Learning to Say No

Is something that I hope I'm starting to learn sooner than my peers, indeed my manager even admitted it took her until she was much older to say 'no'.

So what have I learnt this week and at the end of my first month on the Youth Commission?

• Communication is important, even if I'm (apparently) 'articulate Matt' which I'm sure some of my friends would disagree with (this worries me how I've changed), I still find it difficult to communicate in writing without having to double check every email and think hard before I speak. This is a good thing you may think, but it's also very time consuming! My future communications will be specific and to the point. I've learnt from feedback on my Business Admin NVQ that when communicating during meetings a point needs to have a reason to be made, a valuable contribution and not just speaking for the sake of it. I've also learnt from my first coaching session with Kaytea that when communicating, emails should be short and relevant, speaking over the phone should be to the point, and when texting YC Members (young people) only include information relevant to them. As a result of this I've cut out a lot of unnecessary information from emails and made phone calls without hesitation because I know that I can get to the point if I just relax and remember the purpose of the phone call in the first place! Saying 'no, sorry I'm too busy.' Is just as important as saying yes to every single opportunity! Saying yes to everything usually means nothing gets finished!
• My job roles have felt confusing when they overlap, such as going to a training afternoon with staff from WCE when the real benefit for me is for the YC. Hopefully people should start seeing me for me and not for my various job titles.
• Further to job concerns, do I carry on at WCE or find a job in Leicester? Considering there is nothing for me to do most of the time I'm going to start looking for a second part time job in June.
• In learning to say no, I've had to (almost) say no to Victim Support.
• I've learnt to be more organised with my ideas, rather than running away with ideas for the youth commission and inviting everybody to take part, I've learnt to balance my priorities and think carefully about who we involve. I.e. when speaking to a potential new partners, I let them know (after a decent discussion) that I'll send them more information, but I don't commit to anything. I then communicate this with Rose, Paul and Kaytea to see the next plan of action. So instead of just emphasising that this is a good idea, I think carefully about how a new partnership would benefit the youth commission , then explain those benefits to my superiors.

Do I really have time for VS?
I really don't want to stop volunteering there because I really enjoy it but I don't seem to have the time to commit regularly every week. Monday and Tuesday is for the YC and these are my busiest days of the week. WCE keeps me out of Leicester till 7pm, but this may not continue after June. Maybe but VS on hold till after June? If I don't continue, then use this time for VS. If I do continue or find another job in Leicester the I won't have time for VS. Why do I want to continue with VS? Over the phone support is quite limited, the reason I joined was to provide face to face support and I haven't even done that. If I am ever going to provide that then I need free time during the day, that I just don't have...

Do I have time for Talent Match Project?
The commitment is to weekly planning meeting first, then monthly meetings and events after that. I can also do this as part of my role with WCE, so if I do continue then it's worth taking commitments to this project. If I don't continue with WCE then I will be looking for another job and likely won't have the time to commit. See what happens in June...

Youth Commission Week 1

First week of the Youth Commission has been hectic, or have I made it that way? I've tried to get everything set up, put a plan in place and now I feel in a much better position than I did last year. Why am I resentful of receiving feedback? I need to learn to accept feedback as a positive thing. Part of the purpose of this is to learn and develop my skills of working with young people, so that next year the OPCC will have a Youth Commission expert who can continue this for the next 2 years.
I have the right attitude, I'm friendly and motivated, but sometimes my motivation can take over my rapport. I need to relax when communicating and be genuinely interested in every single person I interact with. Aim to learn something new about each person in the OPCC every week.
It's ok to dress in a more friendly, less smart fashion. Instead of shirt and trousers, wear long sleeved black polar necks, smart jeans and shoes. Keep the shirt, tie and shoes for formal occasions.
I need to learn to switch off and manage my time flexibly, but also specifically. So, Mon-Tue is the Youth Commission, I'll need to be flexible to manage working with people in the OPCC and YC Partners, as well as young people. Best time to work would be 10-6pm because this gives me the morning to get some initial work done, the afternoon to contact partners and go to events and the evening to contact YC members and go the events etc. Later than 6pm and people will be having dinner.

Career Reflection Post Graduation

Learnt so much as a Leicester ambassador, I know I realised that I do indeed want to worm with people and I don't necessarily need to gk abroad for that. I took experience from the engagement team to think of new ideas for engaging with people by learning from the reasons people were not interested in careers. Victim support opened my view by teaching me active listening skills and making me realize that everybody is different. I then applied the empathy I learnt from vs to understanding why people become involved with crime. I already had this understanding based on personal experience and my degree but vs taught me new skills that.I then applied. So rather than thinking, yes I've been there, I now use active listening to really take in what people are saying and recognise their thoughts and feeling to get to the root of their emotions. Then using my vs training I can put their thoughts and ideas into context to develop practical solutions. Everything I did on the YC, I would not of been as good at, building relationship with so many people, without my experience as an ambassador

Since then? I applied for many jobs but only after starting the apprenticeship did I realise that I'd handicapped my career by only taking temp roles to gain experience. Was this deliberate? Did I always intend to return to the YC? I wont lie that I almost jumped at the opportunity to continue getting paid for something in passionate about, but I have learnt to restrain myself. Don't just accept what initially seems like a good offer, ask questions, get the person offering you an opportunity to work for it and explain why you should take the offer. But use tact and be polite, not arrogant. Only ask a couple of question and genuinely consider the offer. Then accept. I've now been able to continue the internship and the YC! On 2.5 days instead of 2! My patience paid off. 

So now what? Develop your patience into maturity, you're self employed so don't jump an every opportunity to complete a task manage your time effectively, you're a busy man and people now it.

Going forward?
I want the YC to function as a policy thin tank where new ideas and be tested and trialed before being implemented. Where young people have a voice in the whole process but also learn to understand how the process works. While this happens I want them to be given the opportunity to get accredited for the skills they develop. I want there to be a real incentive to join the YC and make your voice heard. I want, going forward, the YC to be a useful tool for everybody, young and old, to learn new ideas from each other and put those ideas into practice in a way that will ensure maximum benefit.

Career Plan

Keep a weekly diary to track your work experience. Start by writing a few entries about the experience you gained at university as a Student Helper, Student Ambassador and Student Engagement Team. Then write about The Youth Commission, volunteering for Victim Support and Researching for Whitwick Community Enterprises. Remember; this is about you. One reason I've been putting this off is because I think I've done it in every job description and website I've signed up to. This is wrong. Keeping a career diary is about reflecting on your own experience rather than selling yourself. When you write about each experience, stop trying to sell the experience and focus on yourself. What did you do? How did you feel? What did you learn? What would you of liked to do? How does this compare to previous experience? How does this compare future prospects? What is your expected outcome/ what do you want to learn? How can you best communicate this to employers? Give an example of how you will use the S.T.A.R technique to communicate this desired outcome. Then create a SMART target to achieve this outcome. Do this on a monthly basis, continuously reflecting and improving on your experiences. You could even include work relationships, work/ life balance and any other personal goals.

TEFL:
http://www.britishcouncil.org/languageassistants-fla.htm

http://www.jobs.ac.uk/blogs/tefl-journey/2011/08/25/freelance-tefl-opportunities-a-refreshing-alternative-to-teaching-classes-of-kids/

https://nationalcareersservice.direct.gov.uk/advice/planning/jobprofiles/Pages/eflteacher.aspx

Example of a senior position in health and social care:
http://secure.leicester.gov.uk/management-head-of-service-childrens-safeguarding-quality-assurance/14263.job

Get registered:
http://www.hpc-uk.org/

Experience:
http://targetjobs.co.uk/career-sectors/public-service-charity-and-social-work/292555-work-experience-a-crucial-means-of-getting-into-graduate-social

Contact Leicester Uni or any other Health and Social Care Teaching Departments to find out what counts as relevant experience. And contact employers such as Leicester Council to find out what they count as relevant experience. Ask both if Victim Support and the Youth Commission count?

Why are you doing this?
Tefl looks interesting and fun, but I am willing to put this on hold considering I'd be starting from scratch at this stage anyway.

Working for the Youth Commission and volunteering for Victim Support is very rewarding and extremely interesting, as well as pressured and requiring hard work. I enjoy all of these aspects and as far as I've researched, Social Health Care also matches these work environments (if I'd be working with people and not this in an office). It's also interesting because I'd have prospects to work on projects in social and health care that I feel passionate about. Although it is a very demanding career, I prefer this than a career working in an office.

Research and found out more.

In the mean time, find a part time job to support the YC role.

Then apply for full-time roles in March, in case you don't get the YC role.