Young Women in Media

Blog post: How to manage your image online

By Katie Glass, Fresh Networks

 Our last Young Women in Media event was another great evening, with a stellar line-up of smart, funny women talking about personal PR and how to manage your image online.

With most employers now googling job applicants’ names as standard, nowadays looking after your online image should be a top priority. But what should you be thinking about and how can you stand out?

Emma Robertson, senior digital consultant at Lexis (@emmarobertson01) kicked things off by sharing a few case studies of how creative candidates had managed to use online tools to do things a bit differently. From annotated Youtube CVs, QR codes on the back of paper CVs and even paying for Google adverts to get someone’s attention, there are so many ways of presenting yourself online which are slightly more memorable than a Linkedin profile.

Get creative

Even if you’re a little bit scared of the internet, it is still worth thinking up original and relevant ways of presenting your CV in a good light. Whilst Emma said that the majority of the CV’s she sees are now Youtube CV’s, Beth Murray, account director at Lansons Communications (@bmbm) said that merely using a slightly different font can be a breath of fresh air for someone looking through hundreds of the things (although it’s probably advisable to stay away from Comic Sans!).

If you aren’t already, it’s worth keeping up-to-date with what’s hot online so that you can take advantage of it. For example, we found out that (relatively new platform) Pinterest could be quite a cool way to share your work and achievements in a more visual way. Take a look at Mashable and TechCrunch for the latest news in digital.

Get on Twitter

Our speakers sang the praises of Twitter as a great way to share your personality and to network with other people in your industry. Sarah Drinkwater, Community Manager at Google Places (@SarahDrinkwater) said that Twitter is a great way to get someone’s attention without being pushy.

Think Twitter is all about telling people what you had for breakfast? Whilst many of us are guilty about over-sharing, there is a lot more to it than just tweeting about whether you went for museli or Weetabix. Twitter is a great platform for getting yourself noticed by powerful people in your industry so it is worth engaging with them every so often – reply to their questions, retweet them occasionally and don’t feel guilty about playing to their egos every once in a while! Who knows, once someone has a sense of who you are, they might just agree to that cup of coffee, or spend slightly longer looking at your CV…

Get blogging

Another theme of the evening was the importance of having your own blog. Especially in media, if you don’t have a blog, employers may wonder whether you are really committed to the communications industry. Not only is it a great way to share original thoughts and commentary, it is also another means for getting you noticed. Make sure you are consistent with how you write your name everywhere on the internet – and read up on a bit of SEO – so that you have a greater chance of getting onto the first page of Google.

Thanks to our lovely speakers and everyone who came for a great evening. Keep an eye out on here and on Twitter for our next event about Networking, coming soon…

New Mentoring Scheme for Women in Audio

New organisation for women in audio, Sound Women, have joined up with the BBC Academy to provide a mentoring scheme for 30 women currently working in audio.

Mentors will receive the correct training before going ahead, and many of the brightest and best women in the business have already volunteered to become mentors. This is an exceptional opportunity to draw on their experience and knowledge.

To apply, visit the Sound Women website: soundwomen.co.uk

Guest blog: Internships – boost your employment chances

by Guest Blogger, Hannah Lawrence, Inspiring Interns.

The social mobility strategy unveiled by Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg in April has consequently positioned the issue of internships at the forefront of everyone’s mind. Recent weeks have also seen a rift in the coalition Government as David Cameron and Nick Clegg clashed over the internship policy.

The Deputy Prime Minister believes the social mobility scheme will create fair access to jobs and ensure that everyone has the opportunity to fulfil their potential. A major part of the policy focuses on opening up internships to everyone, not just the “well-connected” giving young people access to all professions including the popular sectors such as; media, publishing, journalism and PR.

With ever increasing numbers of graduates entering a hugely competitive job market it has become crucial for university leavers to have meaningful work experience. Graduate internships provide practical experience, valuable opportunities and skills. It will both increase their understanding of an industry and boost employment chances.

Employers see internships as a great way to bring fresh talent and ideas into their company, with the majority taking on the candidate permanently after the three months because of the time and money they have invested. They see it as an extended interview so they do not have to commit to hiring someone permanently but can see if the intern fits with the company.

Once you have got an internship it is important to make the most of the opportunity. It is a great chance to develop connections in your chosen industry so ask questions, network and build a list of contacts.

I asked Tara Evans from This is Money about her internship experience and how she felt this resulted in her getting a permanent role within media.
She had this to say about her internships;

I completed a number of internships and work experience placements while I studied for my degree in Multi-Media Journalism at Bournemouth University. I worked at a vast array of publications, from local radio and newspapers to the Sunday Independent news desk – they helped me decide what type of medium I wanted to work in and build up contacts in the industry. The placements were a required part of my degree and without a doubt one of the key reasons I was able to secure employment at a national publication within three months of graduating.

She said this about her role at This is Money;

I started as an editorial assistant at the Financial Mail on Sunday working across This is Money and FMWF (Financial Mail Women’s Forum) websites. After six months I moved across to This is Money full time to work as editorial assistant/trainee journalist and in April last year I was promoted to web journalist on the This is Money team. I now cover a variety of personal finance topics including, credit, loans, debt, general insurance, money saving, travel, motoring, energy, digital and other consumer issues.

Hannah Lawrence works for Inspiring Interns who actively match graduates and employers, eager to create opportunities for interns to earn permanent employment. They have placed over 850 interns at companies since they were established in January 09 with most of their vacancies based in London. They have a success rate of 65% of the interns they place being taken on permanently by the company they interned for and 93% of interns securing a full-time job within a month of doing an internship.

Happy Birthday To Us

Yes, Young Women in Media has turned one and what a year we have had – with some really brilliant sessions, including sessions about radio, PR and journalism, we also had a session on how to get ahead in media, a film screening and had a lovely evening at the Telegraph.

It’s amazing that this time last year, there were 8 of us in the pub: now, there are over 150 of us and we are still growing (nice fact here – Hollie worked out we get on average about three new members a week – fact!)

Thank you to you all for being a part of the group because if you didn’t come we wouldn’t exist, and thank you to all the people who have helped organise the sessions with Hollie, Heather and myself.

So last week to celebrate we had a birthday party with a cake and everything. I know that there are some of you on our list who haven’t yet come to a session and it would be really great to see all of you at some point. Hayley Thorpe had never been to a session before but came along to our birthday and had this to say about it:

At first I was unsure if I would attend, but I am so glad I decided to go.  The group has come a long way in just 12 months and I will definitely be looking at making many more of the Young Women In Media events. I met a variety of lovely women and even found someone to talk to about one of my passions, football!
 
If like me, you are a woman working hard to break into the media industry, make sure you check out the next Young Women In Media session.  They are a lovely and inspiring bunch of women.

Thank you all again for being a part of Young Women Working In Media and here is to another year of amazing sessions, new friends and cake.

- Sarah