From Unemployed to Ambassador – How the Prince’s Trust helped me.

The Prince’s Trust does not save lives. It doesn’t change them either.

It gives young people the power to change their own lives and gives them skills they will use for years to come.

This, among many reasons, is why I feel so passionate about the Trust.

When I joined the Team Programme in June 2013, my confidence and prospects were at an all time low. Without going into already covered territory, I was in a pretty bad place and needed a kick up the backside.

I agreed, after an annoying (yet necessary as it turned out) amount of pressure from my JobCentre adviser, to attend the open event and see what the fuss was about. The idea of spending twelve weeks in a room with people I didn't know was an image of hell for my introverted self.

My life changed after the first day.

I immediately opened myself up to possibilities and opportunities with the intention of experiencing everything I possibly could from those 3 months. I found myself doing things I never would have considered – like getting in a canoe despite having a gripping fear of drowning.

I didn't finish the programme and immediately go into work, as some young people assume will happen. I gave everything to that course but the opportunity for work just wasn't there. However, I knew full well that the skill set the course gave me would lead, however long it took, to better and more fulfilling job prospects. This, it has done – I am now a proud social media apprentice for West Midlands Fire Service, a fantastic job and the start of what will hopefully be a successful career.

Just over a year on, I am privileged to say that I am a Young Ambassador for the Trust, and am due to attend my first event in early October. What has been given to me in terms of confidence, skills and positivity is a debt that can’t be repaid with any number of promotional events that I speak at.

The summer of intake of Young Ambassadors for the Midlands

What I hope is that I can encourage young people to get involved with what is, in fact, a fantastic and essential charity in this country. If every young person was able to get participate in the huge range of courses offered, the future of this country would look very bright indeed.

Young people are the future of this country. Their well being, their prospects, and their attitude are essential to how we progress as a nation. Whatever our age or background, we all have a responsibility to give something to the people who will determine how we live our lives in the future. This is something The Prince’s Trust have set about doing with fantastic schemes and programmes that will, and I repeat with certainty, WILL give young people the skills to change their lives.

Living the social media dream.

I've been here at West Midlands Fire Service for 4 months already! Time has absolutely flown by and it's been quite a journey.

It's crazy to think that 4 months (and 1 day) ago, I was still unemployed and looking desperately for any job that I could get my hands on. Social media didn't even occur to me as a career, but now? I couldn't imagine doing anything else.

It's been a bit of a drastic transformation – from being jobless and hopelessly having my fingers crossed for a supermarket job, to being on the bottom rung of an exciting and opportunity-filled career ladder.

So, I say opportunity filled, but what opportunities have I had? I've conducted interviews, most notably with the Chief Fire and Rescue Adviser to the UK Government, Peter Holland CBE. Great experience for me as someone who loves to talk to people and develop my confidence in doing so. He's also a fan of my beloved Chelsea. Happy days.

Possibly one of the most rewarding and heart warming of the opportunities I've had so far was to meet Destiny Africa, a Ugandan choir made up of orphans. I found their happiness inspiring, and felt privileged to spend a morning with them. They’re also extremely talented, giving us a sneak peek into what they can do.

The work itself has also been fantastic. I still look forward to getting up every morning for work (even though I still struggle with the 5:30 am start), which is something not everyone can say. I get to do a huge variety of stuff, with the constant flexibility to try my hand at something new and creative. It's great to be a part of a team that works well together and gets on, making for a productive workplace, but just as importantly, the ability to have a laugh at work.

I can't forget, of course, the training given to me at The Juice Academy - something I always look forward to. It's always good to go there and catch up with the other apprentices, and also to learn a whole load of new stuff that I can apply to my work at WMFS. The journey to Manchester? A little arduous perhaps, but well worth what awaits me at journey's end.

My passion for the industry just keeps growing and growing. This may sound geeky, but I find myself at home looking through what’s new in social media, keeping up on SocialMediaExaminer.com, doing research into anything I might be able to develop into the fold at work, and just trying to increase my knowledge of social and the ways in which it can be used. I've always had a burning desire to improve, and this has been consolidated in the last few months – I don't want to just do my job, or to be an employee of the industry; I have an unquenchable thirst to do more and to be more.

I can definitely see an improvement in myself since I have been here – my communication has certainly got better, and I feel like I can put my own ideas across more assertively – something I have struggled with previously. Not only that though, I feel like I've developed as a person. I'm happier, and feel like I live a more fulfilled life, which is brilliant.

So, to sum up: life is good. I love this job, I love the prospects it's giving me, I love the opportunities I've had, I love that it's developing me as a person and most of all? I love that it's breeding a passion for (hopefully) a long and successful career.

Progress, progress and more progress.

What I am about to say will not shock you. 

I love it here at West Midlands Fire Service.

I have reiterated this point over the course of this blog, and I want to do it again right now.

A lot of these posts have been about social media in general, my views of things going on and stuff like that. So, I thought it was about time I caught up with you all about what is actually going on.

If you haven’t read my good friend and colleague Jess’ blog yet, I suggest you check it out here. It’s a great read and provides a fresh perspective of what happens here at HQ!

It seems insane that we have been more than a month already. It feels like only yesterday that I was getting lost on the short (and, in fairness, extremely simple) walk between Duddeston Station and the fire service’s headquarters here on Vauxhall Road.

I was confident at that point that this was the right decision for both my personal life and my career, and I am happy to say my confidence was founded upon sound logic. I have loved every minute and still look forward to getting in every morning! A lot of people have that feeling for the first couple of weeks and then lose it as they settle in, but I still get excited every morning (even though my energy is usually lacking! I’m not a morning person).

I wanted this post to be a balanced point of view, and be able to say “well, this could be better.” The simple fact is though, this job is perfect for what I want.

I have always wanted a job with variety, the chance to get away from my desk every now and then, and most importantly, a great team who make the day enjoyable. This is exactly what I have been given with this role.

I consider myself extremely fortunate to be given this opportunity (not least because of the sheer volume of applicants for The Juice Academy’s course). Already I can feel myself being more clued up about how to make the most of social media for my business.

So, what have we been doing?

Well, as I have already said, we don’t spend the whole day at our desk. There are a number of days where we have been out covering events for both Twitter and our #smavlog. We have also been around the building in different departments, finding out more about what the fire service do, which has been a valuable experience.

 Jess even had the fantastic chance to spend a day with White Watch at Aston fire station to see what they do on a day to day basis, in the first of many #SMAdays. 

 The most important thing for me is that I have been given the chance to develop into someone who doesn’t just “do a job,” but into someone who can be a valuable asset to any company.

Our line managers are not content with us using our strengths to complete tasks to the best of our ability. They are keen for us to use each other to learn and develop the skills we are less adept at in order to make us well rounded and more capable individuals.

This is why I am more than content with my current position in life. I look forward to work, I look forward to home and most of all? I look forward to, and I am very excited about, my future career.

The standard response.

“We’re sorry to hear this. Please call this number and they will try to help.”

I think we’ve all received one of them on social media at some point, haven’t we? When we’re not happy about a service we have received, it seems like a natural reaction (these days, anyway), to take to Twitter and rant about it.

Or maybe that’s just me.

I don’t know about anyone else, but when I make a complaint, I want the person listening to my irritating whinging to care, or at least to PRETEND to care. So when I get the reply “we’re sorry to hear this,” it actually makes me feel even more contemptuous toward that company.

Here’s my problem:

-        I KNOW that this is sent to EVERYONE who makes a complaint. That makes me feel like my complaint has not been digested by the company as a problem. It feels like I am a number, not a valued user of their product or service.

-        They make no effort to try and solve the problem. Sure, they probably have a separate customer services department. But social media officers have, in effect, a customer service role. In that sense, they should at least try to appease me until the issue is processed by the relevant department, right?

It looks like some companies who use social media well still even send it. For example, Aldi tend to do very well with what they do on Twitter. They run regular competitions, use current trends and hashtags to maximise their reach, and when they engage with their followers, they do it well. But, then you see this:

Sigh.

It just grates on me. The great thing about social media is that it is ideal for building relationships with your customers. Is that really what is going to work? Do they really think that people are going to appreciate being sent a copied and pasted response?

How about this then?

THIS is more like it. Even if the sympathy shown is false, at least an effort is made. The person who responded to the complaint is trying to sort it out rather than palm it off on someone else, which is always good to see.

I just think companies have a responsibility to respond to complaints in the right way. At the moment it seems like little effort is made and that the managers of social media simply don’t care. The tweet above is what, personally, I would like to see more of.

Do you have any negative experiences of customer service on social media? Let me know in the comments section below!

Moving Out, Moving On...

It’s been a pretty hectic weekend. I have finally moved out of the Coventry Foyer, which is the supported housing I have been staying in for the last nine months.

It was a fantastic day for me, not only because it’s the beginning of a new chapter in my life, but also because I have now already fulfilled two of my goals for 2014!

I am extremely goal orientated. Whenever I set myself an objective, I expect myself, and put pressure on myself, to achieve it. So to already have successfully completed two them (the first being to find a job) in the first quarter of the year, makes me very excited at the prospect of what is achievable in this 12 months.

I’m actually in trouble with the Foyer for posting a tweet a few weeks ago. I expressed my opinion about the Midland Heart takeover and they weren't impressed. The tweet (seen here) was nothing defamatory, abusive or unprofessional, yet I've been called in to apparently explain myself.

I'm tempted to go into a rant here. But I will restrain myself, for your benefit. Suffice it to say that moving out of there is a very positive move for me.

In any case, since this post is about moving on, it’s probably about time I do so!

Today marks a month since I started here at West Midlands Fire Service. I'm extremely happy with the way it’s going; it has surpassed even my expectations.

The best thing about working here is the working environment. In my previous work experience at a housing association, which I have mentioned briefly in previous posts, the atmosphere in the office was negative and tense, meaning every day felt like a month (helped by having nothing to do every day of course).

But here – we have a laugh at every opportunity, and we talk as well as work. This offers the chance to be ourselves, rather than just employees. I only recently discovered this more confident and outgoing version of me, and I welcome being able to flex that whenever I can. It’s fun to be at work, which, in my opinion, is as important as the job satisfaction itself.

Yesterday marked a new and exciting chapter in my life. As mentioned in the previous post, I have been through some trials and tribulations over the past year, and to be able to officially say I am back on my feet fills me with a fierce pride usually reserved for Oscar-winners and Olympic gold medallists. Slight exaggeration but you get the idea.

I am lucky enough to get to start again. This apprenticeship with West Midlands Fire Service is a springboard for me and I intend to jump onto it as hard as I possibly can – and who knows? Maybe pull off a couple of fancy looking twists and flips on the way into the pool that is my career.

The Social Media Explosion

Social media has seen a meteoric rise in the last few years. It seems a long, long time ago that Facebook, MySpace and Bebo uttered mere whispers in the murky corners of the internet.

Today, social media is everywhere. Literally, you can’t go anywhere without seeing evidence of it. Even if you stop scowling at the people glued to their phones and their Twitter timeline as they walk blindly down the street, when you move your eyes elsewhere you will see hashtags, pleas for “Follows” and “Likes.”  Social media has taken over the world.

Of course, the problem for businesses is that it has evolved so quickly and become such an important tool for marketing and building relationships with customers/clients, that they haven’t had a chance to react to it. This is why there is a huge skill gap in the digital industry.

This is where people like myself come in. I have grown up around social media, and therefore without studying for a single second, I know more about it than some of the older generation.

You can still see it evolving, every month. It used to be a mainly text based sharing model. Now, you can share photos, videos, music, webpages, anything you like. With sites such as Snapchat, you even have the option of creating what is called “disappearing media.”

The simple fact is that we have become a society built around it. For better or worse, whenever something happens, we instantly think about social media. Can we post this on Facebook or Twitter? How can we make it so we can get more “likes” or “retweets?”  In essence, we have all become marketing agencies for ourselves. We all want the world to love what we share, and more as many people to see it as possible.  Does it not seem crazy then, that 30% businesses don’t have social media in their marketing strategy?

I wish I knew the logic behind not having it in your strategy. It is more cost effective, can reach a global audience and allows you to build relationships with both your customer and your competitior. (For an example of competitor relationships, check out the @ThreeUK and @tescomobile Twitter interaction).

What, then, is the reason for neglecting it? My opinion is that it is a lack of understanding of the huge benefits and, in fact, the sheer importance of the new marketing trends. It is such a new concept that there just isn't a widespread ability to be able to comprehend the potential.

I'll give you an example. On the train home from a session at The Juice Academy yesterday (19th February), I was speaking to a guy who was looking to set up a new business. We had exchanged pleasantries etc about what we do for a job, the usual for us polite Brits, and he wanted to know how he could incorporate social media into his advertising and marketing.

He saw sites such as Facebook and Twitter purely as sites to communicate with family and friends.

This, I think, is the ingrained view among entrepreneurs, or at least the 30% who don't intend to use it. This is something, that as a Social Media Apprentice, I will in the future need to try and change. I offered him some advice as to the channels he should probably look into using, but impressed upon him the importance of having a purpose. 

There can be no comparison of social media now, to even just five years ago. Where will it be in another five years? What will be the latest craze then? Wherever it is headed on the congested motorway that is the internet, it is clear that social media will be around for a long, long time.

What are your views on the future of social media? I would love to hear what others think is going to happen in the near and distant future. Leave your comments below.

No Rain, No Gain: The Highs and Snows of Commuting to Work

Well, hasn’t this weather just made everything delightful. Being a very strong minded person when it comes to punctuality, I usually find the morning and evening commutes to and from work stressful as it is, as one of my biggest hates is to miss a train I promised myself I would catch.

Couple that with the worst rainfall this country has seen in years, and it makes for a very grouchy young Social Media Apprentice indeed. Imagine my panic when we had that rather intense snow flurry.

The job is going fantastically well so far, and I am enjoying every second. I am busy all the time, my employers are allowing me to flex my mind and come up with my own solutions to problems, and I get on with everyone extremely well.

The thought of commuting to work was something I was actually looking forward to – it makes me feel very adult-like and mature, something my sense of humour lacks the ability to do, so getting on the train in my shirt and trousers everyday made me feel like part of a well-knit (or well-suited) community.

I say community – but the morning commute is very much a free-for-all every man for himself situation. There’s me, using my manners as I always do, allowing the professional looking guy in the seat opposite to disembark before myself, and all I get in return is a non-committal grunt of acknowledgement. This was then swiftly followed by a blow to the back of the head (accidental I hope) as someone else decided to barge past, in a rush to get to the already packed escalator that would halt their morning sprint anyway.

I find it quite sad that the pressure of getting to work on time, and the emotional trauma of being on the way to work before dawn, has led to a startling decrease in the impeccable manners us Brits stereotypically have. I am a pretty old fashioned person when it comes to manners and etiquette, so I generally tend to feel a pang of frustration when people forget the simple “excuse me please, I’m in a rush to catch another train,” that I so optimistically expect.

That said, this is something worth tolerating, purely because everyday, I look forward to getting to work. In my previous work placement, I wasn’t challenged in the slightest, and in fact, I barely did anything the whole month I was there. So to be tasked with a few things everyday is something I’m making the most of, much like one savours the taste of Ben and Jerry’s as it slides nonchalantly down your throat.

I honestly expected a slow start to this job. I thought we would be observing more than anything. I was proved wrong immediately. After the initial induction, we were straight away asked to start brainstorming ideas for various upcoming projects, and by Day 3, we had been given events that we would be sent to cover, representing West Midlands Fire Service.

It feels like the Corporate Communications department we are in WANTS us here. In fact, the Strategic Communications Manager has been asking us questions, and been wanting to learn about social media from us, which is a very uplifting feeling, as quite clearly they view us as having something rather valuable to offer their organisation.

This is what makes me proud to be here. I am here for a reason, not to fill up numbers. I’m here because I, and my fellow apprentice Jess, have skills that this company both needs and desires. We can be the future of their social media drive, and this makes being concussed on a regular basis something I can look forward to if the reward is the enriching experience we are already having.

Apprenticeships Over Uni: Why I Chose This Path.

Growing up, I was obsessed with the idea of going to university and getting a degree. I wanted to be the first in my family to go, I wanted the pride of saying I have a degree, but more than anything, I wanted success.

I have always been hungry for it – I have always desired to be the best at whatever I do. This fierce determination has always been what drives me and it is something that I use to my advantage every day.

In August 2011, I received the news: I had been accepted into my first choice of university! Naturally, I was over the moon. It felt like all my hard work had paid dividends. At this point, I must confess that I was guilty of naivety and complacency. In my mind, I had made it – university was my goal and I was going.

However, by the turn of the year, I knew that I would not complete my degree. It didn’t feel right. Something just didn't connect and I knew, although I was reluctant to accept it, that I had to leave.

This was a tough period for me. University was what I had dreamed about for years and for it not to be the path I was supposed to follow demoralised me. I didn't even consider an apprenticeship at this point – I had a very narrow minded and ignorant view of them and believed them to be for school drop-outs and people who left with school with few qualifications.

I could not be happier to be wrong. Their exponential growth in the last 5 years or so, particularly since the rise in tuition fees, speaks for itself. One cannot help but sit up and take notice of what is going on. Increasingly often, young people with university-standard A Level grades are choosing to instead undertake an apprenticeship.

Why is this? Because it is on the job training, and you’re earning money while getting a qualification? Of course, but these savvy young minds are realising that academic qualifications just aren’t as valuable as they used to be. The key to success in today’s climate is to find an edge over the other candidates. Life and work experience is that edge, meaning the apprenticeship is an ideal way to find a route into a career.

3pm on Wednesday 15^th January 2014 – three hours before the deadline for university applications. My finger is on the mouse, the cursor hovered over the “submit” button on my application. I've chosen to apply for a Creative and Professional Writing with English Language degree, with a view to starting a career in social media and marketing. The longing for progression in my career had once again overcome me.

Before I clicked the button, I remembered that social media apprenticeships had been mentioned to me, so I checked online for vacancies and more information about apprenticeships in general to see if it could be the right choice for me.

I came across a vacancy with The Juice Academy at West Midlands Fire Service. Immediately a smile came across my face. I was excited from the first line of reading the advertisement. I applied, and happily I was accepted after being selected from a group of candidates at a “boot camp.”

I have just started my training at The Juice Academy, based in Manchester, and I could not be happier that I made the last minute decision not to apply to university. It is a fantastically well run organisation with genuine intentions to get young people like myself into an industry where there is a frighteningly large skill gap.

As someone who hopes to be an employer myself in the future, I would encourage young people to consider an apprenticeship. The simple fact is, times are changing, and employers are looking for something more from potential employees. They want to build for the future now, which is why they are employing younger people and training them from the very basics. This is why I personally champion the apprenticeship as possibly the best way for young people to get into their chosen career.