The world we live in is a fast-paced and technological one, with no time for people to keep up if not as advanced in social media as others.

 

This environment has resulted in everything else being forced to travel at the speed of light (the latest, fibre-optic, digital, super-light, that is) in order to stay on the same track as the media and technological world. This unfortunately mostly involves people; the non-technological, mechanical things that operate everything else but struggle to keep up.

 

When recently filling out an application form I was asked to supply details of two references. No problem, or so I thought, referring to my CV for the details. However, I then noticed the line stating I must have known these people for two years. As a student who’s never properly worked in an industry, two years ago is actually a different age. I was working part time with people I haven’t spoken to since and was trying to decide on a career path.

 

As my references are both people who know me for what I’m doing currently, I feel these are the best to supply me with a professional reference, yet I’m forced to use distant contacts who probably can’t remember how they met me.

 

The same goes for a contact I was trying to gain recently, when approaching the person for information I was simply informed that it was two years ago the individual worked for the company and since then everyone has moved on anyway.

 

Think back to any of the past few years and the people you knew and see if you feel someone from then would still feel they really know you now. We’ve never had more communication options, yet putting them into practise for everyone and knowing the importance of this has, I feel, yet to come.

The last four week’s focus on placements at university have included tutors willing us to choose a sector to work in and a new lecture series of placement workshops to ‘help’ us gain a job next year.

 

Starting with one of my first modules of level one, which was based purely on writing (and the most useful yet), and probably one of the first places that taught us how to write to companies, to the placements office (probably the least useful yet), we have been stressed to the importance of formal letter writing and a well-presented CV. However, after an email I received and a book I read this week, I felt it necessary to argue this.

 

We have learned that an interesting press-pack can sell a news release or event invitation, as apparently, imaginative (or not so in my case) applications can work for gaining a job.

 

Mark Borkowski’s book, The Fame Formula, Sidgwick & Jackson, 2008, states how an original, hand-written letter is so unusual in today’s world, some recipients rather appreciate it: ‘For years his press releases and pitches came hand-written, even after the rise of the personal computer…Alan Alda told The New York Times, “In this age of mass communications, I think people appreciate his hand written letters”. ’

 

Coincidentally before reading this, I happened to (half-jokingly as I didn’t expect anyone appropriate to see it) request a work placement with the Conservative’s media department, simply by adding a rather untidy and rushed ‘PS’ to the ‘ask David Cameron a question’ piece of paper I filled out at last week’s Q&A session.

 

While (still) waiting for a response to my original question, I received an email from Steve Naylor, Regional Press Officer for the CCHQ, offering me an informal chat about working for them.

 

Perhaps this shows we should keep an open mind with applications and, like my case, take any opportunity possible to mention your interest. However inappropriate it may seem, it’s easy to follow it up with a CV later, and you never know who might take you seriously.

Getting to know the Leeds area better was an aim I’d set this time last year, now I feel I’m actually getting round to it.

 

The past few weeks have seen many adventurous journeys to unknown-to-me areas for many different reasons, however, last night’s must be the most interesting by far.

 

After receiving a very last-minute email from Leeds CF on Thursday telling me about a Q&A session with Conservative leader David Cameron himself, I felt it was an opportunity not to be missed.

 

In a PR seminar a week or two ago we were told of a Conservative party member making the announcement that he wished to cut back spending on advertising and PR to make financial room for ‘more important things’. This seemed so ridiculous even the seminar tutor put this down to a daft comment the party would have no choice but to retract, after all how have the Tories risen to where they are today without good PR? But no, to my horror it wasn’t retracted at all but in fact reinforced by David Cameron at the Q&A evening.

 

This immediately brought on frantic scribbling as I hurriedly changed my question from job prospects for students in upcoming placement years to how the public sector’s reputation would survive without PR, the biggest sector for UK PR, not to mention thousands of people’s careers which would only add to the 1.7 million job losses the country has already encountered. So much for doing whatever possible to halt the ever-climbing redundancies eh Mr Cameron?

 

Unfortunately, due to Labour-supporting time wasters posing questions purely to test the leader’s patience and ability to answer unexpected questions I didn’t get chance to put forward my question. However, everyone was assured their questions would be answered via the Conservative Direct website and email in the near future.

 

So until then I hope the possible future Prime Minister is thinking up a damn good reason why my degree will possibly be of little value in a Conservative-run country.

Today’s media publications, media savvy people and general public seem to be constantly in discussion of social media, in particular Facebook. Up to now this seems to have had no negative impact on us as individuals (with exception to the regret we feel after seeing photos posted by friends after a night out).

 

Social media encourages communication and media development, or so they say. I will never dismiss the positives of being able to contact my friends and family abroad, share photos and updates of our lives at the click of a mouse, but Facebook has another side to it too, a side we are all guilty of using.

 

When viewing a friend’s profile recently I couldn’t help but notice her extravagant number of friends, I believe this topped 800. This left me feeling Facebook turns us into a walking popularity contest some of the time, after all, who wants to view a profile with no messages or photos from friends? The more friends we have, the more active our profile will be.

 

Last week my cousin and her boyfriend emigrated to Australia, and prior to their departure we had a conversation about this ‘popularity contest’. All of us admitted to regularly talking to a relatively small number of our ‘friends’ online, which led to the decision that they would be cutting down their friends to people they genuinely talked to or wanted to regularly, especially to keep people updated with their move.

 

At first I didn’t think this included me quite as much but after walking down the street a few days ago and spotting someone I went to school with, and realising neither of us had any intention of even saying hello, that is if he even recognised me, I realised I’d only added him as a ‘friend’ a few days earlier.

 

So without trying to sound too much like I’m campaigning for taking Facebook more seriously, consider how many friends you have and how many ‘friends’ you have before adding more purely to try and beat 800.

Since the start of this year’s new term I have heard nothing much besides placements and portfolios, not much surprise there. I only have a worry that the university placements team may be acting slightly unrealisticly optimistic.

 

This morning’s news announced the country is now officially in a state of recession, and can expect 350,000 job losses. As I have heard so many times already, PR and marketing are at the top of the list concerning a companies outgoings to cut down significantly, and are expected to be hit hardest by reduncancy, etc.

 

So with this in mind, what are the realistic chances on every student this year gaining a paid placement for level 3? On one hand companies may benefit from hiring student interns to keep salary costs down, but what about if companies (like many) just aren’t hiring at all?

 

A proffessional friend of mine has already felt the effects of the unstable economy after losing her architect job and feeling she has little option but to search (successfully) for employment in warmer climates where employment rates aren’t so grim, in Australia. Could this be an idea worth taking up amongst students to avoid the UK economy? We’ll soon find out, warmer shores here we come.