Take A Chance, Take Chance On Me…
Last time, I wrote about terrible experiences I have had in interviews, well today I thought I would write about something a bit more positive - people giving me a chance.
Hello, my name is Holly and I am a Video Editor and Motion Graphics Designer who has had the chance to work on everything from live broadcast, long form documentaries and live events. This would not have been possible if certain people had not taken the leap and hired me for certain roles.
There have been a few times in my career where people have decided to give me a chance - they saw potential in me and I am forever grateful to them. They have also made me feel that the battle to get the career I wanted was worth it. So today we are going to look at managers that gave me roles that have helped blossom my career.
The Pick Me Up I Needed
I had just left a terrible experience where I had to walk away from a company unprofessionally by not working my notice and getting the union involved because I was bullied by my boss, they would take credit for my work and deliberately isolate me from my other colleagues. It was a really awful experience and it really made me lose my confidence.
It was at that point I had to turn to becoming a freelancer - I couldn’t see any other way of getting a job otherwise as companies always wanted references from your last role.
I saw an advert for a VFX Editor role for National Geographic - it was a three week job and it was a fast turn around as their delivery of the long form show was running late. I had no experience even though I did Motion Graphics but due to the fact they were on a tight deadline, they took a chance on me.
I was a team player - I would work 100 hours a week so I could help out anyway I could, I jumped into a senior role when the other colleague had food poisoning and even made some extra b-roll graphics in After Effects and Cinema 4D when they were desperate for more.
I was in a junior position so I was on a low wage for the work I was doing. However, my manager was so impressed by my hard work and enthusiasm to help when everything kept going wrong that she pushed for me to get higher pay. My manager also praised me on the way I approached work. After all the trauma the previous job had left, this was a boost I needed to start believing in myself again.
The Newcastle Encyclopedia
A job came up to work at BBC Newcastle, it was one that really interested me and I was eager to get it. I had never been to Newcastle before but I did my research and I learnt so much before I got to my interview. I think I spent 3-5 days learning about the processes of their newsroom, the local news, the area and what was happening.
I turned up to the interview, did the standard practical test to prove I can do animation and graphic design and then had the interview. The one thing that was apparent with the three people interviewing me was that they were nervous because I had not been to the area or lived in the area that I would not be knowledgeable enough to take on the role. I think they were surprised about how much I knew and everything I could tell them about their area of North East and Cumbria.
About an hour later I was at the station waiting for my train back to London when I got a phone call from the manager offering me the job - this had never happened so quickly for me before and I accepted on Platform 5 (I even remember where I was standing and that the weather was cloudy). It would be my first job where I was able to combine my creative side with the journalism side of me - I cried on the train home, I was going to have my graphics play out on BBC News!!!
When I moved to Newcastle six weeks later I discovered that the head of graphics had passed away. This meant that the department was going to change as there had to be a reshuffle as a lot of the folders were locked and the second in command had to spend the next year reorganising and sorting this problem out. This meant that my job role changed - there were now too many people in graphics so it meant that I was to be trained up on Quantel to edit for live broadcast. Which for me was very exciting as it meant I would finally be editing for television, which was one of my dreams.
In my six month review with my manager, I had a really positive experience - I was told that they had never had someone so new to their department where journalists were requesting me as an editor. Even journalists that liked editing their own VTs and never went into the edit suites were even requesting me - it was such an honour. The fact that management had picked up on this as well was such a surreal feeling.
Good Morning Avid!
Avid used to be a programme that was inaccessible to those out of the TV industry as it was so expensive to purchase. I used to spend hours on YouTube watching tutorials as to how to use the programme so I had pages and pages of notes so that I knew about the programme and could eventually use it when I had to.
A job came up to work as a VT Editor for ITV Daytime - even though my AVID skills were lacking, I decided to risk it and apply. What was the worst that could happen?
The interview went really well - just like BBC News, I studied for days for this job and learnt everything there was to know about Good Morning Britain, This Morning, Lorraine and Loose Women as well as the ins and outs of the business side of the department as well as statistics.
I didn’t get the jobs but it must of been apparent to the bosses my enthusiasm as I was offered the chance to come into the offices, shadow the Editors and learn AVID properly and potentially have the opportunity to freelance at the department.
Eight years later and I am still freelancing for ITV Daytime and it has been one of my favourite roles I have ever had. That is due to the work being fun and having amazing managers who treat freelancers really well as well as believe in them and nurture them.
All these moments where people took a chance on me I will never forget. It makes me forever thankful to them as those people saw something in me and decided to put me in a work environment to see if I would blossom.
They always say you should only apply for roles you have the skills for - I disagree with this, skills are transferable and sometimes if you take a chance on someone who is different they may be able to bring something unique to the role you never expected or even knew you wanted.