Get involved: Get Hired event gives students career opportunity

What is this event?

The Get Involved: Get Hired event is a careers opportunity for Humanities and Social Sciences students at Leeds Beckett University. Students are able to network with partners in a variety of different industries. In turn, they can learn about these different sectors and possibly get experience in an industry they are interested in. There are many industry stalls set up for students so they can liaise with representatives to find out more. It is a great chance to find opportunities and build up your confidence.

Who did you represent?

For this event, we were offered the opportunity to represent SHOO Social Media, a small marketing company based in Ilkley, not far from Leeds. We were given this opportunity as we are currently interns within their SHOO academy, a programme set up to help people gain that initial first experience needed in a friendly and supportive environment.  

As representatives of SHOO, we had our own stall set up in the atrium of Broadcasting Place and had the opportunity to talk to students about our own experiences at SHOO. We were happy to answer any questions they had about the company, what life is like as a SHOO intern on a day-to-day basis, as well as general questions about how to start a career in marketing. We also aimed to give them advice and knowledge regarding general university questions from a third-year perspective. 

How did you get this opportunity?

We were able to gain this opportunity via a module during our second year: Media Professionals Workshop. Rachel, founder of SHOO, had been one of the professionals working on this module and we both chose her to work with to develop our knowledge and experience within the social media marketing industry. Her experience that she shared with us during this module both inspired us to want to work with her further. We started working at SHOO at the beginning of our third year in September 2022, and we are currently on a six-month placement to gain experience within their academy. We attend once a week, working around our university timetables, and Rachel is always very understanding of our personal schedules and university deadlines.

What do you do at SHOO Social Media?

At the moment, we are working on a three-month campaign to increase their email marketing reach within their current clients as well as reaching new consumers. To achieve this, we have been writing blog posts, updating and editing their website, as well as researching and examining the analytics to evaluate whether our contributions are successful. We also get the opportunity to design and create graphic content for posts to be sent out onto SHOO social media accounts, such as Facebook and Instagram. We hope by the end of our time at SHOO this environment will have helped identify our strengths and weaknesses, as well as which aspects of marketing we enjoy, putting this towards any professional career avenues in the future.

Why should other students attend this event?

Despite being on the other side of the table, we had the opportunity ourselves to go and speak to the other careers stalls set up. They provided valuable insights into their industries, as well as personal tips which you would not be able to gain from their websites or social media platforms. It is an excellent opportunity, not to be missed.