Lo4 workbook

BTEC ExtendedDiplomainCreativeMediaProduction
Unit 7: Understanding the Creative
Media Sector
Learning Outcome 4:
Know about employment opportunities
and job roles in the media sector
Name: Lewis William Hill

Employment opportunities and job roles in the media sector
The purpose of this workbook is to get you to understand different job roles, different
ways of working and opportunities for professional development. You will have to
explain different terms, give opinions and source relevant additional information in
order to help you comprehensively explain employment opportunities and job roles in
the media sector with reference to elucidated examples.
This first section considers different ways of working. You should use information from
the lecture, your own experiences and further research to help you answer each
question. Wherever possible, you should use specific and detailed examples. This will
help you achieve a higher grade and also give you a deeper understanding of the
subject.
Describe the following different types of employment and some of their advantages and
disadvantages:
Full time
This is when you work around 40 hours per week; this only applies in the United
Kingdom.
Advantages get paid more money each month, due to a salary. Usually its permanent.
Disadvantages, this means that you will work around 8 hours per day, lack of free time.
Childcare or caring commitments for other people, for example the elderly. Some
companies expect over time.
Part time
You will be given work from 1 hour or more per week.
Advantages, less working hours means less work to do.
Disadvantages, fewer hours mean less money you get paid.
Freelance
This is when you work when you want for a range of different clients or companies.
Advantages get paid well.
Disadvantages, fussy clients and you might not get the demand you think you’ll get.
Voluntary
This is when you work for free and mainly do it for the experience of working.
Advantages, you get job experience to put on your CV can also be used for future jobs,
finally also get a foot in the door for that company.
Disadvantages, you don’t get paid to do the work.

Describe shift work. What does it entail and what types of media job might require it?
Shift work happens in most industries and mostly involves a work place staffed and run
24 hours a day.
Shifts are broken up into 8 to 12 hour blocks at a time for each person with 2 or 3 shifts a
day; this all depends on the company.
People often change shift patterns from time to time, moving from day shifts to night
shifts and possibly back again, whereas in other companies they might just stay on shift
for a long period of time.
Shift work was really common in the print industry as the newspapers had to be printed
at night so they could sell them the next morning.
A permanent contract is one where:
This is when the worker is on a permanent contract which means they are working for
and getting paid by one individual company. It is not a job for life but it is seen as a job,
which is continuous indefinitely.
What are some of the advantages and disadvantages of such a contract?
Advantages of a permanent contract are that it will last for a long time as you will always
have it, unless you resign or get fired.
The disadvantage is that a permanent contract is fixed and you will always be doing that
job as it won’t change.
A temporary contract is one where:
A temporary contract is when the worker is on a contract that is not set in stone as it may
end at the end of the year, for example. This is defiantly not a job for life but the
company may renew your contract after it is over or the person gets a promotion.
Advantages of temporary contract are that you don’t have to stay in the job forever, and
you can do a lot of overtime (as much as you want).
Disadvantages are that it’s not forever if you really like what you’re doing and want to do
it for most of your life.
What is multiskilling and which skills could you combine together?
This is when the training of a single employee in multiple skills set in life.
Workers will be trained in a range of skills or knowledge for working on several different
projects; this puts a lot of pressure on the individual.
For example, this could be training a journalist to take a basic photography course to cut
down on costs.
Having staff to do multiple jobs can increase productivity and it cuts the bottom line for a
company as they don’t have to employ more people, which cost the company more
money.

What is casual work? Who does it benefit the most? What are some of the arguments
against casual work?
Casual work is when employers have a variable demand for staff. Under a casual work
contract, the Employer has no obligation to offer work to an individual and the employee
is not required to accept the work offered to them.
Explain hourly paid work. Find a job, which pays by the hour to help you with your
explanation.
Instead of having a yearly salary, employees receive an hourly rate of pay. This is the
type of payment is often associated with casual work, temporary and short term
contracts.
What is Piecework? What do employers need to be careful about when employing
someone this way?
When an individual is paid for each task they perform or create.
They must be paid either the minimum wage for every hour that they work or be paid on
a basis of ‘fair rate’ for each task or piece of work they do.
An example of Piecework, when the worker gets paid for each shirt they make. The
worker can produce 12 shirts an hour; then that number is divided by 1.2 to make 10.
The worker is 21 and is eligible for the minimum wage rate which is £6.31.
This means that he is paid 64p per shirt.
This section is concerned with finding work. You will have an idea of the sort of job you
might like to do in the future. Keeping a specific job role or industry in mind when
completing these questions will help you provide more detailed and focussed answers.
Starting to think about a specific area of employment at this stage will help you in later
sections of the workbook.
Why would you use careers guidance? Provide the names of at least 2 organisations,
which can help people, plan their careers.
There are so many places to seek advice for your future career, you can access advice
through colleges or the main big one is through the internet, which has radicalised the
way in which people are hired or found.
The main careers website is NationalCareersSeevice.gov.co.uk.
What is a trade fair? Which trade fairs could you attend to help you with your career?
How could they help you? Be specific here to help you comprehensively explain.
A trade fair is basically a big show or fair in which many different companies in the same
sector come together to show off their products or to see what their rivals have created
next. Examples similar to a trade fair, is ComicCon or the Geneva Motor show. At these
shows you can also hire a table or stall to show off your company.

What could some advantages and disadvantages be to using the national press to look
for work?
Most National Press Publications they often carry job adverts. A newspaper, which has
a strong focus on media jobs, is the Guardian Newspaper, both in their paper and online.
Advantages to this are that it can be easier to find a job and at a higher rate of pay. But
the downside is that the jobs are usually quite specific and because they are so
accessible they get a lot of applicants, also you may have to relocate for these jobs as
they are a National newspaper.
What trade press publications could you use to help you find work? Would this be a
better option than using the national press? Explain your answer using detailed
examples.
Total Film Magazine.
Most trades, from plumbers to printers, they have their own industry magazine, these
can also be a good place to look for a job or to keep an eye on the ever-changing
industries.
Total Film Magazine is a British magazine that was published in 1997 and includes a
plethora of content ranging from film, DVD’s and Blue-ray information of what’s coming
out, what’s out and what has been released in the past. It is available on multiple
platforms like in print, on the IOS store and on the Play store. The magazine comes out
on a monthly basis, just like other magazines in this category, the only difference is that
Total Film magazine releases an extra magazine in Summer.
Using magazines like Total Film, is a great way to advertise your trade as lot of people
will see it and may proceed to buy the product or job you are advertising.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Total_Film
What would be a good way of keeping track of and in touch with your personal contacts?
How could this help you when looking for work?
Social Media, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Snapchat, Instagram.
Do this 15 mins a day to old contacts, special occasions or just a catch up.
Word of mouth – 30 – 40% of business. Powerful form of advertising.
You could also acquire their number or email for future contact, this will ensure you find
them if you can’t on a social media website.
What is networking and how could it be useful to you?
Networking is where people get together to discuss opportunities. It’s very good to build
up your contacts as they might get work that they are to busy to do and pass it your way
or you might be able to give out jobs which are outside of your specialism to others.

Explain word of mouth as a way of getting work. Is this a reliable method for obtaining
work?
It is similar to Networking and is a good way to get work. Talking to other people in the
industry or previous clients can be a great way of finding opportunities for work. Keeping
in contact with previous clients can also give you good opportunities.
This next section requires you to do further research in to your chosen career.
Creativeskillset.org is fantastic resources, which will help you learn about the
qualifications, skills and experience you need to gain to work in industry. It also gives
detailed overviews and case studies, to help you understand what each job really
involves.
It will help you find other useful sources of information from details on unions, trade
websites and publications to job adverts. You should investigate your chosen job role
or sector and sum up the skills and qualifications you need to do that job as well as
fully investigating what it involves.
What job role would you like? Explain your reasons? What kind of job is it (creative,
technical, editorial etc.)?
(http://www.creativeskillset.org is a great place to start)
https://nationalcareersservice.direct.gov.uk/search/Pages/jobprofileresults.aspx?k=car
I would like to be a Car Salesperson as I am really interested in cars and love them; I
think it would be really interesting selling them to buyers and trying to reach a goal each
week on how many cars you sell.
What skills will you need for that job?
Sales Skills are a must in the sales industry as you need to know about the product and
how to sell it well.
Car Knowledge Skills are also a must have in the car sales industry as you need to know
what is inside the car, like what engine it has, how much horsepower etc.
Customer service skills as you would be interacting with the customer and they might be
spending a lot of money so you’ll have to give them good service or they might not buy
the car.

Summarise what is involved when doing this job.
Selling a car to a customer and telling them what it is and what’s inside it, so they will be
interested in buying it.
What qualifications are required for that job?
You can get this job through apprenticeships but you might have to have pervious sales
experience although some employers may look for personality, confidence, ability and
your knowledge of the vehicles themselves and motor industry.
Find at least 2 courses you could do to help you get in to the industry. You should state
the name of the course, the level of qualification (level 2, level 3, Degree etc.), the
institution that you would attend and their entry requirements)
Apprentice Car Sales Executive – Near Cambridge
Being a Sales Executive means you have to be customer friendly and happy to engage
people in conversation. You will learn how to sell cars and by doing so be helping the
team. You will have responsibilities of different difficulties.
Car Sales and Customers Service Apprentice – Morecambe
(Lancaster)
This is an opportunity to work for a local firm handling car Sales and Purchases,
Repairs, Services, Valeting and 24-hour Breakdown recovery.
Where could you find out more information? (Investigate at least 2 other sources of
information and give a brief summary of why this resource is useful)
https://nationalcareersservice.direct.gov.uk/advice/planning/jobprofiles/Pages/carsalesperson.aspx
National Careers Service website about car salesmen.
http://www.jaguardealerapprenticeships.com/
Jaguars apprenticeship scheme on their website.

This section requires you to do some job hunting, so you can see what is required
from the perspective of employers in the industry. You should think about the
different places you could look for work. It is good to see what jobs are available,
what they pay, and what you need to do to get them.
Use at least 2 different sources to find a job that you would like to do.
Job: Sales Co-ordinator
Popworld York - York YO1
A Sales Coordinator is an important role within any Sales team, and such a position not only
holds the opportunity to progress within the Domestic Removals industry, but within the HR
sector as a whole.
Source: Indeed UK
Summarise the skills required:
Sales Co-ordinator for Popworld York. Role includes:
 Daily updating of Facebook, twitter and other social media platforms.
 Maintaining the Popworld Website.
 Running in house events.
 Taking Party bookings and hosting the VIP area on a Saturday night.
 Approaching potential businesses for party booking.
 social media, vip bookings: 1 year
Meeting with university societies.
Is this job full time/part time/freelance?
Part Time
3 Hour shifts per day 11am to 2pm – Monday to Friday
Night shift Saturday – 9pm to 3am
What do you need to do to apply?
Just send them your CV over the internet and then you might get an interview.
Job: At its best, video journalism offers the opportunity to get close to a subject and to investigate a story.
You’ll need to be able to plan, film and edit original stories but also react to breaking news. You’ll get the chance
to report live on our flagship programme at 6.30pm. You’ll also gather great content for our live streams, web
pages and social media platforms.
Source: BBC website
Summarise the skills required:
 Good story-teller
 Be creative and able to find original stories
 Be able to work contacts
 Be able to shoot and edit your own work
 Understanding of all digital platforms and their importance.
Is this job full time/part time/freelance?

Full-Time
What do you need to do to apply?
Go onto the BBC website and press apply to give them all your credentials and CV.
http://careerssearch.bbc.co.uk/jobs/job/Video-Journalist-BBC-Look-North-
Yorkshire/15949?jobboard=indeed&c=organic
Work experience can be a good way to test out working in industry and can be a way
to get a foot in the door. If you perform well during your work experience or
internship, you will put yourself in a good position if a bigger role becomes available.
There are lots of media organisations that have work experience and intern
programs as well as other companies who specialise in getting placements for their
clients. Be specific when answering the questions below. Give website addresses
and discuss what you have found. The more detail, the better your grade.
Work experience:
What are some of the benefits of work experience?
You get experience in a real world job which teaches you about how the system works
and see if you enjoy the job you’ve got.
Where could you look for work experience?
You can find work experience in many ways, either online like on websites or you could
go to different shops and ask if you can do work experience, you will need a CV.
Where would you like to do work experience? How would you go about applying?
Primark, I would apply by going onto their occupations page and searching for work
experience or email them.

As well as looking at your industry skills, employers want people who are able to
work efficiently and communicate effectively. In this section, you should evaluate
your own functional skills level and consider what action, if any, you need to take to
improve your skills in this area.
What grades do employers normally like to see people have for GCSE Maths and English?
They look for at least a C grade as that is considered a pass.
Why is it important to have good functional skills?
Because it shows your employer that you are handy to have on their team and that you are a
good learner of new skills.
Are there any areas of Maths, English or basic I.T skills that you need to work on?
No I believe I am pretty skilled in IT and I achieved a c grade in my maths and English.

This final section requires you to think about your own skills for employment. You will
be assessed on this as you progress throughout the course. This helps formalise
your ideas on these key skills. Some questions are very similar to those you might
see on a detailed job application or are questions you may be asked in an interview.
Thinking of examples of when you have used these key skills before an interview is a
good way to prepare.
How reliable, committed and efficient are you? Give examples when you have
demonstrated some of these qualities. Do you need to improve any of these areas?
I am very reliable as I do not want to let people down if I am committed something, I will
complete the task in hand. I am always on time, If I am late then it will have a reason. An
example of my commitment is at secondary school I had to produce massive essays for
history and I always handed them in on time. I am very efficient as I am organised, not
just keeping things tidy and separated but with time as well.
Attendance and punctuality are very important. What was your attendance and
punctuality like at school? If your figures were good, how will you maintain them? If your
figures need to improve, what steps do you need to take to improve those figures? Be
specific in your answers.
My attendance at school was always above 98% as I only had a few days off when I
was either ill or had a dentist/hospital appointment, at college my attendance is 99%. I
do not think I need to improve this.
How important do you think self presentation is during an interview?
It is very important as if you go in casual wear then it my give the employer a very bad
impression of you. Whereas if you go in a suit or very smart wear then it will give you a
bigger chance of success for the interview.
Can you think of a time when you contributed to a group project? What was the project?
What role did you take and how successful do you think you were?
At school in ICT me and my partner had to create a short news clip which had to contain,
the headlines, weather updates and an interview with a person. My role in this project
was to film my partner as he was the actor in this situation. I think we were successful
because we made a full 5-minute news video with green screen effects and what not.
Give an example of when you have had to manage your time carefully and how you
went about it?
A time where I had to manage my time was back when I made my music video at
college as I had to plan out what I was going to do and when, for example I had 8 weeks
and the first 2 were for planning, week 3 was filming and the remaining 5 weeks were
editing, finalising and evaluating my video.
Give an example of when you had to take personal responsibility for something. What
was the scenario and what was the outcome?
The main example I can think of where I had to take personal responsibility for
something life changing in my life was when I got interviewed for my first job at Primark. I
had to dress smartly and come up with scenarios that have happened previously for my
interview. The outcome was really good as I got the job as a retail assistant in the home
department.

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