As part of this module, I have attempted to develop myself as a professional through a variety of areas. Whist some of these have been beneficial to my development, I have faced challenges in certain instances and am still developing in various aspects.

One area of my development which I have improved was my ability to network. At the beginning of this semester, a personal goal of mine was to make more contacts within professional media as this could help me to find jobs and opportunities in the future. One way that I have looked to improve my networking skills is by setting up a LinkedIn account as this allows me to find media professionals and get in contact with them, as well as showcase some of my information for media professionals to learn more about me. In addition, I have sent messages to employers at PR companies asking for advice for a beginner. The replies to this not only gave me an insight into what employers would be looking for in a candidate for a job, but it also displayed my outgoing attitude towards my future goals and allowed me to expand my list of contacts.

An area which I struggled with in this module was placement opportunities. It would have been useful for me to find a placement this semester as this would have allowed me to have as much experience as possible. Due to Covid-19, however, there has been a lack of placement opportunities this semester. Instead, I sent speculative emails to local PR companies asking about placements. This helped to develop my communication skills as I tailored each email to the company, I was sending it to in order to appear informed and interested. One area I am still developing with regards to placements however is finding where to apply for placements. I have found it difficult so far to find any advertisements for placements, and so my next step in my development is to find advertisements and send off an official application rather than a speculative one.

One area of development which I believe to be useful in my development is online learning. Some instances, such as watching video tutorials, have been key to seeing skills in practice and developing them. As a result of video tutorials, I was able to earn a LinkedIn skills assessment badge in Adobe Photoshop, an achievement which will benefit me as it displays to potential employers that I can support my claim of being skilled at this software. Additionally, I have used online learning sites to take courses such as ‘Best Practices And Ethics For Excellence In Public Relations’ which have allowed me to learn further information and actively develop my professional skills. My next step would be to use paid learning sites such as LinkedIn Learning as this site has a professional reputation and therefore, I expect the courses to be more substantial to my progress.

In conclusion, this module has allowed me to improve technical skills such as photo editing, as well as interpersonal skill such as networking and communication. I still need to gain more experience, however my aim is to do so through a placement within the next semester and viewing more online learning courses.