Features Work Experience Student Review

The whole experience was very enjoyable and helped to give an insight into the magazine industry.

The team at Bliss were very welcoming, they praised my work and took an interest in me by asking about my degree and job aspirations.

They were very supportive, offering guidance when needed. The Junior features writer, Lucy Peden, was especially supportive by giving a review of my placement and also offering to write me a reference or give advice via email if ever needed in the future.

Everyday I would check the newspapers for relevant stories and also sorted the post. After this I would be given different tasks throughout the day, such as transcribing interviews with celebrities, going into the local area to retrieve voxpops, researching for future features and creating question for the quizzes and interviews that are included in the magazine

During my time there I was given the responsibility to go out into the local town and gain vox-pops from local teenagers. I was also given the responsibility of answering the phone, including one phone call with a very important retailer.

I gained a lot of confidence during this placement as I was given some challenging tasks. It also helped me identify what kind of stories magazines are looking for and how they turn these into possible feature ideas for the future.

At times it was quiet because everybody was hard at work. However, most of the time there was music playing, sweets being passed around and general chit-chat in the office. Everybody seemed happy to be there.

Although there were a few hiccups due to not being able to print me a work experience pakc, the whole system was very organised. They were well aware of my arrival and gave me plenty of tasks to do.

They invested time into arranging tasks for me to do, and offering advice when it was needed. They extended this offer after my placement was finished, saying I should contact them if I ever need advice or a reference, and also that they would be happy to have me back for work experience.

At the end of my placement I was given a very positive review of my time there. They offered to write me a reference for my degree portfolio and future job prospects. They also said that they would be very happy to have me back for further work experience. I will look into their internship opertunities for after I have completed my degree.

There was a professional relationship between myself and the other placement student. We were both very busy during our placements, but we both joined in with the office chit-chat.

Tunbridge Wells is an expensive area. As I was only their for a week, there was not much time to socialise. A lot of the staff at Bliss lived in London and commuted.

As I was only there a week, I didn't really experience this. Many of girls talked of getting drinks together. There were activities arranged relating to the Grand National that week.