Unit 11 – progression/careers and further study LO! & LO2
UNIT 11 LO & Assessment criteria
5 Tips For Putting Together an Outstanding Creative Portfolio
Preparing for progression in creative media production
Unit Aim: This unit will require the student, through a process of research, dialogue, reflection and evaluation, to identify and prepare for specific higher education or employment progression routes appropriate to their ambitions. The unit will give students the opportunity to explore aspects of business, entrepreneurship and marketing and enable the student to demonstrate the requisite practical, intellectual and communication skills necessary for progression.
These are some of the ways to meet the criteria:
- Opportunities for work experience within a media and communication environment
- CV writing and applications
- Research into apprenticeship schemes
- Show reel production
- Observations of professional practice
- Seminars on entrepreneurship and self-promotion
- Research into agencies and freelance working
- Simulated interviews
- Portfolio building.
- Future Me
Students can use past work and records to pull together a portfolio of work and progression documents to meet the criteria.
Prompts and Questions to help meet the criteria:
Who am I? & Why I write? Use these previous pieces of work to record how this will impact on your future: how your aims, ambitions and dreams will help you pursue your career; what you now know about the industry requirements (skills, knowledge, software etc.) now as opposed to when you started the course.
Investigate the chosen areas/career paths you would like to be part of in the future (i.e. where I would like to be in ten years and how I can get there: apprenticeships, degrees, working in the industry, skills, knowledge : be open to possibilities and remember that many of the skills you have learnt are transferable to other industries and services e.g. law, marketing, politics, civil service, PR, teaching etc. as well as being a writer, director, journalist, graphic designer, creative etc.
Look into the biographies of industry experts and professionals you have been inspired/influenced by and/or are doing the job you’d like to do to see how they managed to progress in the industry.
What tips are you given on writing any statements/portfolios/letters of introduction? Research resources on-line and in the LRC for guidance and help and record which resources helped you make decisions and help.
EVIDENCE OF YOUR PROGRESSION
Competitions: have you entered your work for any poetry or short story competitions or any other forms of writing or even photography. Whether you have succeeded in being short listed or published doesn’t matter, explain the process, the submission criteria, what you entered and any feedback you got. If you haven’t done this yet take this unit as an opportunity to do so NOW?
Commissions: have you been commissioned to take on a project: paid or unpaid?
Open submission: have you looked in to on-line magazines looking for articles, reviews, poems or short stories
Work Experience: have you had any work experience? How has this helped your progress and knowledge of the industry: what you knew at the beginning and what you now know? Observing other professional and the skills they need to carry out their work to industry standards. Knowledge In-house styles, journalistic ethics and standards.
If you have applied to university pull together any personal statements and work you did to prepare the statements using the Why I write?, Who am I? and knowledge gained from the course about the industry to do this. What offers you have been given and how you made your choice of university.
Apprenticeships: research any apprenticeships and opportunities in the industry that may be of interest. Make sure you record who the apprenticeship is with, the position, the skills you would need to gain the position, when applications need to be in for and any other information you glean from research: look into Production companies, newspapers, magazines, BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5, SKY etc.
Jobs and career opportunities: put together a CV, a personal statement/introductory letter etc. aimed at any jobs that you are interested in.
Research and investigate the ways in which you are supposed to do this and the standard industries expect.
Design your own website: or research how to do this.
Any presentations you have done that show growth of confidence and professionalism
Using social media platforms to promote and sell your work: tweeting, blogging, a professional Facebook page, Linked-In.
Look into all of these platforms and research how the industry professional use them to promote/sell/advertise/publicise their wares/work/services etc.
Creative Writing & Journalism 