Done and Done! My final Uni experience!

OK! So this is the first post I have actually sat down and done in a long LONG time! I have been super busy finishing Uni (Forever! Sob!) and covering staff shortages in work so have had very little spare time! Thankfully the staffing issues have been resolved and my final hand in for Uni has been and gone, so I can finally concentrate on my blogging a little more full time.

My first post as an almost-post-grad (my graduation is not till next month, then its official- EEK!!), has to be about something that has been a massive part of my life for the last three years, and that has to be my Uni course! I wanted to share my thoughts on why I feel it has been a worthwhile way to spend the last three years from my own personal point of view. With the cost of University being sky-high right now, many people are put off at the idea of investing so much money into something with no guarantee of a career at the end of it. This is completely understandable and I am one of the lucky ones that was not hit by the increase in fees, however, I have found my University experience invaluable to my career path. If anyone is sitting on the fence at going to University to do a creative course such as this then maybe this will help?

For those that don't know I studied Fashion Brand Management at UCLAN (The University of Central Lancashire, in Preston). The first thing I want to point out is, it is not a design course. Many people see "Fashion" and automatically assume- but this course is tailored to those that want to make an impact in other areas of the industry such as Buying, Marketing, Styling, Journalism and Merchandising. It covers a broad spectrum of modules with many past graduates going on to be successful in many coveted positions in big name companies such as Adidas, Littlewoods, Missguided, ASOS and many more! Fellow students from my course have already landed top internships with the likes of New Look and Jimmy Choo! It offers incredible opportunities and has taught us some amazing skills that are essential tools within this industry.  If any of this sounds appealing, then perhaps this is the course for you?

What I felt I have learnt (from the many sleepless nights pre-deadline!) is how hard-working I actually am! I have improved my organisation, my time-keeping as well as practical skills within IT such as Photoshop and InDesign. I would never have thought to start this blog had I not become interested with the social media world following a second year project at Uni. Most importantly I found a direction that I wanted to move forward with in my future. This was something I did not have fresh from finishing my A-Levels- or even when I applied to do the course! I had it in my head styling was my future and that was the industry I wanted to pursue, however, very quickly into the course I realised it was not really for me! Don't get me wrong- I love putting an outfit together, and I also love assisting with shoots but it was not my strongest area. I realised PR and Marketing are what I really am good at and actually enjoy doing to the point where it does not feel like work! I realised I have a deep passion for writing but also researching and using everything I find and putting it into something creative which is why I feel the PR world is where I belong and is therefore what I am currently pursuing. However, I have to say my placement was a massive help at reaching this conclusion, but thats a whole other post!

So to that end, I thought I would show off some of the images from my final campaign...

Final Stand...

My project was based upon the brand Pandora releasing their own Fragrance line. I used a very talented model in my shoot, Gemma Louise Dyson, (check out her Facebook page here) and makeup artist Emily Walsh (check out her page here) to create most of the promotional artwork I have displayed. The bottle I used for the product shots was Stella McCartney's Lily Fragrance with a lid I adapted myself and photoshopped. 

However, my campaign was just one of many! If you are interested in beginning a course such as this, or even work in industry and want to check out some of the latest talent in the North West, UCLAN will be holding a Degree show displaying all third year work. The private viewing will be this Friday, however, it will be open to the public on the following dates:

• Sat 15 Jun (10 – 3 pm)
• Mon 17 Jun to Fri 21 Jun (10 – 6 pm)

Visit the UCLAN site here for more information and the link to the free parking permit. 

I hope you can make it! Don't forget to check out my stand (second floor of Victoria Building, room 204) I would love to hear your thoughts!

Kate 

xx

Cosmo's Media Masterclass: An inspirational evening...

Last night I took a much needed break from dissertation writing to attend The Cosmo Media Masterclass in Manchester! 

Cosmopolitan held their first ever Careers Masterclass on tuesday evening in London, however, they didn't leave out us aspiring northerners, bringing the event to Manchester the following evening with a fabulous (and extremely knowledgable) panel of experts with them! 

The panel- lead by Cosmo's Editor Louise Court- consisted of: 

Lizzi Hosking, Cosmo's Entertainment Director

Sarah Hall, senior publicist at Sony Music, which represents Pink

Rachel Burke-Davies, breakfast show co-presenter for Capital FM Manchester 

Rachel Hardy, communications manager for Lime Pictures (Hollyoaks, TOWIE, Geordie Shore) 

Pat McNulty, Cosmo's Digital Editor

If I had to sum up the event in one word it would have to be inspiring. 

With the end of my degree fast-approaching it was great to hear how successful women in the industry started off. The fact that the majority of the panel began in unpaid placements and worked their way up definitely gave me a much needed boost that I am on the right path to success! I also learnt some top tips on how to stand out when applying for placements/jobs both in your C.V and interviews. This is all really relevant to me right now as all I am doing in my spare time is job-hunting, and obviously I am not alone with graduate unemployment rates predicted to reach "crisis" levels in 2013 (read about it: here). Events such as Cosmo's careers masterclass are fantastic opportunities as you get advise first hand from the actual industry experts that we are actually trying to reach via our C.V's, cover letters and applications. 

So, what are the top tips I picked up from last night?

1.) Make your C.V concise: Bullet point everything and make key words stand out. Publicist Sarah Hall advised most of the time she is so busy she can only skim read C.V's, so those key words are an essential to get onto the shortlist!

2.) Do your research: Know the industry and the brand you are applying for inside out. Keep up to date with important campaigns within the industry and relevant journalists and editors. This kind of knowledge will impress in an interview and show that you are passionate about the industry and after the job for the right reasons.

3.) Go the extra mile: Yes, we probably aren't being paid but we choose to be there and we know the score. We are getting valuable experience and access to the best people in the industry, so make yourself indispensable, offer to stay late, sacrifice the odd lunch hour, and do it with a smile on your face... it will get noticed! 

4.) "Have Balls": Cosmo Editor Louise Court said her biggest regret when starting out is that she wasn't more confident in her initial placements. She also mentioned that she loves it when her interns introduce themselves when they take on their placements at Cosmo as this makes them more memorable when they leave! This comes down to making the most of a placement when you get it. Its the perfect opportunity to make connections- you never know who can help secure you a future job, so get to know as many people as you can to really make an impression. This also applies to when you are actually trying to secure a placement- don't be afraid to send an email to an editor or get on the phone and chase up a job- persistance is key and shows how much you really want the job. 

5.) Don't get disheartened: Its a competitive industry, so unfortunately the risk of rejection runs high. However, don't get put off applying for positions just because you think you might get a no. At the end of the day a no isn't the end of the world and everything happens for a reason, so keep trying!

Fingers crossed armed with my new found knowledge I'll bag myself a top placement pretty fast! Good luck to everyone else looking out there too!

Arrival to the Cosmo Masterclass!

Checking out the goodies!

The Panel! (From L-R: Louise Court, Rachel Hardy, Rachel Burke-Davies, Sarah Hall, Lizzi Hosking Pat McNulty)

Sarah Hall giving more advice!

Louise Court poses for a photo with a fan

A big thank-you has to go out to the Cosmo team and panel for all the amazing advice they gave throughout the event. Afterwards some panelists stayed back to speak to guests individually and give out more 1 on 1 advice which was really great and such a fantastic opportunity. Cosmo will be hosting their second masterclass next month (14th May) which will be their Superblogger Masterclass (V. exciting for all my blogger buddies!!). This event will just be taking place in London, however they have a fantastic panel made up of:

Pat McNulty, Digital Editor of Cosmopolitan.co.uk 
Vicki Fogwill, Social-media manager for Next 
Dominic Smales, Founder of social-media agency Gleam Digital 
Kat Williams, Blogger who runs cult wedding site Rocknrollbride.com 
Andreas Pouros, COO of Greenlight Digital
Emily Johnston, Founder of influential style blog Fashionfoiegras.com 

For more info on the event check out the Cosmo website here.

On a quick final note, I couldn't finish the post and not mention the ah-may-zing goody bag we picked up at the event. It was full of some great beauty products- fantastic sizes and definitely one of the most generous goody bags I have received! 

• Little White Lie: Tanning Lotion (125ml)
• DHC: Deep Cleansing Oil (70ml)
• Umberto Gianniini: Frizzi Miracle Worker with Argan Oil (125ml)
• Palmer's: Cocoa Butter Formula with Vitamin E (250ml)
• Bronze Ambition: Fake Don't Bake Tanning Cream (75ml)
• Velvotan: The Original Tanning Mit
• Kleenex: Shine Absorbing Sheets (x50)
• NYC: Expert Last Lip Colour in Flirty
• Miners: Dip & Define Eye Powder in Cloud 9
• DenTek: Complete Clean Floss Picks (x1)
• Popchips: Sour Cream and Onion Potato Chips (23g)

I will have lots of fun checking out all these goodies properly, so look out for future reviews! 

I am off to finish up my dissertation now folks, (and apply for jobs of course!) 

However, I'd love to hear your thoughts on the post! Where you at the masterclass? If so, what did you take from the event? Or are you going to the Superblogger event next month? Let me know!!

Ciao for now!

Kate xx