On my first day I tried going in with good confidence and a smile. I also didn’t feel nervous, but calm instead for the prospect of working in an unfamiliar place. Though I got to admit I was a little anxious at first. The aroma of coffee hit me as I stepped through the double doors, perhaps a minute or two late. The place I worked in over the two weeks is basically like a big office department divided into lots of different sections. I worked in the advertising department. Most of the employees in that department have their own computer and wear headsets, talking to different clients and companies about booking ads. The conditions in my workplace were clean, dry, light, indoor, and quite noisy. It seemed like a tidy and spacious environment. I had my own new desk, which consisted of a computer, a very comfortable chair, a stapler, lots of pens, a post tray and many other little gadgets that caught my eye. As I walked through my new workplace, I was quick to recognise, the very friendly working environment, and positive attitude of the workers employed there. There was a nice friendly atmosphere and plenty of room to work. Everyone at my placement were very friendly and helpful towards me settling down. Most of them seemed much more sophisticated than me though. But I think I fitted in just fine. Michelle was the administrator of the advertising department. He was the person responsible for me and gave me various jobs to do. He was a really friendly and out going person. He taught me how to input classified advertising data in to the computers (Classified advertising is where readers want to sell their goods through the newspaper as an ad). I got the hang of it straight away and found it very easy afterwards. The jobs I got given to do were really important, whether I liked them or not they still had to be done. I also learnt about safety, and what to do in the event of a fire. I had lunch at around twelve o'clock where I met up with a couple of my friends in town for an hour. When I got back from lunch I did some photocopying and then I did the post, where I simply put newspapers into large envelopes, stuck labels on to the envelopes and stamped each one. Then I simply took them down to the security guard, who then weighted them and sent them off. I left at five o'clock and got the bus home. The only thing about the first day that surprised me was the time length of the day, as I was not used to working for eight whole hours. I really enjoyed the experience on my first day and overall it was very good.
Most of the days at my work experience I either did something different or learnt something new. I found doing the classified ads on the computer and marketing very boring. It was also time-consuming. Marketing is simply measuring each ad in other competitive newspapers and magazines then summing up the measurements and recording them down. I really enjoyed laminating the ads, and searching the Internet. It was the first time I have ever done laminating and the Internet is something I go on regularly. Most of the other jobs were photocopying, filing and finding old newspapers. I didn’t mind actually doing these jobs, as they had to be done and they were not as much time consuming. The weeks passed more or less without incident and when the end of the weeks arrived I was so tired I thought that I could have slept through the entire weekend. As it happens I almost managed to. Throughout the two weeks I only worked in one department, which was the advertising department, but I was allowed to have a quick look in the publications department where I spoke to some of the employees about their job. When Michelle was really busy, I had to work with Sandra. Sandra was another employee on the advertising department. He was a really kind and gentle person, who I became really close with as the week went on. I did most of my jobs with him and at one time, I went with him to deliver some house selling newspapers to estate agents in town. I felt more like a valued member of the workforce as everyone treated me and spoke to me like I was employed there for real. At times I did get ordered to do more jobs at once and it sometimes became a little chaotic too. The most important job was making sure I finished all the post and sent it down to the security guard before it was half past four. I was responsible for the post in the advertising department for the two weeks. I looked forward to each job, I was asked to do, mainly because most of the jobs, I hadn’t tried before and it would also give me more experience. Overall I felt hopeful about the jobs I was given to do. I found most of my jobs enjoyable though some became a little time-consuming.
Every day I made my way there at nine o’clock in the morning. I finished each day at five o’clock or some days a couple of minutes earlier. I sometimes had a good half an hour break where I would go to the top floor with another work experience friend and play darts or table tennis. Sometimes, I was allowed a quick ten-minute break where I would have a snack or a drink. I had my dinner at twelve o’clock everyday where I meet up with my friends for one hour in town. This is what the structure of my day was like for the two weeks. I looked forward to coming into work everyday and interacting with the other employees. I also very much enjoyed meeting my friends at dinnertime. Before I left at five o’clock I always got a free paper then caught the bus home. I had done a lot of work for free but it was still nice of them to make the gesture.
My work experience was challenging and persuasive. My career plans haven’t changed at all, but I don’t like the working shift of nine to five, as it becomes really tiring. I still am intrigued by computers, digital imaging and journalism. When I look back on my work experience in five years time I will reflect that it has changed my life because I will have more of an idea about my career I will take in the future. I will be less nervous on the first day, have more confidence going in everyday and have an idea of what the people are like to work with when I actually get a real job. This will also go down in my records that I have worked for an official company. It has been beneficial too because I can mention it on my CV when I go for my first job as it may give me a better chance of getting that job depending on which company it is. Overall it has been worthwhile and great opportunity. The prospect of working in an unfamiliar place may have made me feel a little anxious and nervous at first, but I have been treated like an employee throughout the whole experience. There have been no problems and I have learnt many new things and I’ve had many challenges. Sometimes it may have got a little tiring but the job had to be done that’s what I was there for. It was tedious, fun, exciting and, at times, strenuous work and was an experience I shall never forget. The work experience has been a good real experience to how a job really is.
