Same place, different experience with JMU

I had a slightly different experience to other people on my third year work placement as part of it was based on this website, for which I already work.

Two weeks were spent on this website and two weeks were spent in Southport, working at the office of the Southport Visitor and other local papers in Liverpool. This placement presented a different challenge, working on print publications and with people I had never met, in unfamiliar territory in the world of work.

The same cannot be said for my time at JMU Journalism. I had to travel to the same place and was working under somebody I already knew, so I did not have the same feelings of trepidation and anxiety as some others may have felt. I knew what to expect and was already comfortable in the surroundings.

That is not to say that this placement was useless or a waste of time however, as I was regularly taken out of my comfort zone in the tasks I was asked to perform. I was not just doing the same thing I had previously been doing in terms of writing and reporting stories, although that was a part of it.

Instead I was giving talks to a room full of students, managing a group of people on my course, training others to learn web production skills, and taking on more administrative tasks. I had to take on responsibilities that I had never experienced before and that has been a real positive for me.

For example, the talk I was asked to give to younger students was a fantastic experience. It involved giving a short speech to around 30 students from lower years about how they can be a part of this website in future years to come.

Confidence is something I know I need to work on and this sort of thing is exactly the experience I need to build up. Although I was nervous beforehand, I found the whole thing invigorating and I will be far more comfortable when doing something similar in the future.

I also had to act as the head of a team of students in my year, which involved giving them tasks to perform and explaining various things to them. I had little experience of management before this placement but now I feel more confident in leading and organising a team.

Another highlight of the placement was the week that the website undertook two major city-wide polls - asking Liverpool fans if Rafa Benitez should stay in charge, and surveying people's views on sunbeds and the risks involved.

Students from all three years came together to produce two fantastic public service stories and there was a real feeling of achievement for everybody.

While I may not have been working in a new environment or with new people, this placement still had a real impact on my abilities as a journalist. I have developed new skills, and improved existing ones, through the challenges I was given, and that can only help my cause when I (hope to) enter full-time employment.

I've been told I can stay on as Website Editor this summer until a get a paid job, so these are Exciting Times.