INDIVIDUAL REFLECTION OF AGENCY LIFE 1502622
BML333
Contents Introduction ............................................................................................................................................1 Description ..............................................................................................................................................1 Feelings....................................................................................................................................................1 Evaluation ................................................................................................................................................1 Analysis ................................................................................................................................................... 2 Conclusions ............................................................................................................................................ 2 Action Plan ............................................................................................................................................. 3 Appendices ............................................................................................................................................. 4 Appendix One – Reflective cycle....................................................................................................... 4 Appendix Two – Skills audit at the beginning of the module.......................................................... 5 Appendix Three – Skills audit at the end of the module.................................................................. 7 Appendix Four – Embedding employability model .......................................................................... 9 References ........................................................................................................................................... 10
Introduction This reflective essay is based around Gibbs reflective cycle as seen in appendix one and reflects on my employability skills shown in appendix four. It is focused on the transferrable skills I have developed throughout BML333, the module Agency Life. At the start of the module I completed a skills audit seen in appendix two, at the end of the module the same audit has been completed and can be viewed in appendix three.
Description Agency Life gave me the opportunity to work for a real-life client – Gail Race Interiors. The assignment was to first create a marketing brief for the company, presented in a video presentation, and then develop these ideas into a full marketing plan. I worked individually on this assignment which was based on mixing creative ideas and theory together.
Feelings At the start of this module I was nervous as although I have created a digital marketing plan before in another module it was not to this scale and I had not completed a marketing brief before, let alone one in a video presentation. I did not believe that my brief had been very successful, aside from working hard on it. Getting stressed was an obstacle I had to overcome as it was not possible for me to complete the assignment with high anxiety. I believe the experience strengthened my adaptability (as seen in figure four) for the work environment as I did not have any choice but to work with stress and complete the set task. When I received good feedback for this it really increased my confidence in myself and my capabilities as an eventual marketer and encouraged me to reflect on the brief and how I could develop it for the plan.
Evaluation Overall, I have found the module a good experience and a helpful tool for career guidance. Obviously if this was a task in a real marketing agency I may have had more contact with the client and had to have developed the ideas more around what they desired. I was also in a group on my own which meant I did not have the opportunity to collaborate as much as others, however, this allowed me to have free reign with creative ideas which I prefer and I had the responsibility of all the assignment – I could not pass any part onto someone else if I found it difficult. The liability of working on my own means that I have improved all the skills involved in this module. 1
Analysis The result of the skills audits in appendix two and three show that I believe I have improved in at least nine transferable skills essential to business and my future career. I have been challenged to recall and reuse all the relevant tools throughout my university life so far and create pieces of work which unite them. In lesson workshops on using Microsoft word and PowerPoint have left me fully confident in my abilities of two of the key technology programmes desired in marketing (Robert Walters, 2017). My academic skills such as essay planning, academic writing and critical thinking have also benefited through the experience, I believe this is also partly to do with reflecting on feedback from previous modules and applying it to this one. The skill I believe most transferable that has been developed is my presentation skills. Completing a video presentation enabled me to work with PowerPoint and plan fully my script for each slide. I believe my speech was clear throughout the video but I know now what I could have done to improve such as slowing down and using the slides to my advantage. Although I did not do this in my pitch the feedback I received and being able to watch myself present has provided valuable lessons for the future. Project planning skills that I will be able to use for life have been mastered through this module. I had only completed one GANTT chart before and it was not to the standard of the one in my final assignment – the lecture on GANTT charts was very beneficial. When I am applying for jobs in the future I will feel more confident understanding what they are looking for with work experience and the skills that they desire. The ‘roleplay’ of working for a marketing agency has encouraged me to be confident in my knowledge and to show my best qualities.
Conclusions One skill I could have improved on during this module is my note taking. I have still not perfected a way of making notes from the internet and books for use later and this caused a few problems in my assignments as I knew the information that I wanted to include but did not know where it was from. The quality of the video in my presentation also disappointed me as it did not look as professional as I had hoped. The module also showed me how important time management is as a skill in the business world. If there is a marketing plan to be completed it must be finished with good time for the author to reread and edit the first draft – I wish I had left more time for editing. Another point I have
2
reflected upon is that I could have been more innovative and perhaps created a marketing strategy for a new market segment, however, this may have not met the client’s needs.
Action Plan In the future, I will slow down when presenting and have more confidence in myself so that my pitch will come across stronger. I will also ensure that I have used Power Point to my advantage so that transitions help me to keep a steady pace and key points are drawn to the client’s attention. Dealing with a real-life client has also demonstrated how important communication skills are in a project management situation, I will encourage frequent communication in my future projects so that I know the collaboration of ideas will completely benefit the client.
3
Appendices Appendix One – Reflective cycle
Description What happened?
Action Plan
Feelings
If it arose again what would you do?
What were you thinking and feeling?
Evaluation
Conclusions
What was good and bad about the experience?
What else could you have done? Analysis
What sense can you make of the experience?
Adapted from: (Gibbs, 1988).
4
Appendix Two – Skills audit at the beginning of the module Skills audit
Wouldn't know where to start
Vague idea but not confident
Essay planning, structuring and writing
I'm happy to muddle along
√
Academic writing, interpreting academic language (e.g. critique; evaluate)
√
Critical thinking, for academic reading and writing
√
Academic referencing: Harvard format in text, as well as in bibliography
√
Presentation skills
√
Research, information gathering and general dissertation skills
√ √
Time management, self-management and organisation Note-taking and paraphrasing
√ √
Proofreading and speed reading Data management: online filing; hardcopy filing; creating directories; using hashtags (folksonomy, taxonomy)
I'm an expert, go on, ask me anything ; - )
√
Spelling, grammar and punctuation
Examination techniques and revision strategies
I'm good at this
√ √
5
Numeracy: calculate a percentage; construct an equation (when to bracket); mean/median/modal Social science basics: Ontology/Epistemology/Methodology a very basic understanding of Naturalistic framework (positivism/neopositivism), Interpretative framework (theology; critical realism), Critical framework (feminism; Marxism)
√
√
Email: accessing; etiquette; inserting documents; inserting hyperlinks; adding ‘click buttons; e.g. twitter follow Skype: IMS; document sharing; screen sharing
√ √
Moodle: chat; forums; uploading documents
√
Excel: creating worksheets; constructing data tables; data validation (in separate worksheet); basic formula; data sort
√
Word: templates; insert and edit pictures; adjust borders and orientation; add header/footer/page numbers; table of contents; footnotes
√
PowerPoint: use a template; use different slide formats; insert images and tables; customise animation; insert hyperlinks
√
Creating a PDF Google: images (secure legal images from Wikipedia commons); scholar, including right-hand menu to access literature
√ √
6
Appendix Three – Skills audit at the end of the module Skills audit
Wouldn't know where to start
Vague idea but not confident
I'm happy to muddle along
Essay planning, structuring and writing
√
Academic writing, interpreting academic language (e.g. critique; evaluate)
√
Critical thinking, for academic reading and writing
√
Academic referencing: Harvard format in text, as well as in bibliography
√
Presentation skills
√
Research, information gathering and general dissertation skills
√ √
Time management, self-management and organisation Note-taking and paraphrasing
√ √
Proofreading and speed reading Data management: online filing; hardcopy filing; creating directories; using hashtags (folksonomy, taxonomy)
I'm an expert, go on, ask me anything ; - )
√
Spelling, grammar and punctuation
Examination techniques and revision strategies
I'm good at this
√ √
7
Numeracy: calculate a percentage; construct an equation (when to bracket); mean/median/modal Social science basics: Ontology/Epistemology/Methodology a very basic understanding of Naturalistic framework (positivism/neopositivism), Interpretative framework (theology; critical realism), Critical framework (feminism; Marxism)
√
√
Email: accessing; etiquette; inserting documents; inserting hyperlinks; adding ‘click buttons; e.g. twitter follow Skype: IMS; document sharing; screen sharing
√ √
Moodle: chat; forums; uploading documents
√
Excel: creating worksheets; constructing data tables; data validation (in separate worksheet); basic formula; data sort
√
Word: templates; insert and edit pictures; adjust borders and orientation; add header/footer/page numbers; table of contents; footnotes
√
PowerPoint: use a template; use different slide formats; insert images and tables; customise animation; insert hyperlinks
√
Creating a PDF Google: images (secure legal images from Wikipedia commons); scholar, including right-hand menu to access literature
√ √
8
Appendix Four – Embedding employability model
9
References Gibbs, G. (1988), Learning by Doing: A guide to teaching and learning methods, Oxford: Oxford Polytechnic. Higher Education Academy. (2015). ‘Framework for embedding employability in higher education’ Higher Education Academy [Online] Available at: https://www.heacademy.ac.uk/knowledgehub/framework-embedding-employability-higher-education (Accessed: 29 December 2017). Robert Walters. (2017). ‘How to ensure your marketing skills are transferable’, Robert Walters [Online] Available at: https://www.robertwalters-usa.com/career-advice/how-to-ensure-yourmarketing-skills-are-transferable.html (Accessed: 29 December 2017).
10