Just touched down in London Town

The big smoke, joining the rat race…whatever you want to call it, I love London.

After completing some work experience at BANG! Showbiz last year, I'd got the bug for the London lifestyle. I love the fast paced commute, although my love for being squashed in on the tube isn’t so great, and I adore the excitement of the journalism industry there.  

You only have to look on job websites such as Gorkana and Media Muppet to see that the majority of journalism and media based jobs are located in London.

So, as graduation nears, I've been looking at applying to some London based jobs, with the hope that I'll be able to secure one and move down to London. Easier said than do though as I'm sure you all know, the job market is tough and my dream job is probably the dream job of hundreds of others as well. 

I was lucky enough to secure an interview for one last week- queue sweaty palms and butterflies in my stomach. My nerves were not helped after I realised I'd never actually had a proper interview before either. 

A month or so earlier our department had put on a careers day where we were interviewed by professionals in the industry. This was my first experience of being interviewed and although it was nerve-wracking, I’m glad I got to practice before I experienced the real thing.  I learnt that you have to research the company thoroughly before the interview to know everything about them. There's nothing more embarrassing than getting in to the interview only to be asked the simple question "what do you know about us" and not be able to answer. 

Arrive to the interview with ideas as well. I found that it's always great to tell the interviewer what you liked about their latest work, and what you could bring to the table if you got the job.

Enthusiasm goes a long way as well. That might sound patronising, but when you're trying to control your nerves sometimes you're so busy concentrating on that, you momentarily forget that you're there to show them how much you want the job. 

Surviving my first real interview was a proud moment for me. My interviewer was lovely, and really made me feel at ease, and I hope that I made a good impression. If I don't get the job, I will be disappointed because I'd love to work there, but it's all good experience at the end of the day.

Plus, I got to explore London the following day and be a real tourist, getting my camera out at every opportunity and navigating the tubes. 

I also took the opportunity to meet my editor at The Independent, Tom, who I write articles for to be published on the student section of the website.

It was nice to finally meet him, and to be able to put a face to the name and numerous emails. He gave me some really great advice on the industry as well which was helpful.

I can't wait to go back to London now, whether it's for another interview, or hopefully next time, a job. Fingers crossed.

You can check out my latest article for The Independent here: http://www.independent.co.uk/student/career-planning/getting-job/silver-linings-your-dream-job-isnt-as-far-away-as-it-might-seem-8558006.html?origin=internalSearch

"You've got to become an expert on everything"

Last week I was on work experience at The Yorkshire Post in Leeds after applying through my university placement scheme.

What I thought was going to be a fun way to pass a week of the Easter holidays, and get some more hands on experience in a busy regional newsroom actually turned out to be one of the best placements I've ever had.

For the first two days I was on the business desk- a new experience entirely for me as on previous work experience I have always been on the news desk. I'm not an expert on business, in fact, I know very little about it, so if I'm honest I was a bit worried about that.

That doesn't necessarily matter though, like any other placement, all you really need is the determination and willingness to put in the hard work, as cheesy as that sounds.

Everyone was lovely, and really made me feel welcome, which automatically puts you at ease. Straight away deputy business editor Greg White gave me the business appointments to write, and by the end of my two days on the business desk I had three by-lines.

Business was definitely a lot different to news, particularly in how they wanted me to write the articles, so it was really great experience to have a go at that, and something I really enjoyed.

I love writing features, so moving to the features desk for the following two days was something I was really excited about. I love the chance to be creative which my writing and choose how you want to intro a piece. I learnt an incredible amount in such a short space of time as well.

Nick Ahad took me under his wing so to speak and gave me various pieces and NIBS to write. He seemed to be pleased with what I was doing and asked if I fancied having a go at a bigger piece. Of course, I jumped at the chance.

The piece was to go on page 5, and be about 500-600 words on Harewood House latest art exhibition In Cloud Country. Artist and curator, Diane Howse, also the Countess of Harewood, had organised the exhibition so it was her who I needed to get an interview with.

Like business, I don't know much about art really. I know some big artists and could recognise their work, but apart from that I am definitely a novice. Nick assured me though that I didn't need to be an art expert to write the piece, so I made sure I researched everything thoroughly before interviewing Diane.

The result was what I hope was a good feature for the paper. The best part was that after I had written a first draft, Nick went through my piece with me and told me how to make it better.

Here are just a few pointers he gave me:

1) Make sure there's a thread throughout the whole piece. With a feature you still need to have a theme running through, like a news story; it still has to be clear.

2) You've got to become an expert on everything, even if you don't know what it is you're writing about. However, you need to strike the balance between being an expert and still enabling the reader to understand what you're saying.

His help was invaluable and it was definitely a worthwhile placement that I'd love to go back to, and hopefully I helped them out as well.

Another day, another cover letter 

A wise woman once told me that you cannot send the same cover letter and CV to every job that you apply for. Despite the fact that that wise woman just so happens to be a careers adviser, and my Mum, she’s right.

In my opinion, the second you do that, you're immediately shooting yourself in the foot. Think about it, with the number of people who apply to each job, the employer will no doubt be able to spot a generic cover letter a mile off.

The plus side of this is, is that you can really tailor your CV and letter of application to show off your skills and talents which you know match the job perfectly.

However, the down side is that it can be so time consuming. Don't get me wrong, this is by no means me complaining about having to apply for a job- I'm grateful that there are jobs out there to apply for.

When you've been working all day and you've got your mum, tutor, email and every other social networking site going crazy at you with job alerts, the last thing you often feel like doing is sitting down to write a cover letter. 

I'm by no means an expert in writing cover letters, but it's for this reason that I wanted to share my top 5 tips with you for writing the best cover letter possible.

1) Let the company know why you want the job and why you want to work for them. It's tempting to just word vomit all of your excellent qualities across the page, but try and remember that the employer will want to know why you've chosen them. If you love that company for a particular reason- tell them!

2) Get someone else to re-read your cover letter and CV. As a student I know that reading something over and over again, you stop seeing the flaws in it.  Get a friend or another colleague to read over I to check for spelling and punctuation errors.

3) Use your cover letter to showcase your passion and talent for the job. If it's a journalism job for example, show off your writing skills. If it's an art and design job, show them what you can do by setting out your cover letter a bit differently.

4) Find out who you should address the letter to. I think it makes a lot of difference to address the letter to someone other than just 'Sir/Madam' as it shows you've taken the time to find out who it is you are actually applying to and that you are prepared to go that extra mile.

5) Finally, tailor your skills to the job application. There's no point mentioning what you can do if the job doesn't require it. Print off the job specification and role requirements and tick them off as you address them one by one in your cover letter.

I hope that's helpful. They are just a few tips which have helped me so far when applying for jobs. As I embark on another one this afternoon (fingers crossed) I'm hoping they get stronger each time.

Next week I'm on work experience at The Yorkshire Post, in Leeds. I've never been there before so I'm excited to see how another newspaper works and to get stuck in. I'll be blogging my experiences, and hopefully some articles for you, so make sure you keep your eyes peeled.

:) 

A bit about me..

121 days. 

Only 121 days until I graduate from university. 

I can't quite believe that my three years at Sheffield University is almost up. I remember sitting in on an introductory talk during first year, mid-freshers week with my new flatmates, as a university staff member stood at the front talking to hundreds of freshers. 
I remember her saying that the next three years would fly by. I'd heard the same talk at the start of sixth-form and nodded along absentmindedly, but she was right, I literally don't know where the time has gone! 

I've been studying for a BA Hons in Journalism Studies for the past three years and as clichéd as it sounds, I've loved every minute of it. I've met some amazing people, and had some amazing experiences.

Last April I entered a travel writing competition and won the chance of a lifetime to travel around Australia and write about it. It was without a doubt the best time of my life so far. I've also had some great work experience at a local newspaper, and even written blogs for The Independent online. 

I won't bore you with a blow by blow account of my life at university, but as a soon-to-be-graduate embarking in to the world of work in this ever challenging job market, I've created this blog to share my experiences with you.

You'll be able to read about my challenges as I apply for jobs, the experiences I have, and what life after university as a journalism graduate is like.

Hope you enjoy it. 

Twitter: @HannahBryan91