initially anticipated.Give an example of when you had to take personal responsibility for something. What was the scenario and what was the outcome? an example of when I had to take responsibility of something was when I was at school and I needed to plan and run the junior hockey tournament, I needed to do this by myself as it was part of my GCSE coursework, this process involved a lot of planning and organising as well as asking volunteers to help out. I found this process quite hard as I had never done anything similar to this before, however my thorough planning meant that my venture was a success and the event took place with only a couple of minor issues.

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