End of placement reflection
As I come to the end of my placement at RocketZone, I find many reasons to reflect upon my experiences as they affect my personal and professional goals. In order to show clarity in my thoughts this End of Placement reflection is categorised into the format set out by the Industry Based Learning (IBL) guidelines:
· General learning experiences
· Personal learning experiences
· Workplace cultures, values and practices
General learning experiences
At the start of my IBL journey with RocketZone, Danni and I had discussed theKIDzone project. She had divided the workload into three distinctive phases: Research, Branding, Website. Each phase was to take approximately a month to complete each and within each phase were a number of goals I needed to achieve. I quickly learned during the first phase (Research) that Danni had very high standards compared to my own perception of what was needed. Years of doing research for ‘make-believe’ scenarios at Unitec had made me complacent and the feedback Danni provided was the wake up call I needed. During the second and third phase of the project I became familiar with the work standards at RocketZone and what was expected of me each time a task was assigned on the project.
Apart from my PPLGs I discovered that I should familiarise myself with more digital tools as a means to making things easier for myself and because there are more innovative ways to produce works for different scenarios. Up until this semester, I had only been using (and very confidently, I might add!) Microsoft Word and Paint but the various digital tools I have been introduced to have opened my eyes to the endless capabilities at my fingertips. Some of the tools I have learned to use are Dropbox, Tumblr, MindMeister, and MailChimp. Another competency which I need to focus on for the future is to ‘back myself up’ or rather be more confident in my abilities. I need to develop strategies in order to overcome my taciturn disposition at face-to-face meetings, this all comes down to confidence and my inability to vocally express myself when in group discussions (usually I become silent when I am thinking but this often becomes translated as ‘not understanding’ the discussion).
Regarding myself and my own learning abilities, I discovered that I listen and take instruction well but wait (sometimes too long) before providing my own thoughts on a given topic of discussion. I have learned that what scares me is really not so bad, for example the process in creating a website was by far the easiest throughout the whole project but it was the one I was both looking forward to as well as worried about.
Looking back on my work I could have performed better during the Research phase of theKIDzone project, infact if I had to redo the whole project, that is the one part I would change dramatically – the other phases I would make changes to but I know they would still essentially end up with the same result.
My experience in RocketZone and on theKIDzone project has helped me with my future career choices and the type of organisation I would like to work for. Supporting small businesses in niche industries is now a likely career path I would pursue and I know that with the knowledge I’ve gained I could happily do this regardless of the country I am living in. I think the creative aspect of the whole process has appealed and excited me the most too. I mentioned to my host supervisor that I learned more on this project than in two years of studying at Unitec – that is an immense amount of learning in the short space of four months!
At the end of my IBL the work I was most proud of was the branding design because it required me stepping out of my comfort zone in terms of research and design development. My only regret was not learning how to use Photoshop to create my mockup designs but I realise that like all the other software skills I picked up this semester, it is another software that I can learn as part of my future goals. As maybe inferred previously and throughout my learning journals, the work I was least proud of was the Research phase of the project. I feel I could have performed better in this area and am disappointed because I pride myself on my research abilities.
Personal learning experiences
Prior to starting my IBL I had anticipated that this would be scary but also exciting. I understood that I would need to juggle two other full-time papers, a part time job, my family and social commitments. However, I hadn’t considered for a moment that this would be an extremely tiring job because (a) I’ve juggled papers and family commitments in the past, and (b) it is my final semester therefore I felt my motivation would be at an all-time high throughout. Boy was I in for a shock when the first week of IBL started! I experienced many highs and lows throughout the semester which took my stress levels to new extremes I hadn’t felt before – let me just say that listening to loud music in my car at the end of a day of studies has helped my family cope with my stress levels!
My new learning achievements became a motivating factor as I quickly came to view my IBL as an overall learning experience. It was pleasing to gain on-the-job knowledge not only in a professional sense but also in my interpersonal relationship with Danni and Michelle. I learned how to behave in a professional environment and how to communicate my ideas in a mature manner with peers.
There were times during my placement when I was unmotivated due to outside influences. During these times I wished I had not taken up two other courses at Unitec or committed myself to other engagements which took up my time and energy. It also tested the perception that I work well under pressure – and although I still can produce good work under pressure, I now realise how important time management and scheduling is to any task whether big or small.
I was comfortable in my role by the second week into working on theKIDzone project. I was lucky in this aspect because Danni and Michelle helped make me feel welcomed and comfortable from the instant I stepped foot into RocketZone territory. Part of the reason I was comfortable was because Danni did not micro-manage me and rather left me to perform the tasks on my own – after initial guidance of course. Her confidence in me gave me the assurance that I could work autonomously but still have her at my fingertips to ask questions or gain feedback regarding tasks.
At the end of each phase of the project Danni and/or Michelle would provide feedback and this would allow me to acknowledge that regardless of the result I felt; were I given the task again I would be competent to perform it with better results. As with most things, my experience will come with time and frequent practice will give me the competency I require.
Workplace culture, values and practices
RocketZone staff are encouraged to openly share ideas and bounce them off one another throughout the workday. They are determined and are focussed on their tasks at hand. They place the client’s needs first but always keep the end user in mind throughout every project/campaign. I have seen Danni and Michelle create campaigns which are absolutely relevant to their client’s customers but the client’s themselves hadn’t understood the reasons for the campaigns (until they saw the positive results from these campaigns). At the same time, it is a relaxed and friendly ‘vibe’ at RocketZone. We have shared lunches everyday whereby each day is assigned to a staff member who will be responsible to providing lunch for that day – whether it be Thai chicken curry or pizza.
I consider both Danni and Michelle ‘gatekeepers of knowledge’ because they have been extremely helpful when I needed assistance throughout the project. Danni’s marketing knowledge and experience paired with Michelle’s high degree of communication skills have been sources of inspiration for myself throughout this semester.
Interaction between work colleagues are mainly verbal because we are all within close proximity to each other. However, all other appropriate channels of communication are used when staff are not in the office – such as phonecalls, text messaging, emailing, and facebook.
There is a strong culture of giving and receiving constructive feedback. The exchange of knowledge and information is vital to the working relationships amongst the staff. The interesting thing is that everytime feedback is given; it is constructive, positive and adds value to the recipient’s work.
Danni and Michelle are the experienced staff while I was the ‘new’ staff member who needed training and guidance. The only differences between us was the level of experience between them and myself, and I have been given guidance and much support during my time at RocketZone. Additionally, Danni learned a few tips from me about the cold calling process – something I didn’t realise she struggled with but she eventually found it a great experience after making her first set of cold calls to potential clients.
RocketZone makes the most of technology in all cases and use a digital platform well to their advantage. The frequent use of Dropbox to store files remotely as well as their clever use of blogs to optimise the websites they manage are just two examples of the effective use of technology by RocketZone.
RocketZone staff have strong ethical values and uphold them at all times. They have clearly defined ideals and do not make compromises to their key values. Family is very important to Danni and Michelle; for example prior to school holidays we would discuss each other’s schedules incase one of us (or all of us) had to work remotely from home because of the holidays. Also, my hours at RocketZone were 9:30am – 2:30pm because of the time it takes to drop my children to school in the morning and pick them up again after school.
Final words
I have enjoyed my Industry Based Learning (IBL) experience at RocketZone and would encourage anyone to put their heart and soul into it. Although it has been a semester full of highs and lows, my IBL has been made less of a laborious task and more of a joy because of the people at RocketZone. I would like to thank Danni Barnes and Michelle Doherty for their support and guidance this semester. I value all the feedback I have been given and cherish the learning achievements I have made (many of them were firsts for me!).
This is an email sent from Danni:
Danni Barnes <[email protected]> wrote:
Hello Tracey, I realise tomorrow is your last day at RocketZone Marketing and I would like to thank you for your excellent work on theKIDzone project, both Michelle and I have enjoyed having you as part of our team. We wish you well for future ventures and hope you will stay in contact. Please do not hesitate to include me as a referee on your CV. See you tomorrow, Danni Barnes.
This ‘End of Placement’ journal is a true reflection of the positive experience I’ve gained from RocketZone and theKIDzone project and I hope that it inspires others to pursue their goals.