DSFC Alumnus Ed Colman Talks About Careers in the Media – Digital and New Media Roles

Last week our A Level Media students were able to gain insider knowledge and expertise about a career in media from one of our alumni, Ed Colman.

Ed studied for A Levels in English Language and Literature, Geography and Media Studies. Whilst still at the College he undertook placements and worked as a freelance journalist in order to create a portfolio of work prior to entering the industry. During this time he worked for Johnstone Press, Archant Norfolk, Greenways Publishing, RBI & Barnes Print across a range of titles. On leaving DSFC he was employed by Archant as Social Media Assistant managing the social media accounts for both the Norwich Evening News and EDP24. The following year he moved to Bauer Media as Digital Editor for Today’s Golfer, looking after their online content. Ed has been solidly building his career and now works as a Digital Audience Development Executive.

He passed on lots of advice to our students:

• Start early – building up a portfolio of work now means that you have evidence of your capabilities when you start applying for jobs.
• Sell yourself – use tools such as LinkedIn and Twitter and professional tools. Don’t be afraid to put yourself out there.
• Demonstrate an understanding of the current media climate – 30% of all newsroom workload is based around social media. Understand that the media world is changing but that it is still content-based. Show an understanding of active audiences and your ability to be dynamic and responsive.
• Network – this is a great way of opening doors and making contacts.
• You don’t have to take the university route – there is less emphasis on the traditional journalism exams. You can now study journalism training diplomas. Furthermore, roles in digital media look for experience which you can get through placements and internships. (The College will help to support these and can allow you time out to complete placements.)
• Don’t be scared of progression – it can be difficult to progress up the career ladder within a company so don’t be afraid of moving jobs a lot in your early career.