Living in the free(lance) world

I thought it best I update this ‘ere blog and provide any on-lookers a bit of context to my previous ‘status update’ post. It was not meant as a form of bragging, but ‘this is what I’m currently up to’ and an appeal for help – I am in need of further work to keep myself alive (physically, mentally and creatively).

The Guardian Careers Blog recently published an exciting (or at least, reassuring) article entitled: Graduate job seeking: The rise of the ‘slasher’.

In spite of the unfortunate wording I am proud to say that I myself am a slasher. It’s not a new concept – far from it, but perhaps it’s one that will become much more widely recognised, accepted and hopefully praised in the near future given the increasingly tumultuous job market.

The phrase ‘slasher’ is simple. It is someone who works in various different fields, i.e. a journalist/web developer/lecturer or as mentioned in the article pharmacist/writer/lawyer….the list is endless and full of opportunity.

This is something that excites me because when I underwent my placement at BBC Radio 1 back in 2009 I did so with the intention of becoming a Music Journalist/Reporter and instead came out with knowledge of the roles of Producers/Journalists/Executive Producers/Editors/Documentary Makers/Broadcast(Unit) Assistants/Web Developers…all sorts and despite my excitement of having such insight (plus the opportunity to rule out those I was uninterested in) I was given these words of advice within my exit interview, “narrow your focus”.

Narrowing my focus has since been my aim but with very little success. I have been living in constant fear that my skills and work experience will appear too broad to employers and I will seem indecisive. I’ll admit I have been very much undecided in the past but I honestly don’t believe that should be seen as a negative attribute, as long as you have drive and the willingness to be dedicated to whichever job you take on.

I once interviewed Hardeep Singh (of The One Show fame, among other things) – he told me in a rather blunt manner that people shouldn’t be pigeon-holed and nor should they be put off doing a variety of roles; “why should anyone have to be just one thing?” he stated in a firm, almost abrupt manner. Regardless of your perception of Singh, his words resonated with me. Rarely do people know exactly what they want to do in life, let alone have the confidence and opportunity to make that job happen.

I now have a much clearer idea of the type of work I want to be involved with now due to the very fact that I have experimented with events, broadcasting, writing, PR and so on. I understand that it is going to take some time to get there; along the way I will have to pick up odd jobs and simply apply the same enthusiasm regardless, as that is just the way the world is – we need money to survive and people to put in hard work to what others see as menial jobs.

I wish everyone was forced to work in an admin or labour-intensive job before embarking on their careers so that they could share the same perspective, then perhaps they’d appreciate how hard it is to ensure an organisation functions successfully and fully appreciate that no one in this world is superior to another (this is not meant to sound pro-communism, it’s just common sense).

And on that note I’m off to write an article, then a radio script, look into the likelihood of securing arts funding and re-shaping my CV for part-time work to pay the bills….it’s going to be a long night, but for once in my life I’m feeling pretty positive about it.

Working for NUS

Hurrah, after several months of being unemployed I have finally landed a job, at the National Union of Students.

It’s been an extremely fast turn around. I applied to this job a week ago, had an interview and two hours later I received a phone call to let me know I was successful. Not only that, but they wanted me to start immediately. So, after a weekend of planning, I was on a train to Camden to work at NUS HQ.

It’s an exciting time. Luckily a friend of mine from Radio 1 is putting me up for two weeks, whilst their house mate is away and I am using this time to catch up with friends in the City.

The role I am undertaking is Events and Admin Officer for the National Union of Students. It’s a temporary two-month role, which ends on 26^th March. However, there is the possibility that my contract could be extended, or that other jobs will arise within the organisation so I am going to work hard and keep an eye out for opportunities.

I’m incredibly happy as I loved working as a sabbatical officer at Solent Students’ Union and NUS work on so many worthwhile projects.

Obviously my next step is to find a place to live, beyond next Friday (and before my first pay cheque arrives). This is going to be challenging, what with London prices, but I’m hopeful that I will find somewhere and become settled soon enough.

Of course, despite all this excitement and possibility I am sad to leave behind some amazing projects in Portsmouth that I have been a part of the past couple of months.

Living Memories will continue to run up until the end of March and Rant on the Radio has now begun on air, broadcasting every Wednesday 7pm-8pm, on Express FM. I urge you all to listen!

I will still offer my assistance when visiting Portsmouth and via the internet. Culture Flash – a project run by a friend of mine – is still going ahead so I shall endeavour to have an input virtually for the time being.

More updates to come, as ever!

Visit the NUS and Officer Online websites for information on all events and student news. And follow NUS UK on Twitter.

In Search of Mr. Average

(Written for a Magazine Feature Development assignment, October 2007)

A thought’s been running through my mind for the last forty-eight hours, ever since I watched a recent Channel Four documentary entitled ‘In search of Mr. Average’. It’s something that I’ve always wondered about, which has finally been clarified by several individuals across the country via the wonderful method of broadcasting.

This thought is to do with happiness. It’s a question of priorities and perceptions and has provoked huge considerations on my part, as to the current state of our lives and the actions we take. Within this programme the film-maker turned presenter, Tim Wardle, researches national statistics as to what behavioral and lifestyle qualities an average Briton possesses. He then makes it his quest to find one person in the country which fits that description, if indeed they do exist.

According to statistics found by the program, Mr or Mrs Average will drink three cups of tea a day, believe in God, hate brussel sprouts, have sex eight times a month, live in a £200,000 house and drive a Ford Fiesta amongst other things. On his travels Wardle meets several characters of which he feels may fit the criteria, but on the whole many do not fulfill all. One man he came across had decided at a point in his life, that he was fed up of his IT career and packed it all in to become a caretaker at a local school. Many may think this was an unusual decision, as did I upon hearing it at first and was curious to find out why. It prevailed during his interview that this was down to just one thing; happiness. He was tired of his usual routine, the hard work that he’d put in to achieve this job and the continuous hard work that was involved in maintaining it and therefore, he just gave it all up, in want of a simple life. This hit me as being absolutely phenomenal. A simple act that many may feel is ridiculous, became quite heart warming. I’m sure a job in caretaking can’t provide much in terms of wealth, but at least it provides stability and he certainly seems to have benefited from it in terms of his emotional state. No wonder this guy didn’t achieve the title of Britain’s ‘most average person’. He may live a fairly ordinary life, with an average job and so on, but in getting there he has done something that many of us wouldn’t even dream of; he gave up a job mid-career.

Perhaps this is through fear of other people’s perceptions of us or perhaps many feel they don’t have a choice; we all have to earn a living. But it seems a lot of people feel they’d be giving up on ‘going places’ in life. But where? So many people these days seem to want more and more, but how many people actually achieve what they want and are content when they do attain this? As a race we seem to keep striving onwards as if there’s something even better waiting for us, dismissing the present and ever longing for the future. It’s the way in which we seem to have been going since the end of the Second World War, when our cultural identities, then shaped by the church, our families and a sense of nationalism were eroded, resulting in our jobs becoming our defining factors. Before this, Sunday morning church visits and food rationing were average, as was having a family with two or more children, whereas it has now become common for families to have only one child, with many women giving birth later on in life, if at all, due to pursuing their careers or trying to maintain a high standard of living. Being average just doesn’t seem to be enough anymore.

The search continued within the programme, because the investigator discovered the IT professional-turned-caretaker’s make of car didn’t fit with the statistics he had earlier studied (shock, horror!). He then began advertising far and wide across the media in hope that this statistical Mr. Average would emerge.

Oddly enough, despite the negative public opinions he obtained at the start of the program, with people stating offense at being regarded as average, he had a huge response from people all over Britain wanting to prove they were just that. It led him, finally, to a family man, whose wife had put her husband’s name forward after hearing about the search. He shared a similar mindset to the caretaker, accepting life, with comfort and contentment. He had a wife and two children, a mortgage, a job, beliefs and so on and he wasn’t striving for anything more than that. Some viewers of the program and any readers of this piece may see that kind of lifestyle as boring and uneventful, but it certainly made an impact on my views. What are they worth; all those times we stress ourselves out and judge one another’s actions, decisions and lifestyles, if we are not happy? After all, as far as I can tell, not least from the sentiment reached in the film, happiness is what the whole of the human race is essentially searching for in one way or another. I suppose if working ourselves to the bone is the way in which you achieve it, then I applaud everybody in that situation. I, myself know full well that I will probably continue to climb higher for some time now, until I reach a decision as to whether or not particular paths are for me.

But this thought, the one that has been circulating ever since viewing that documentary – to the point where I felt compelled to write these words – is undeniably going to stick with me for some considerably time, and if I ever come across individuals comparable to the ones in that programme, I will congratulate them on acquiring a successful balance in life that many of us let pass us by.

The seemingly endless unemployment debate.

It has been nineteen weeks and 3 days since I was last paid for labour. That’s  roughly 4 months of unemployment, just 1 year after I graduated from University. It’s been a very trying time and one that I am still struggling with, especially as I landed a job before I had even finished my studies.

As a Journalism student I always knew it would be tough to get a job and so throughout my time at University I built up a hefty portfolio of work experience at local newspapers, within community radio and across several music festivals. Each placement I gained led to more contacts, which in turn led to further opportunities and soon enough I was to setting up my own projects as Events manager of the student radio station and campaigning for a sabbatical post at the Students’ Union as Vice President Communications.

A decade ago I was one of the shyest pupils at school, so it just goes to show that a little will power and a lot of passion can go a long way. I became absorbed by the role and ended up living in my office until midnight some nights in order to edit the student magazine and complete work for the Student Union evaluation. 7 months later, with election time looming, the recession was in full swing. Two of my close Uni friends had been made redundant, others were living back home with their parents – working in retail or office 9-5’s – and my sabbatical year was coming to a close. I decided to re-run for my position but to no avail and the time had come to hit the job hunt, hard.

Luckily, I wasn’t completely stuck for places to start. I had been considering a Creative Trainee scheme at BBC Radio 1 ever since I underwent work experience back in 2007, on an event called BBC Blast On Tour. I knew my chances of being successful were slim but I put my all into the application nevertheless and to my surprise, was offered an interview and subsequently, a two-month, paid placement in Central London.

I can still hardly believe it but I spent what seems like the most fast-paced two months of my life working on Specialist Music programmes at the station as a Broadcast Assistant and an Assistant Producer on the Nick Grimshaw Show. When it came for me to leave I was devastated. I made some amazing connections, but learned very quickly that the BBC is not only a tough company to break into, it’s also tough to remain there without a lot of freelancing and reapplying for roles.

I began freelancing for the station on occasion but after a while the expense of traveling to London far outweighed the costs of the shifts. And with a few staff changes resulting in less and less contact…hello unemployment!

I never thought I would return to living with my parents. After all the luck I’ve had so far it seemed unneeded but inevitably it had to be done. It’s strange how being unemployed can change your perspective on life though. You start wondering what you actually want to do and worrying whether you were even on the right track to begin with. Almost all of the ‘opportunities’ in the media at the moment – or in most areas in fact –  are unpaid internships and I certainly have become best friends with the V-word. VOLUNTEERING.

Firstly, I began working for free for my local, community radio station; Express FM. I then volunteered to help the Student Radio Association plan an event in London, volunteered for two BBC Blast events in Brighton and on the Isle of Wight and have just signed up to do a week’s work experience on the Features desk at The News, Portsmouth’s local newspaper.

After all the hard work and portfolio building it can be disheartening and I certainly won’t be lending myself to a big company for three months of my life for no money and no job prospects, the only thing keeping me going is the thought that it must get me somewhere, eventually.

As Claudia Pritchard stated in her article in the Independent this weekend; There’s never been a better time to be a rich kid. If only I was one. I could afford to work for free for years or go on holiday and start a whole new life – like newly-redundant (ex)lawyer, Lauren Kaye in The New Review. But alas, my parents have spent more than enough money on me already, plus I spent the last of my previous income on a snowboarding holiday and 3 months of general spending (transport, lunches, the odd social event).

However, after reading Lauren’s article (and after having enough of jobs sites/recruitment pages) I am seriously tempted, more than ever, to do a ski season and deal with it all when I get back. Is that wise? This is a time for re-evaluation after all. Action is character and life is for living. Any more cliches I can throw at you whilst I’m at it?

I’m still unsure. But one thing I do know right now is this:

Students should be encouraged (and use their initiative) to seek out alternatives to the career they seek – and do something worthwhile whilst they are studying so that they are not stuck feeling low and regretful beyond graduation. I don’t mean work experience, I mean something entirely different. Aiding lesser fortunate communities abroad, or learning to surf. Something that makes you feel more alive and accomplished, because I’m fairly certain the career battle is going to be all-consuming.

More Moir…

I find it hugely hypocritical that Daily Mail ‘journalist’ Jan Moir feels she has fallen victim to a ‘heavily orchestrated campaign’ when that is precisely what the Mail itself generated following the Ross-Brand incident.

Her article is nothing more than speculation, an obvious case of someone who is a jack of all trades but a master in none as she clutches at straws to tie links between “the recent death of Kevin McGee, the former husband of Little Britain star Matt Lucas, and now the dubious events of Gately”, offering her notable expertise on what caused his death.

The Mail writer should get her comeuppance, but I can imagine the paper’s deep pockets and spinning skills will prevent any commendable punishment.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1220756/A-strange-lonely-troubling-death–.html#ixzz0UICNsVN6

Update! Update! Read all about it (in less than 30 words…?)

This whole twittering, face-booking, constant need for updates and self indulgence generation is really starting to give me a headache. And it’s a little concerning, don’t you think?

Sure, it’s terribly exciting to be kept in the know about how horny some person you’ve barely met is, or how many kids one of your classmates from school has successfully popped out since…well school by the looks of it! But, it simply looks to me like yet another sign of the ‘dumbing down’ of culture.

Even I have fallen subject to the ‘occasional’ (ahem) emotional rant via status updates – it’s an easy place to vent, especially if you can’t (or don’t want to) directly communicate with specific people. But in retrospect, it’s humiliating. No one wants to know how angry I am because things aren’t going MY way. They may be concerned, but they don’t want to know every, single emotion or detail of my life, (or so I‘d expect). And when my passion for writing starts to dwindle, reading becomes a chore and watching the news is pushed aside for Britain’s got talent – well, then you know something is seriously wrong.

This intrigue and need to be ‘in the know’ about things such as who on earth ‘Susan Boyle’ is, just so that we can understand half of these ‘tweets’, is so incessantly strong, that it has almost rendered people’s thirst for actual knowledge and intellect extinct. Now that’s a worry, is it not?

If I was to be pedantic I’d say how wonderful it is that technology has progressed to the point that we can have news updates sent to our brick-sized I-phones/Blackberries instantaneously and keep in touch with our many, well-valued friends and contacts, apparently lost along the way. But let’s face it, how many of us use it to find out what’s going on in Korea or speak to every, single person you’ve ever met since you were born?

Easy, comfort viewing and online ‘in jokes’ with your mates are one thing, but if it further destroys the motivation to learn I might have to give it all up…but then again, I might not get invited to anymore parties…!

PS. If you read past the first sentence – there might be hope for us all yet!

It’s Twitter time!

I signed up to twitter about a year ago, when facebook was taking off. But I must be honest, it didn’t seem to be all that exciting – perhaps because very few people I knew were using it around that time.

And now? Well, it seems to be creeping into the mainstream as people desire more immediate information sent straight to their computer screens/mobile phones. A confirmation of the fact that we are becoming even more impatient and are forever changing the way in which we’d like to receive information!

So, yes, I signed in again recently and I shall be trialling this quaint little site, to see where it leads.

If you’d care to know more about my daily routine, please visit:

https://twitter.com/Laeylaey

Welcome to my blog

I’m Hayley, a recent graduate of Southampton Solent University’s Journalism degree course.

This blog will hopefully encapsulate my life’s work, (from here on out), for you to gaze at as you wish

I work full-time for Solent Students’ Union as the Vice President Communications and Chief Editor of RE:SUS magazine.

I also work on a freelance basis writing reviews, features and articles of sorts for various publications, whilst contributing to other multi-media platforms, such as Community & University Radio (http://www.sinradio.co.uk/), TV & new media.