Case studies and quotes - arts, creative arts & humanities

• Art and design
• Media studies
• Quotes

Rhiannon - Development manager for a disability arts organisation

Rhiannon graduated with a degree in visual arts and history of art and design from De Montfort University. She initially took a temping job working as a receptionist at an education organisation before securing a job as an administration assistant at the Arts Council. She decided that she wanted a job where she could be creative in developing ideas but still use her administrative skills. As a disabled person Rhiannon wasn't specifically looking for a job with a disability organisation but decided to apply for a role as a disability arts development worker. Even though she knew she did not have all the skills required for the job, she showed enthusiasm and potential at interview and was offered the post in the form of a traineeship. The role has developed considerably and she has taken on more responsibility with her job being upgraded to development manager.

The job is wide ranging with the organisation working to improve and promote equal access to the arts for disabled people. Consequently, she gets involved in work which centres on the planning, delivery and evaluation of a number of projects. This includes coordinating the dissemination of information and answering queries from individuals and organisations, maintaining a website and promoting disability equality training to arts organisations and venues. Rhiannon undertakes marketing and publicity and regularly writes press releases and liaises with local and national newspapers, radio and television.

She enjoys the challenge and variety of her job and the freedom to be creative in developing ideas for projects. Being a disabled person has never been a barrier to employment for Rhiannon and she has used the government's Access to Work scheme to fund the purchase of some specific office equipment which helps in her day-to-day administration tasks.

Rhiannon feels that her degree gave her a good foundation of skills, which she has continued to develop throughout her employment. These include report writing, time management, creative problem-solving and the ability to be objective about her own and other people's work. During her time at the Arts Council, and in her current post, she has had the opportunity to take a variety of short courses including website design and introduction to marketing.

She really enjoys her work and feels you need to care about what you do because of the nature of the job, in managing individual and organisational needs and demands. The job is very rewarding but also challenging and stressful at times. She feels very lucky to be working in a small team environment with excellent support from colleagues. She believes that this was particularly important when she started in the post. She would one day like to take on responsibility for managing other people in a work environment.

Lesley - Production journalist, Scottish Television

Whilst at school, Lesley was involved in writing and editing the school yearbook. This gave her an interest in TV, particularly editing and telling stories through pictures. She was unsure how to get into a career in television, so decided to study for a film and media studies degree at the University of Stirling. During the semester breaks, Lesley arranged work experience in TV, including 'Better Homes' with Carol Vorderman. She was interested in a career in documentaries, but felt she really needed to gain experience in journalism first, to learn how to write for TV and keep up with current affairs.

Initially she sent about 30 letters to personnel departments in the TV industry, with no success. She got a job in a call centre for the summer and was offered a permanent position there, when she was contacted about a job with Scottish Television. Her current boss had contacted her old lecturer at university, looking for a good graduate, and the lecturer had passed on Lesley's details. She then had an interview with the chief producer and the head of news.

Lesley then started as a news assistant. In this role she learned the dynamics of the newsroom, what producers are looking for, and how the news is set out. Her tasks included running scripts, fetching tapes and working autocue. She then progressed to interviewing off-camera, then to reports on-camera. She was in this role for one year and three months, which is fairly typical. By the end of this time she was, in reality, doing a production journalist's job and was just waiting for a vacancy in order to get a promotion. The role involved producing bulletins, selecting which stories to use, setting out the agenda for the bulletin, getting the dynamics of the stories right so that they are in an appropriate order and giving technical instructions.

As a production journalist, you can be assigned stories if there are not enough reporters to cover them. You can also look for stories of your own which are not yet on the agenda. Lesley feels this is a good way of getting people to notice you.

Lesley has worked a range of shifts including early morning, for the GMTV slot; the day shift, which runs from 10am to 6.30pm; and also weekend shifts. Her job is to produce the 11am bulletin, help with the ITN opt-out bulletin at lunchtime and the main 2pm programme. She is again in charge for the 3pm bulletin and helps out with the main 6pm news.

The next stage would be to go on to produce the main bulletins or alternatively go on to the national news or to be head of news. Another option for Lesley is to move into documentary production.

It pays to be keen and keep trying. If you send a CV, follow it up with a phone call. A great CV is vital as, believe me, they are scrutinised. Experience is invaluable; I did some unpaid work experience in the communications department of a large and well-known company in my second year. Relevant experience to add to your CV is always an added bonus.

Emily, arts and design graduate, Project Manager

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If you’re thinking about a music career it’s likely that you’ll spend some of your time teaching in some form or other so you need to like young people. But there is almost unendless scope for developing your musical interests and exploring new genres and repertoire.

Phil, music graduate, School Music Coordinator.

I advise all those who are currently studying English and communications, to get as much work experience as possible. Working at the student newspaper and The Reader is valuable to any job in the media industry and also a great way to make friends and contacts.

Samantha, English graduate, Assistant Press Officer.

My current job allows me to prove that I can work independently, to deadlines, and for real targets.

Robert, history graduate, Research Consultant.