A Promising Placement

I was meaning to write this entry yesterday, but alas didn’t because a) my brother spent most of yesterday evening on Youtube, comic book websites and Liverpool FC and b) I was working obsessively on my CV, the latter relating to this entry

I spent most of Monday applying for placements on Graduate Advantage and The Graduate Talent Pool. Surprisingly, I received an email from Ann Gough, a staff member of Wolverhampton College the following day, inviting me for a meeting. I wasn’t sure whether this was an interview or an informal meeting, but I decided to wear my pinstripe flares and chiffon blouse, just in case.

It was the first time I set foot in a college in four years. There were girls in Topshops outfits and plastered on makeup, Jocks in hoodies and Cool kids with layered hair and Indie- Tees. I’ve got to admit, being around 17 years olds was a little uncomfortable, despite the fact that I’m always mistaken for one. No, it was not because they make me feel old, far from that. You see, there are two types of teenagers. There are the reserved types, who are either dressed down, or take their fashion inspiration from NME and Kerrang. At school, they were too shy, quiet, swotty or non-conformist to be included in the in-crowd. These people I do not mind. However, then there are the arrogant hyperactive types, who without a doubt were the head of the school hierarchy, who spend too much time staring in a pocket mirror and talking about which girls or boys they want to shag, whilst listening to Justin Timberlake and Timberland. No, the populars at my school were never sneering towards me, in fact on the contrary they were very nice. However, that was Holly Hall. I am not sure if other schools around the West Midlands are quite the same.

Anyways I digress. I arrived at the college a few minutes late; as the 246 I catch to Dudley Bus station was ten minutes late and I had trouble finding the place. The hot blonde receptionist directed me to Ann’s room, coolly pointing at a corridor, as though he was showing off a gun. Luckily, Ann was finishing a phone call when I arrived, for I had worried that my slight lateness might have given a bad impression.

Much to my surprise, I find out that Ann was more like an agent to graduates, sending off their CVs to various different placements around the UK and abroad. I was under the impression that I was starting an internship at Wolverhampton College, but I’ve got to say, Ann was much more helpful than any agent I find at job centres, asking me what I was like as a person and what I wanted to get out of an internship. I told her about the novel I was working on and that I wanted to gain some much needed experience from my placement as applying for jobs on the net is pretty much fruitless. She made me feel better about my current situation, telling me that the last thing a graduate should do is sit at home applying for jobs, for employers will very rarely hire someone with little experience, regardless of how superior their degree is.

I went home that day with the intention of rewriting my CV, for Ann told me that although it highlighted what I have done in the past, it said very little about me and my personal and professional attributes. I agree, my CV does make me come across as one dimensional. However, despite that, Ann emailed me this morning telling me that Wolverhampton University want to see me for an interview next week for a PR internship.

I’m pretty excited about doing some professional writing work and delving in the media side of things. I intend to spend the next few days preparing for my interview and making sure I do not make a tit of myself, like I had done in the last interview.