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07951 416845

WHAT I LEARNT ON MY INDUSTRY PLACEMENT

My name is Megan and I study Arts and Festivals Management at De Montfort University. To pass my degree criteria, I was asked to do an industry placement for one of our final year modules.

I reached out to Holland Alexander after Ellen, who is a DMU Arts and Festivals Management alumni, did a presentation to us about her experience with Holland Alexander over the last 4.5 years. Her personal journey and passion for the projects she’s worked on during her time at the company inspired me to contact HA. They came across as a fantastic creative events agency, and I knew I could gain valuable experience.

Here’s what I learnt:

  • I have skills that are valuable for an employer – HA showed me that I already have skills that can get me a job in the events industry and that I should be confident to apply to any position.
  • Working life is busy – this experience has showed me that it is important to prioritise workload throughout the week, especially when I was working on a handful of projects at once
  • Make connections – relationship building is key to a role in the events industry as your reputation is everything. My placement has allowed me to create these connections and shown me how to do this effectively
  • Theory helps but practice makes perfect – creating content for social media is something I know a lot about but have never really done before. My time at HA pushed my boundaries and allowed me to try new things and so I now feel confident in content creation and social media strategy
  • Events management is fun! – I already knew I was interested in event management and production, but this opportunity with HA has shown me that I really enjoy it and I’m good at it. This experience has inspired me to pursue this route for my career over others I had considered
  • Overall, my time with Holland Alexander was interesting and enjoyable, as well as useful in giving me real world experience. The knowledge I already had has been built on, and I now have new skills that I can take into my career. I hope our professional paths cross in the future, as they would be a fantastic organisation to work with.