Volunteering
With Jamie Cross (Leeds International Film Festival)
What makes a good volunteer?
- Good customer service
- Arrive promptly
- Actively try to help
- Be aware of how you present yourself in person and online
- Know the boundaries - staff will notice
- Know what you're meant to be doing - don't stray
- Don't be too open with staff members
- Know your personal space
- There's a chain of command - address the right people for problems
- Don't decide your won workload - do what you're asked to do. Don't wander off from your task.
THINK STRATEGICALLY!
- Think about what paid position you'd like to eventually get
- Creative industries community is small (at least in film festival area) and people gossip
- Sometimes you're going to have to live without for a bit to get to where you want
- You're only as good as your last job
- Use initiative - offer your services for something you'd like to do. Do you need a hand?
- Under no contractual agreement, you are 'expected' to do things not 'obliged'.
- If you're a volunteer, and you design something for an organisation YOU own it, not the organisation. This is only for volunteer roles
- He started out volunteering for Bradford International Film Festival
- Word of mouth is amazing! He hasn't applied for a job in a while as people approach him.
- It's worth taking a risk on yourself.
- Artsjobs is a good website, but highly competitive. Has volunteer, internships, and actual jobs on there.
- The culture in Scotland is amazing compared to UK.
Working Life: Professional Awareness
With Brendan from HR
Professional Awareness - before, during, after
Before
- Use a sensible email address
- Tailor your CV and application to the roles you're applying for (have you mentioned something irrelevant?)
- Dress the part - look at companies dress code
- People judge you in the first 10 seconds of meeting you
- Don't give a weak handshake
- Unconscious bias
- Commercial awareness - research what the company specialises in, whose their competitors, how can you align yourself with the company and benefit them?
During
- Code of conduct - stick to it!
- Communication - work email watch it!
- Customers of business are not your friends even if you know them. If you do know them you should be even more professional
- Check social media policy with the company. Can you use it at work? Even on your phone?
- Have no employment rights in the first 2 years, they can just let you go whenever with no reason
- Be punctual and ready to work at the time you're supposed to be working
- Respect people's opinions
- Stick to companies dress code
After
- Don't burn bridges with the company or the people that work there
- New employer will ask for a reference from your old employer
- Don't call in sick and go to an interview - it's fraud
- Must fulfil notice period
- Be careful with social media. Anything you post online is in the public domain, even with privacy settings
- Breakdown in trust is another reason a company can sack you
- Companies check Facebook photos - no bikinis - education is bad for it - teachers have been dismissed for holiday bikini photos. It can also mean you don't get a job
- Be aware of the photos you're tagged in as well
- If you go to an interview for another company, don't ring in sick, ask for a day off (annual leave), they don't have to ask why. If you ask for one day off you must ask for it at least 2 days before you want it off. You can lie about why you want a day off.
- Best thing to think about when in an interview, is that you don't need the job. It calms you down and makes you more relaxed.
- Be careful with political views, racism, sexism, jokes etc on Facebook/social media.
- Why have I got the x-factor?
Reflection
This was a really useful workshop to attend as it gave me a lot of advice about how to handle things when I get a job, and also about what's expected of me if I do any volunteering work as well.
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