Working as a Student – Hannah’s Career Journey

Hi, my name’s Hannah Blackwell, a first year Contemporary Media Practice student at the University of Westminster. I now work as a Motion Designer in the University of Westminster’s Careers Team, creating moving image content to help students with their job search.??

As a home student, coming from Sheffield, I decided to study in London as a way to get away into the big city. I’ve always wanted to do more, be somewhere where I could have as many opportunities as possible, so London seemed like the best place to be. Coming to the University of Westminster has also given me some of the best opportunities I could wish for as a student: one of which is career support. The University of Westminster provides an incredible service which allows students to work for the university while studying and it is through TalentBank that I received my job offer.?

After finishing my A-levels in 2022, I decided to take a year out to decide on what I wanted to do in my career. During this time, I found it very difficult to get a well-paying, full-time job like I wanted but managed to find work as a Management Assistance Administrator at a local GP practice and Teaching Assistant at a local primary school. The job market is extremely saturated at the moment and it can be incredibly difficult to find a job as an undergraduate student or non-graduate. I think this is a real problem we are facing in the UK and around the world today as trying to stand out when employers don’t even read your CV can be incredibly frustrating and disheartening. However, I am extremely grateful for the University of Westminster’s support on this and TalentBank is a fantastic place to get a student job which works around your studies.?

One of my main concerns when coming to university was that I wasn’t going to be able to support myself while studying. Regular retail or hospitality jobs don’t offer enough hours or pay to live off of and they are extremely competitive among young people. I was also looking to find a job which relates to my career as a creative (what kind of creative I’m not sure yet) so I got looking into freelance and social media. I did a couple of social media posts for the Methodist Church England and worked for a small social media site for a short while then tried my luck on TalentBank, the University’s very own jobs’ website.?

I first applied for the Content Creator role as I didn’t feel confident enough in my animation skills to apply for the Motion Designer role at the time but, in the end, I got the Motion Designer role! Showing my animation skills during my interview and the interviewers' flexibility and encouragement definitely helped me get the role which was the best fit for me. The interviews were calm and welcoming; I felt that the hiring managers, who were interviewing me, were genuinely interested in my work and the whole process from applying to getting employed felt straightforward and not long at all.

This was such a relief! I had been worried about money since coming to the university and now I had finally gotten this opportunity. When working for the university, my hours could be arranged to fit with my timetable and so I was able to go to all my lectures while also working during the day which was very convenient. This meant that I could work for the Careers and Employability Service team, go to my lectures, get my uni work done in the evenings and have my weekends free! What’s more was that I was working in an environment similar to that of my studies so there was a lot of cross-over where I could learn and grow from both areas of my life.??

I love working as part of the CES team and have created several gifs, TikToks, Instagram reels and even larger scale marketing material. This has improved my skills as an artist and creator alongside my studies and it has been easy to stick to my schedule. The team provides a lot of support particularly during exam season (or when I had to provide coursework) and I do not feel overwhelmed, which was something I was worried about. If you are a student at the University of Westminster and are worried about work or money, I would highly recommend you check out TalentBank, especially as a creative student, as there is a plethora of jobs to apply for.??

?I recently received my grades for my most recent coursework and I am very happy with my results; working while studying has not affected my grades (if anything, they’ve improved!) I am now, also, building my social media presence on Instagram and YouTube alongside working for the CES team and my freelance work and I still don’t feel overwhelmed. If you are a resilient, hardworking individual, who is able to plan their schedule accordingly, working as a student can be as easy as pie.?

I am now really looking forward to the Summer and am excited to be involved in the study abroad programme; going to Toronto for a semester in September. I am also very happy to be continuing to work for the CES team and myself in the coming months.?

Happy Summer! :)?