Experiencing The Workplace

I have been communicating back and forth with Claire Sanderson at Asda House with regards to Work Experience with the George Home design team. She requested a digital portfolio so she can see my work, which I have provided and she has asked if I would like to do a 2 week placemt which is brilliant news!! Hopefully we are a step closer to arranging dates! All evidence has been provided below:

Using The Muse  website I have looked at some commom interview questions to get me thinking along the right lines in preparation for my mock interview on Wednesday. I have chosen to interview for a designer role on the George Home team at Asda House in Leeds. I have made quick notes in answer to the questions to jog my memory on specific areas I want to make sure I cover. 1. Tell me a little bit about yourself.      - travel      - surface pattern      - creative cravings 2. What do you know about the company?      - own experience      - information sourced for blog post about              Asda 3. How did you hear about the position?     - my manager told me about it 4. Why do you want this job?     - loved my time at Asda - need something creative and I want to work for a company that produces for rhe people around me. 5. Why shoul...

When I attended the Heritage Open Day at Standfast & Barracks in Lancaster last summer I had to contact Mary Stansfield to book places on the tour, when I attended the day itself I was told she is the person who organises all internships and work experience placements too.  So I have sent my cover letter and cv to Mary Stansfield asking for a days work experience to shadow their designs team. I quickly received an automated email back informing me she is currently on maternity leave but with an email address for Jessica Fryer who is in charge of student placements in the mean time. I have now contacted Jessica Fryer and await a response. (All evidence below)

Standfast & Barracks is a fabric printing company based in Lancaster. They are proud of their 90year history and the factory that opened in 1921. I attended the heritage open day there last summer and it was really interesting to see 'behind-the-scenes'. They like to focus on their history and expertise whilst marketing their new innovations at the same time. The 'About' page on their website is full of powerful and inspiring words such as: finest, experts, quality, passionate, focused, excellence, traditional, innovative, artisan, heritage, exceptional, style, skilled, brands and craftsmen. These words are repeated throughout the piece and in the following web pages to emphasise their point. The factory was practically destroyed by Storm Desmond in 2015. They took it as an opportunity to grow rand expand the business and in 2016 received the BIBA Gold Award for Best Manufacturer. To inspire designs they have a vast archive of documents upto 100years old....

Thinking about work placements and the work world in general reminded me of the website I set up whilst at college. During my hunt for work experience I have been asked for a digital portfolio which I have done using WeTransfer but the most common way to have a digital portfolio is a website. This means a prospective employer can view it at their leisure and the files don't take up any room on their computer. So now I am going to take the time to update the site and maintain it. I have started by updating the 'About Me' page which hasn't been updated for 2years! I have also taken some time to add some f the surface patterns I have designed since starting university. This is the most important part of my website as it is the area I want to go.into when I finish university. My Website: alexandrahoyle143.wixsite.com My next job will be to take some pictures of my work that can go under the titles 'other' and 'illustration' and update those se...

Started in 1965 by the Asquith family of butchers merged with Associated Diaries of Yorkshire. They expanded south in the 70s and 80s. At the end of the 80s started the clothing partnership with George Davies who founded NEXT. Asda House the company headquarters was opened in 1988 by  Margaret Thatcher. The company was hit hard in the 90s by the financial slump - in 1991 it was in serious trouble with £1billion in debt and close to bankruptcy. Credit for the turn around goes to Archie Norman who was CEO in 1991 and then Chairman 96-99 who remodelled the stores after Walmart in the USA sending his protégé over there to learn their ways. Walmart then bought the company in 1999 in £6.7 billion takeover. Though owned by the American giant Asda has kept its own British management team amd board since '99. Between 2003 - 2014 it was Britain' second largest supermarket, now currently positioned 3rd behind Tesco and Sainsbury's. In 2010 bought out Netto in a £778 million takeove...

I have been working as an Asda Home & Leisure Colleague for 6 years, I started as a Christmas temp and have been there through 3 store managers and 3 department managers. I have made lifelong friends at the store and the management team have supported me through college and now university. During my time at college I managed to arrange a day with the Merchandising team at Asda House in Leeds. I have since decided I want to be a designer not a merchandiser and so I applied to university. As part of my research for this year I am hoping to return and spend a day with George Home designers and visit the George Head office in Lutterworth spend a day with the fashion designers. Through my GM manager Linda Russell I have contacted Sebastian Christmas at Asda House who has agreed to my request - we are currently negotiating a date. And Michelle - George Area Manager who we have asked to connect us with the right person.

I have created a LinkedIn profile to help me grow my connections and hopefully it will gain  me opportunities for both Work Experience and jobs in the future. I have started by connecting with my class mates and university tutors. I have connected with my department manager at Asda - Linda Russell in the hopes that it will open doors at head office in Leeds and the George Head Office. I am hoping to get some work experience at both of these in the coming months. I am following the company profiles for Asda, Matalan, Standfast & Barracks and Laura Ashley too. I currently have 13 connections on LinkedIn:

I am hoping to get some work experience h the design department at Matalan this year. Here is some of the information I have found out about the company: Started in 1985 by John Hargreaves, it was originally a market stall.The first store was opened in 1985 in Preston; within 10 years there were 50 countrywide. This has now grown to 227 stores across the United Kingdom a Headquarters and a depot. There are even 25 franchised stores overseas. Products are sourced from 800 factories in 24 countries. Based in Knowsley, UK it has stayed close to its roots and prides itself on its family reputation. From the beginning Matalan's mission was to "provide outstanding value for modern families". They have received a Gold Award from Mumsnet for being 'Family Friendly' this is not just something applied to their customers but their staff and colleagues too. They complete Your Voice surveys to check on their happiness and help make improvements, have a Matalan Education ...

Explored some creative cvs on Pinterest and then tried to recreate some myself. I prefer the first three which use a surface pattern I have created during my time at UCLAN -the second a variation of the first. I think the second layout with the header has a bigger impact though. The last design is quite different from the others it shows off my illustration skills and the 3d development of my work - this could be used to apply for a different role other than surface pattern that maybe requires other skills. I think the last one has less impact than the previous ones but that may be due to less colour making it stand out less. The barcode also distract from the text of the cv.

I created a moodboard based upon my own emplyment preferences. I focused it upon. Surface Pattern Design roles that I want to apply for. The moodboard was a good way to visually explore the area I want to go into. I used it like a mind ap to explore my current thoughts on where I sit now experience and skills wise and what steps I need to take next to progress.