alexratcliffe

[alexratcliffe]

Entry 9 - Internship

[alexratcliffe]

Entry 8 - Internship

Overall my internship was an amazing experience, from start to finish I feel I really feel I grew into a more mature and experienced person. Every 50 hours or so I reflected on my progress and achievements which make up my reflection of my internship as a whole. 

0-50 hours

The first 50 hours of my internship were a real shock to the system and to reality. This is because I was currently working retail and only in a casual position to then being in a corporate organisation such as Commonwealth Games Australia, this shock to the system really took me by surprise and on the back foot. 

Although feeling on the back foot I went into my internship with the intention of blowing everyone away, by taking on every task and completing it as quickly as possible. I quickly learnt this was the wrong way to go about my work as when I completed work to that speed it turned out to be predominantly incorrect and would take more time to fix rather than be useable. This feedback stuck with me throughout the remainder of my internship and really allowed me to grow and find myself within the organisation. This made the first 50 hours of my internship interesting and although a culture shock a good one to wake me up to the level of work expected and that will continue for the remainder of my internship.  

50-100 

This section of my internship was my first opportunity to prove myself and grow in the role, the other intern working with me at the time had finished his internship so I was then the only intern remaining. This put a lot more expectations and responsibility on my role, although challenging at first a great experience to have more expectations allowed for more steady growth during these hours. Additionally, during this section of my internship, I was taken on my first community engagement event, this was a trip to Waverly Meadows school in Melbourne to thank the children for artwork created for the athletes in the villages of Birmingham 2022. This included a visit from Commonwealth Games mascot Borobi, It was my job to be the mascot and give all the amazing children a personalised certificate from Borobi thanking the children for their hard work. This was an experience that really grew me as a person, the opportunity and the satisfaction I felt from impacting these children was a memory that will stay with me forever. 

100-150 

From 100-150 hours there was much similar work and progression such as the first 100, the progression of my personal growth was big and there were a number of great experiences throughout these hours. A number of lunches for people who were leaving the company which was a great opportunity to grow the relationship between myself and the team. The feeling of being comfortable within the team and allowing the confidence to ask questions and lean on my colleagues was a great opportunity for me to grow even more in my role. This section of hours was one that allowed me to grow some of my skills such as photoshop work which was one that grew quickly and allowed me to create work that would be published on the social media account of the organisation. 

This section also allowed me the first opportunity to test my creative writing skills, I was tasked with writing the Emerging Athlete of the month, which was a junior Squash player who recently had won the U19’s Australia Squash championship. There were a number of steps that surrounded the writing of this article, first I had to reach out to Squash Australia to get hold of the correct contact details to reach out to Madison Lyon. Because Madison was under 18 we first reached out to her parents to check if the interview would be ok to do, then I sent Madison the questions to be asked and from there I was able to call her and conduct the interview which would then be published on the Commonwealth Games website. 

150-228 

The final section of my internship was where I really felt that I grew into the role, I was able to go along to another 2 community engagement events at 2 more schools around Melbourne and also travel to Brisbane for the Australian Sports Medal presentation to the athletes and staff of Queensland. These were amazing opportunities to make connections and grow my communication skills by dealing with a number of stakeholders from the Governor of Queensland to Chef De Mission Anna Mears, all of which were great to work with and help grow my experience with Commonwealth Games Australia. I feel very lucky to have been given the opportunity to travel interstate as an Intern and it really taught me a lot about what is expected when you’re representing an international sporting organisation such as this. 

Overall my internship and studies taught me a wide range of lessons and experiences that will go with me forward throughout my career. These experiences although given to me by Commonwealth Games wouldn't have been possible without the internship program with Holemsglen and the Sports Business degree.

[alexratcliffe]

Entry 7 - Internship

Throughout my internship, I was assessed by my mentor with evaluation forms that were based on my performance and overall, the feedback was sent to myself and my lecturer to gauge an understanding of how I was going. The feedback helped me along my path towards completion throughout my internship and allowed for the opportunity to learn on the go and take any skills I learnt going forward into my career. These forms along with in-the-moment feedback from my mentor allowed me to learn quickly and get the best from myself to work at the highest level. 

The main feedback I received towards the start of my internship was all positive minus a few issues that were to be corrected. These issues were in regard to the speed I was working, but in fact, I was rushing my work and there were a number of issues that were having to be tackled. This set not only myself but my mentor back as they would then have to double-check my work. Setbacks like these were detrimental to all involved and were a feedback that was taken on board quickly. 

On the other hand, there was positive feedback surrounding my communication, enthusiasm, working autonomously, likability and eagerness to be involved in work. This feedback really was a confidence boost and allowed me to grow and fit into the role much quicker, This gave me a high level of confidence which made me feel comfortable in the first 100 hours of my internship. This allowed me to mould with the team better and feel more comfortable within the team to ask questions and take on responsibility. My mentor overall for the first 100 hours evaluated my work as a 4.5 out of 5 with the feedback “Great start, lots to come”, filling me with confidence towards the next 128 hours of my internship. 

The second round of feedback which was completed at the end of my internship gave me a clearer and better understanding of the overall opinion of my work and strengths throughout my internship. The feedback starts with a review of my overall strengths broken down into sections shown below. These sections were rated exceptional, very good, satisfactory, poor and N/A, this gave me a quick overview of my performance and I was very satisfied to see all my grades in exceptional other than 3. 

From here there were a number of sections that break down different areas where my skills improved and I grew as a person. My mentor gave me the feedback of “an ability to learn to complete tasks efficiently with a keen eye for detail, compared to feedback from my first 100 hours shows growth and development over the period of my internship. It was also great to read about the confidence put behind me when it comes to working on the ground at events involved with the Commonwealth Games, this confidence that my personality was strong and partnered with my professionalism creates a great working environment when working with all levels of stakeholders. 

Overall receiving in the moment feedback throughout my internship and also these evaluation forms has allowed for the opportunity to mould and grow into a position to work in a professional organisation. With this feedback on board, I feel a number of opportunities and experiences have been gained which will stay with me throughout my career and help me move forward with opportunities and full-time employment. 

[alexratcliffe]

Entry 6 - Internship

Throughout my University journey, my passions and interests have varied throughout each semester and subject. With these subjects and different roles throughout my internship there were a number of different passions which were appealing as a possible career. Throughout all my options I always knew a creative role in creating graphics and visual content was always one that I would look to go into. Digital media and social media subjects during my semesters appealed greatly to me as the creative side and the analytics were extremely interesting to me. This plus a role in marketing interested me with still having a creative outlet there was also the business side to the role. 

Over the final 75/100 hours of my internship, my mentor Ali and I at Commonwealth Games started discussing what I aimed to get out of my internship going forward. We talked about roles she thought I would be good at and gave me a range of advice and honesty. This helped me as I started applying for a wide number of roles in the sports industry. The roles varied such as my passions but were narrowly focused on creative and on-the-ground roles such as events, social media, marketing, and public relations roles. Although I felt well prepared for these roles there was a lot of pushback surrounding my experience level, with this in mind Ali and I adapted my resume and I interviewed for a role at my AFL team, the Melbourne Demons. The role was a media coordinator role which would be in charge of organising media undertaken by the club, whether that was interviews with newspapers or stories written by the press in regards to the club. During the interview, the HR representative asked great probing questions and quickly learnt that I may not be suitable for this role and recommended me for a social media and content coordinator role that was available. After a second interview, I landed the role which will start in February 2023. 

Throughout both university and my internship, I was taught a number of skills and techniques that helped me secure this role. The transition to a professional practice subject that included a mock interview really prepared me for all the interviews I had, this gave me a confident interview presence. With this in mind, I subsequently landed my dream role with the amazing support from Holmesglen and everyone involved at Commonwealth Games Australia to move into full-time work post internship.

Below is a copy of the resume used for applying for the Melbourne Demons role.

[alexratcliffe]

Entry 5 - Internship

Throughout my internship, there were a number of achievements and milestones achieved, personally from the start of my internship I feel that my ability to mature at a fast rate and be able to fit into a team quickly by building relationships. This allowed me to feel confident and comfortable within the team to ever need to ask questions to anyone without feeling uncomfortable and achieving a good level of work too. This both personal and professional achievement was one that will stick with me for a long time, this allowed my colleagues to also feel comfortable with me rely on me and feel confident in my work. 

Publishing my first official work on behalf of the Commonwealth Games Australia was one that really felt like a major achievement for me in my career. The feeling of being able to see and share my work that represents a major international sporting organisation was a memory that will stay with me forever. Being able to share my work with friends and family around the world, made not just myself but my entire family proud of the work I'd created. 

Another achievement of mine was the opportunity to do a number of Community Engagement events, these events allowed me to visit a number of schools around Melbourne and also the opportunity to visit Brisbane to host the Australian Sports medal presentation. Both these opportunities gave me valuable experiences and opportunities which taught me so much, working with children to thank them for artwork they created for the athletes going to compete in Birmingham. We were able to give them certificates thanking them for their work and brought a number of athletes to talk about their experience and thank them too. The trip to Brisbane was one that saw me meet a number of Commonwealth Games athletes and build relationships with them, in addition to this meeting and speaking to the Governor of Brisbane and maintaining a relationship on behalf of the Commonwealth Games Australia. 

These achievements were all ones that will stay with me throughout my career and into the future, each opportunity taught me so much and allowed for a great and valuable experiences that will aid me in the future.

[alexratcliffe]

Entry 4 - Internship

Adjusting to a working week from studying and casual retail employment was one that took a few weeks to get used to, outside of my internship I was working in casual retail work doing 4 days a week. This transitional period, although at first tough, didn’t last too long. Before I knew it I was in the habit and routine of commuting to South Melbourne and feeling quite comfortable in the role, this confidence also comes with the ability to host meetings and discussions with a number of co-workers. 

The nature of the work itself was one that took me by surprise, although I was quite confident in my work, it took me a few weeks to adjust to the level and the steps needed to be taken before posting or sharing any work publicly. I was quickly educated on the way in which is best to work, at roughly the halfway mark of my internship I noticed that my work had become stronger and more reliable when it came to feedback from my peers. Research has found that there are a number of factors that mould the model of hosting a major sporting event, which are economic benefits, economic costs, social benefits, and social costs. Commonwealth Games Australia achieves all these factors and is able to host successful Commonwealth Games and consistently (Atc,. et al, 2016). 

The organisation itself is one that took me by surprise, when I started I realised the size and outreach that the Commonwealth Games has to not only Australia but the Commonwealth and the world. The size and impact that Australia has on the Commonwealth Games are immense, with Australia aiming to host the games every 4 games (16 years). This takes a high level of professionalism and planning, the organisation needs to be respected in the international sporting world and the Australian Commonwealth Games teams have always been professional and successful. This creates a well-respected and understood organisation that helps create and produce great sporting achievements over the last 150 years. With this in mind, I felt I quickly had to learn and understand the level of respect and the language used for content that reaches a major audience around the world. 

Atç, D., Unur, K., & Gürsoy, D. (2016). The Impacts of Hosting Major Sporting Events: Resident's Perceptions of the Mediterranean Games 2013 in Mersin. International Review of Management and Marketing, 6(1) https://login.ezproxy.holmesglen.edu.au/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/impacts-hosting-major-sporting-events-residents/docview/1762628156/se-2

[alexratcliffe]

Entry 3 - Internship

Over the first month or two of my internship, I feel that I really grew into the role and team, finding my place within the office to get the best of my ability. This comfortability came with a number of great working and non-working relationships growing, this allowed me to gain a deeper level of trust and respect for each other which allowed for better working relationships. This trust and respect gave me the confidence to ask questions whenever I needed to and not feel worried or scared to do so, which for me is a very good feeling to have. 

Along with this growth of relationships, there was also bigger expectations and responsibility, this came in the form of article writing. My first major solo task was to write the Emerging athlete of the month award for the Commonwealth Games website and socials, this was a process that required a number of steps. Firstly as a team, we sat and discussed who should be in question for the award. We decided to nominate Madison Lyon who is the U19’s Australian Squash Champion, we had to make sure there were all the right steps taken in regards to reaching out to Madison and interviewing her, so next, we reached out to the appropriate people at Squash Australia who put us in contact with Madison’s mother who prepped Madison on her interview. After that, I conducted the interview and wrote the article on Madison's recent championship win. 

The responsibility given to me to work with external stakeholders in Madison, her parents and Squash Australia gave me the amazing experience of independence and the best ways to deal with external stakeholders on a number of different levels. With this in mind, and after a few weeks as an intern with Commonwealth Games Australia, the responsibility put on me allowed me to prove myself as an effective and proficient worker. With the addition of great training and effective work, the team allowed me to feel confident and comfortable working and learning to the best of my ability (Hirschfeld et al., 2006). 

My confidence throughout the first few weeks of my internship being surrounded by effective workers gave me confidence and the ability to work at my highest level and have a positive outlet on the team and organisation as a whole. Overall the first few weeks of my internship were positive and I grew and developed a number of skills that will take me into a professional organisation in the future.

Below is the article written by myself on Madison Lyon.

https://commonwealthgames.com.au/emerging-athlete-of-the-month-madison-lyon/

[alexratcliffe]

Entry 2 - Internship

At the commencement of my internship, there were a number of steps that needed to be taken to get settled and comfortable. Firstly a full introduction to those who are involved and a tour of the facilities, from here we went straight into my first team meeting. The meeting allowed me to personally introduce myself to everyone in the office and give a bit of background as to what I am interested in. This meeting allowed me to learn everyone's names and get acquainted with everyone in the office. 

From here the first few weeks of my internship were heavily data entry based, although these tasks may not have been the most fun it was a quick learning curve. I entered these tasks with the mentality of speed is key, getting as much done in as quicker time as possible, with this in mind, I very quickly learnt that wasn't the right attitude to have. For the first few tasks that I completed there were a number of mistakes costing me more time and effort to redo them with better accuracy. This learning curve really took me by surprise, I felt that my attitude was the right one to have but after receiving quite firm feedback to slow down and double-check any work is the best way to work. 

From here when it came to these tasks I made a heavy conscious effort to slow down and allow for as few mistakes as possible, even if this meant the task went longer. This meant that less time would be wasted not only for myself but my boss who had to check the work. This was a quick and steep learning curve that has stuck with me to the end of m internship, knowing to slow down and double-check everything really gave me an insight into the most effective way to work in a professional sporting organisation. 

Overall I'd say that my initial first 40 hours at Commonwealth Games Australia were a positive one as it opened my eyes to a professional setting and the language and conversations needed to run an international sporting organisation. The effectiveness of the feedback on offer really allowed for growth and a healthy work environment which made the first 40 hours of my internship very enjoyable (Eklöf et all., 2004).

Eklöf, M., Hagberg, M., Toomingas, A., & Tornqvist, E. W. (2004). Feedback of workplace data to individual workers, workgroups or supervisors as a way to stimulate working environment activity: a cluster randomized controlled study. International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health, 77(7), 505-14. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00420-004-0531-4

[alexratcliffe]

Entry 1- Internship

When I announced on my Linkedin that I had been given the position of intern at the Commonwealth Games Australia, I was rushed with an enormous sense of pride and achievement. This feeling was reinforced by past and present colleagues, who congratulated and praised my hard work throughout my degree as this was a fantastic opportunity for me. 

As the commencement date of my internship rolled around the nerves started. This being my first experience in a professional sporting organisation, I must be prepared for whatever is thrown at me. I started my preparation by researching the Commonwealth Games and what they stand for as an organisation, my findings were what I expected. I used key sources to find a good and deep understanding of what Commonwealth Games Australia stood for, in addition to this looking at Social media outlets and understanding the language and tone of the organisation helped massively (Hardavella et al. 2016). With the organisation being an international and very prestigious one, the level of professionalism and respect was just as high as I expected. I read the organisation's mission and vision statements and values to gain a greater understanding of the thinking and outlooks of all those involved. 

With the organisation competing in 2022 in Birmingham I joined just after the games, this came with a massive shift in culture and staff involved in the company. With this in mind, I took out extensive research into the history of the Australian Commonwealth Games team and their success over recent games, in addition to what they have been able to offer as hosts. As one of the leading medal holders in the history of the games, with my research, I discovered the deep and meaningful opportunities that were on offer for those involved with the games. This covers a number of honours from representing your country as an athlete or staff member to higher honours such as Chef de mission (General manager) for the games. 

With this research in mind, I felt fully prepared and ready to take on my internship and offer the organisation my best work and open-mindedness. With this, I knew that any experience I was able to gain would hold me well for the years to come moving forward.

Hardavella, G., Aamli Gagnat, A., Xhamalaj, D., & Saad, N. (2016). How to prepare for an interview. Breathe (Sheffield, England), 12(3), e86–e90. https://doi.org/10.1183/20734735.013716

[alexratcliffe]

Jayden Hunt interview 

[alexratcliffe]

What we thought our top 5 2022 games of the year!

Although a disappointing year, our 2022 was filled with a number of games that showed our real Demon colours.

Looking back over our season, a stellar 10-0 start allowed for a season set up for finals. Big wins and close finishes created excitement going into the mid season. 

With this stella start our 5th ranked game is our round 1 grand final rematch against the Western Bulldogs.  

A 26 point win in front of a packed out MCG allowed for those who weren't able to make it too Perth to watch the Grand Final a chance to watch both teams battle it out.

The game had a similar outcome to that of the September previous, with the Dee’s taking an early lead in the first quarter to face a major push back in the second by the Dogs to make it a 9 point lead going into the half.

After another Petracca masterclass the Dee’s made it over the line to secure their first win of the season and proof that the Dee’s were back for another crack at the premiership.

Coming in at number 4 we look back at our Rd 4 class in Adelaide against the Power.

The game was a Demon masterclass, with many big names standing up in our 32 point win over Port. 

Led by our rock at the back Steven May who had 10 interceptions, in addition to 22 disposals and 681 meters gained. 

The game showed the Demons defensive prowess keeping the power goalless until half time. This domination got the Dee’s over the line to secure their 4th win of the season. 

May was joined at the top of the rankings by usual suspects Max Gawn who had 25 disposals and a goal, and another 3 goal game for gun forward Bailey Fritsch. 

Taking 3rd spot on our list of top 5 games is our second time facing the Port Adelaide power, this time in the heart of the country Alice Springs in our round 18 win.

The game was stolen by superstar Kozzy Pickett who kicked 6 in front of a astounded crowd who’s cheers could be heard around the country.

Kozzy kicked 6 brilliant goals from everywhere and anywhere, tormenting Port defenders giving them nightmares for weeks.

With Kozzy, Petracca showed us his class with 30 touches and 10 clearances to dominate in midfield, with 9 score involvements to add to his mind blowing disposal count. 

This win gave Melbourne their 13th win of the season, putting them in prime position to secure a finals spot. 

Coming in with the sliver medal and the middle step on our podium is our Rd 23 domination of finals challengers the Brisbane Lions. 

The game was played in a humid muggy Gabba and flexed what Melbourne had to offer going into the finals series. 

The game was led by forward line star again, Kozzy Pickett and Bailey Fritsch, both kicking 4 goals and leading the charge from the front. 

Clayton Oliver also topped the stat sheets with a solid and expected 30 disposals and a mind blowing 13 clearances. 

The game showed what Goodwin and his men could provide filling fans around the country with excitement heading into a tough finals stint. 

Coming in on top spot of our best games of 2022 is our Rd 22 win over the Carlton Blues, the had both teams fighting for something. The Dee’s their spot in the top 4 and for the Blues a chance to play finals. 

With this in mind the game was a closely tested game with both teams giving it all they had throughout the game. 

As the last quarter rolled round and the scores close, Carlton were over a goal up with 2 minutes to go, but a last minute goal by Jake Melksham put us closer to the victory needed.

Melksham’s goal topped of a superstar day kicking 4 goals and creating the final winning goal in the dying seconds.

As the seconds ticked down, Jayden Hunt smashed a long ball within 50 which was brought to ground by Melskham and handed off to Kozzy Pickett. With 12 seconds to go Kozzy snapped the ball high in the air and through for a crucial goal. Securing the Demons the win and a solid place in finals. 

Although the game was tight the excitement and nerves couldn't be beaten by a last 10 second goal by our superstar Kozzy. With the excitement and drama of a last 10 second goal, this is why the Carlton game is our game of the year. 

[alexratcliffe]

Transition - entry 7

Overall there has been a large number of new learnings and experiences to be had from the transition to professional practice subject, learning the importance of professional communication from one to another has taught me lots. Firstly this level of communication is what prepared me for my interview and the corporate world out there whether as an intern or as an employee this experience has taught me a lot. Additionally, there are a number of ways that to introduce myself when someone was to ask the question “tell me about yourself?” which i learned had to be answered in a certain way to give a good solid first impression to start any interaction of well to put myself in the best position going forward. From here we learnt in quite some detail about the level of internship opportunities provided to us by Holmesglen, this gave me a greater insight into the options available to me when entering semester 2 of my final year. From here we were lucky enough to meet a number of previous Holmesglen alumni who have partaken in and experienced their internship. We learnt a lot from these talks, showing us the effort and dedication needed to work in a professional position such as a sporting organisation. 

The interview experience was one that I enjoyed and also learnt a great deal from, the preparation needed for a corporate interview such as this gave me a great level of understanding. The preparation and use of corporate communications and language are vitally important to doing well in these interviews. I also believe creating a greater understanding as to what may be asked during an interview such as this was interesting to see as well. Finally, when I look back at the overall subject as a whole I truly believe that not only individually but also as a class we learned a lot of very valuable traits to take forward into professional practice. These traits are some such as communication, organisation, preparation and time management to fully get a grasp on what is to be expected of me in a professional organisation. Following the subject, I aim to go ahead and secure an internship. With the knowledge I have gained to have the confidence to do well and achieve a good response from whoever I’ll be working with, to hopefully go on and secure a full-time position in the future.

[alexratcliffe]

Transition - entry 6

During my interview, I had a number of experiences to talk about, before, during and post. Going into my interview I had a number of ways to prepare, doing a level of research into what possible questions the interviewer could ask was insightful and allowed for me to prepare some rough answers for what could be asked. With this information, I was able to visualise and rehearse some answers to those possible questions. Although I wasn't able to write these down and take them into the interview I was able to rehearse enough to be able to roughly recite them and give myself a better understanding of what was ahead. Additionally, on the day of my interview, I made sure I was prepared by having the correct attire, I was on time if not early and I was dressed for the occasion. Whilst waiting in the reception area I made sure to keep myself composed and relaxed to not become anxious or stressed, I did this by doing some breathing techniques I have learnt in the past to maintain control and prepared as a could be going into the interview. 

When entering the interview I asked to see if the interviewer would be comfortable exchanging a handshake, this allows for a professional and corporate-like manner to be set from the start. During the interview I was able to compose myself to recite the answers I had previously learnt, during my interview, I kept eye contact and made sure I maintained a high and professional level of communication. Keeping this high level of communication such as the language I was using ensured the interviewer that I had a clear and well prepared for my interview, this also gave them the understanding that I had worked in a corporate or professional work environment too. During the interview, I also maintained eye contact which is important in maintaining a professional manner and made sure to ask interesting or exploratory questions to the interviewer too. 

After the interview, I made sure to thank my interviewer and make a few exchanges of small talk when leaving the interview. This created a touch of a personal relationship between myself and the interviewer by talking about a topic candidly which leaves an overall positive light on the entire interview. Post-interview when I arrived back at my notes written the previous i re-read them and then reflected on the answers I had provided during the interview to gain a better understanding to see if I had covered the points i had previously set out.

[alexratcliffe]

Transition - entry 5

For the already involved and permanent full-time workers, it’s highly important the maintenance of high-level work when in a high performing team. The term high performing team has been heavily linked with the word trust (Lippert & Dulewicz, 2018). This trust is a word that allows for all members of a team or organisation to be able to lean and rely on their team members for support and a high level of work. This trust is what creates a healthy and well-run team environment that will in turn allow for positive results when comes to results. With this in mind, it allows us to again refer back to our interns who should be using this opportunity to gain this level of trust and to see it first hand to then learn the importance of trust itself. These fundamentals will allow for a future that is bright and full of high-level performance as a team overall, learning these fundamentals is what interns are for and also allow for a full and informative time. Overall would create a positive high performing team to then take into any future work opportunities, this means that for an organisation too the ability to hire an intern and not have to pay them whilst also giving them positive employment opportunities is heavily valued.

When working in a team, I believe the organisation is key, when looking at internships and the idea of working in a team is what excites me for transitioning to professional practice. It is vitally important to step up within your part of a team, for a team and sporting organisation to run to a high level and maintain that high level, it must become a smoothly operated team. This level of high performance is not only required from all staff members but also interns too. This level of pressure that is placed on someone who may not have the relevant experience in a professional situation, such as an intern, is key to giving them the responsibility to let them try their hand in the professional environment. The internship role is one that can be quite tricky as although it may not be a position with a large amount of experience, but the ability to put responsibility in an environment that will allow for growth but also to gain relevant exposure in the corporate working environment. This corporate working environment is what teaches someone like an intern the basic communications of a serious sporting or corporate organisation. 

[alexratcliffe]

Transition - entry 4

During the transition to professional practise subject, one of the assignments that were given to us was a number of internship applications in which we were required to adapt and change our CV and cover letter accordingly to each internship. This allowed us to develop and create a better deeper understanding of what is required for each internship as each was different. The way in which we achieved this was to move our experience on our CV around to put the most relevant first, we learnt that this was important as for each role the reader of the CV would prefer to see the most relevant experience first. These best practices allowed us to receive a greater understanding of the importance of forward-thinking as to what is most important to the role we are applying for. For example, if I were to apply for a position that required a large amount of video or audio editing we would be advised to place our examples from our media in sports subjects which we had to create a number of creative pieces. This would result in the first real piece of information that the recruiter would read, this would highlight all relevant information to the reader and would let them fully understand the comparison of my work to the role I am applying for.

The feedback I received from my lecturer was one that I was not too pleased about, the feedback showed a lack of thoroughness and preparation for the internship applications. This set me back to the basics of looking at how my CV and cover letter are laid out and the way in which they are read. The feedback gave me chance to look at the way in which my experience or volunteering was laid out and gave me chance to change them before going ahead and applying for any future internships without first changing these issues. This feedback stuck with me for a period of time and left me in a position of disappointment and a slight feeling of embarrassment, but from here editing and changing the way I attack these types of assignments has become very important to me. Additionally, since securing an internship, I have realised that I thoroughly understood the feedback provided to me and that it has had a sincere impact on the pride I take in my CV and cover letter when applying for internships.

[alexratcliffe]

Transition - entry 3

When transitioning to professional practice, I’ve learned a number of ways to market myself in a way to promote and market my skills and experience in a way that makes me stand out amongst the crowd. One thing I learned at the start of my degree is that everyone finishes with the same qualifications, so it’s what you do outside of university which makes you stand out. Therefore using tools such as Linkedin to create an almost advertisement of myself allows for the best way to connect and show my experience and skills from previous jobs and volunteering opportunities. Using LinkedIn to connect to possible job prospects is a free tool that allows for free and worldwide marketing and a way to help push and prepare for the start of a professional career. 

When using these tools that are available, the way in which I present myself on those platforms is as important as the ability to gain so much from them. This branding is the level and way in which any posts or interactions are taken out, in a professional matter, this professional manner is the way in which any language is used to maintain a smart and professional position when it comes to a lasting online presence. I do believe in the importance of branding going forward, really setting myself up so that when someone comes across any work of mine or sees a page such as a CV or a Linkedin they really see what I have to offer. This also allows for the opportunity of leverage when it comes to employers, to be able to showcase what I have to offer and the level of work that I can produce consistently. 

In addition to this branding, the opportunity to value any propositioning of myself works hand in hand with the branding. An example is on Linkedin the use of posts to show examples of work that has been completed almost like a portfolio is one that allows for any potential professional work to see first-hand what I am capable of. This allows for any possible future employers to be able to see and get an understanding of what is on offer from a possible future candidate for work. Looking forward to possible opportunities there are available and any opportunities for improvement, I believe although my Linkedin is good it could always do with more information and connections. In addition to this, I have found myself struggling with cover letters a lot in the past so a better understanding of these going forward is also something very important to me.

[alexratcliffe]

Transition - entry 2

Throughout my degree, there have been a number of scenarios that have helped me prepare for my internship and have provided me with a range of tools and tactics to take into my internship to succeed. A number of different subjects such as working with Hampton Rovers and the VAFA to produce a number of professional assignments in Marketing, communications, a Media guide and a community relations package. These subjects created a level of understanding of the professional aspect of the sports industry and the different levels of communication that are involved in working in a corporate organisation. During the Transition to professional practice course, we were taught the importance of a solid and well thought out CV and cover letter. This set us in the position to be able to create a detailed and well-designed document for both. This was also tested during our first assignment which was to create three internship applications, this was a good test and allowed for a greater understanding of what is required to have an appropriate level of standard and writing which is required for any applications. 

Understanding the importance of a CV and cover letter is one that will stick with me for a long period of time. Understanding the importance of almost selling one's self with the level of work experience and skills and attributes that make us employable is one that will be necessary for the rest of our professional career. Forsberg (2016) reinforces this by adding their interpretation of what a CV is for “The CV and the curriculum both present a selection of content as well as a form for organising, packaging and mediating this content. Furthermore, both are linked in a process of assessment and appraisal” (p.2). This adds the understanding and importance of the impact a professional CV has on a career and any possible job prospects.    

Overall I believe the preparation for our internships is one that has given us a great understanding of what is not only expected of us for fulfilling our internships, on behalf of Holmesglen but also what is expected in a professional manner and the correct attitude to have. Overall I feel prepared and have a clear understanding of the skills required and necessary to achieve a firm position in a professional company or internship with the ability to perform at a high level.