Sunday 21 February 2010

Postscript

The great thing about being with Poached Creative was not only did I eventually manage to find a job, but I found greater belief and confidence in myself to find a job that I have always dreamt of doing.

I walked into Poached, after spending almost a year of sending endless and unsuccessful job applications to various organisations. Before this, I was at University.

The problem I had before with job hunting and finding an occupation was that I was too uncertain towards what I wanted to do.

Although I graduated in a Business/IT based field, I have always felt in my heart that this wasn’t the sort of career that I would want to pursue. But by the time of realising this though, dropping out and attempting to do another course just didn’t seem reasonable. So I ended up with a degree in a subject which wasn’t of much interest to me.

A fair few months later after Poached, a friend of mine informed me of a vacancy at a Care Home organisation that he had been working for. I went through the process of applying and attending interviews and within two weeks of hearing of the vacancy I was hired, on condition of references and CRB check.

I honestly think if it hadn’t been for Poached, I probably wouldn't have even bothered looking for a job in the care field, so right now I would still almost certainly be unemployed and very frustrated.

I am grateful for the understanding that the director (Jessica Smith) gave me. She fully understood where I was coming from, and offered advice and enthusiasm, that most other professionals couldn’t offer me.

I am also very grateful for the time, support, information, guidance, training, confidence, and motivation, that I had received whilst I was on the six week training scheme with Poached Creative.

Thanks a lot.

(received from Brij on 11/01/10)

Thursday 25 June 2009

4th Week at Poached

It is now my 4th week at Poached Creative. Again this past week has been really busy, with the various work activities I am undertaking (see last week’s blog). In terms of workload, it’s been just as busy and demanding, though I now feel a little more accustomed to the new routine.

My overall thoughts regarding my past week, have been mixed. I feel great pride in being able to wake up early, participate in work activities, and to just generally do a full day’s work....it’s also nice to do something different for a change. I’m meeting new people all the time and being presented with different circumstances that I wouldn’t have faced before.

However, what will be my reward for doing all of this? A few extra lines on my CV, some work experience? After all, at the end of the week I still find myself in the same position – unemployed.

I suppose, work experience is priceless...as work experience is also life experience and with such experiences I can only better myself.

So with that in mind – I feel I should channel my thoughts and use the positives within my circumstances to guide me through my next busy week/s. And, if not now, then later on in life… I can look back on this important time and feel a great sense of pride and further appreciate opportunities being presented.

MJ

As I am now finishing off this blog, I am hearing the shocking news that Michael Jackson has passed away. In this short space of time, it has put life into perspective… and the above subjects I was thinking over, now seem irrelevant.

I feel it is fitting to say that the goodness I am constantly trying to develop in my heart has always stemmed from such influences... from people who are able to inspire me to feel and think and act out good things towards the world and towards humanity. No doubt, Michael Jackson was one of those rare people who inspired me to such beliefs.

May he rest, as he encouraged us to live….in peace.

Thursday 18 June 2009

A very busy week

Being a patron for the art of cartoons and animation (see profile), I have decided that for each week of blogging, I will choose a well-known cartoon character that best represents my weekly activities, and persona. So for this week – the colourful character who best represents me is the Road Runner.

It's been a busy week. From being a total recluse only last month, I am now ‘beep, beeping’ at lightening speed past every little event and activity that fills my days. Usain Bolt (worlds fastest man) WATCH OUT!

All in all, I am now doing seven days, back to back. I am on a job placement at a company called Paragon (9 till 5), who deal with various construction/training. Here I have a basic administrator role and I am also learning about the office and typical working environment.
I also have one day a week at Poached, as well as having a part time job and being on the career development programme at CDG. So, as you can imagine, there is a lot to take in.

I suppose this is only half of what is happening in my life right now. There are also the social, personal interests, home, and family aspects that make up the rest of my days. I won’t comment on that side of things though, as I fear this system may crash from “information overload."
On reflection, I am finding it to be an interesting and somewhat new experience. Almost as if I am seeing the real ‘working’ world in its full glory.

2nd Week at Poached
As for Poached, the day brought about new teachings and understandings towards the art of writing. I’m slowly learning about how to write more effectively and put across certain view points. Although I am learning and being made consciously aware of different writing styles and techniques, I am still not sure how much of these teachings I will be able to implement into my work. Even so, it’s a great feeling to know your mind is being opened to new concepts/possibilities - I feel the process and education I am receiving will happen over time, rather than overnight.

In the afternoon, I was teamed up with Chris. We were required to write a brief profile about one another, max 100 words. The task was harder than I would have imagined, trying to fit so much information into such little space can be a thoughtful yet challenging task, as you are restricted to limiting your writing, whilst also having to consider style, and readability.

Tuesday 9 June 2009

A new beginning

Six weeks with Poached Creative

I wasn’t too sure what to expect, six weeks with Poached Creative, working to improve my creative writing and gain some experience of the working environment. Well… whatever would come out of it, it would sure beat the unproductive days gazing at the “hypnotic box” or endless job applications being sent at the career development course, which I was also attending.

Even before this opportunity I had never even considered ‘writing’ as one my main interests in life. An “F” grade in GCSE English back in 2002, dispelled any interest in writing whatsoever, it was now just a mere task I attempted mostly out of requirements and formalities.

However over the last couple of years, I admit to developing a keen interest on factual based literature and topics. Maybe during this period, I developed an understanding and consciousness for the words and the language it was used in. Something which the academic system attempted to educate me in, but desperately failed.

So what was my reason for being here, at Poached?

Being philosophical, as always... I was weighing up the opportunity that had presented me. What would I get out of it? What should I expect from it? Is it something I want to do?

I came to the conclusion, that... As always – I was thinking too much. For now, I put my mind aside, and decided that I should take on the 6 weeks and take on the opportunity whilst it was there. If any part of me was apprehensive, it was surely down to being unemployed and nervous about going into a job-like scenario.

As it is, I’m still undecided over my future, in terms of my ‘career’. There are too many options out there for me to consider, and my mind is too open to the possibilities… I just don’t know which one I will be best suited too.

The day

Overall the day went well, an introduction, meeting the group, finding out about one another, an afternoon session on communication and my personal review with the director - Jess. Nothing too unexpected.

If anything, I was probably more taken back, by being in such a routine again, and being part of something… a team, colleagues, an organisation and group of people working towards achieving an objective.

Oh! And also being taken back by, waking up at 7:30am, 7:30 just isn’t me… It felt as if I was waking up in a foreign land on a different zone.

I’ve also realised being unemployed for a long time, can knock you back a bit, in terms of your motivation, confidence, and energy... But that’s another story.

Of course, at first I was a bit nervous. I always am, when put into new situations and meeting new people. After hearing everyone’s introduction, I did feel as if I was somewhat ‘out of my league’. Angela, Chris and Jess, in my opinion all had amazing and well established backgrounds. How was I to benefit them in any way?

Those thoughts didn’t last long anyway. I soon realised that being “out of my league” wasn’t even an issue here, and probably just a reaction to the little anxiety I was feeling before.

After speaking to Angela, Chris and Jess all on a one-to-one basis, I realised that they all possessed unique qualities that I admired. They were all very easy going, comforting, and laid back, to name a few. Even so, you could still sense the passion and drive towards what they were doing and trying to achieve… Qualities that I wish to embrace.

An afternoon session on the theory and understanding of communication went smoothly, my personal definition: ‘The interaction between two entities’.

In general it was easy-going, very relaxed, and just a pleasant environment to be in. We discussed the different forms of communication, its purpose, its effectiveness, etc. This certainly ignited some thought-provoking moments on the way home.

Thoughts, thoughts and more thoughts

It’s always impossible for me to write out such thoughts, but it was something along the lines – of how… undervalued communication really is, and whatever we may be doing can be seen as a form of communication.

Even me thinking/writing this blog is my way of communicating with myself, my brains way of communicating ….to think…to type… to express.

Overall… the day grew on me, from feeling nervous and rusty at the beginning, to being able to appreciate and learn about what was around me. As always I try to use each little lesson as a guidance to further better myself and familiarise myself with the ‘crazy’ world I am in. I feel with my first day and the next five weeks at Poached, I will continue to do this.

Even given the opportunity to write this blog (my very first), is an experience that I feel will be beneficial to me. Not just for career purposes...but also, in helping to understand more about myself and how I communicate.

I look forward to next week’s session and seeing what else I am able to learn and pick up on… and for that, I am thankful for.