In the early 2000s when I finished high school in Chile, I completed studies in audio-visual and began working in television. I really enjoyed my studies and had fun working in T.V. From there I progressed to working in events such as conferences providing audio-visual technical set up and support as there were good opportunities to earn a higher income.  A few years later I took time to travel which resulted in migrating to Australia.  This was an opportunity for a change and a better quality of life.  As a new migrant to Australia, it wasn’t easy to find work in media, television, and event, so I changed careers into hospitality.  Although it was a career change, I had an enjoyable and successful career as a hotel concierge for many years. Since becoming a citizen a few years ago, I had better opportunities to study at university as a local student (compared to the expense and challenges as an international student).  I made the decision to return to study a Bachelor of Media and Communications to refocus my career to my original passion.  After being away from the media industry for some time and having few connections here, I felt that further studies would be a way of updating my skills and networking within Australia.  Ultimately, I would like to work a media producer in film and television, locally to begin with and one day working on large scale projects internationally.

Empathy Phase

After conducting activities on my character strengths, values and empathy map I noticed some consistent themes relating to my career problem and ideas.

Change is scary and challenging

• Totally changing your career direction is the most challenging decision
• The feeling of starting from scratch at the bottom of the ladder is intimidating
• What is the right pathway to the ultimate job – For example, I would like to be a media producer on a TV show, but how do I even find those jobs and how do I apply?
• How long will it take to make this change and is it worth the sacrifices

Fast & Dynamic

• I enjoy a job and workplace that is fast, busy, active, social and has lots of variety – luckily, I think these traits and suit the role of a media producer. It is a job that oversees a wide range of people and tasks, and each project can be unique.
• I have a lot of knowledge and experience in media and communications, and I have valuable skills from events and hospitality such as organisation, time management and delegating tasks. The challenge is transferring these to the media industry and convincing others they are relevant
• I’m a very good networker; I can use this to my advantage, and this is an imperative skill for a media producer

Passion & Happiness

• I have a lot of passion and balls. So, I want a career that I am truly passionate about.  I love film and I enjoyed my time working in TV, I want to get back to that even if it might be challenging to get there
• I would like work to be fun and exciting, but it’s also important that my work is meaningful and could create change, for example working on a film project for a social cause.
• Happiness is important to me in my work and currently that is low while my current work is more about paying the bills and supporting myself financially while I study. Focusing on my passions will help to increase my career happiness
• I scored a 3.17 out of 5 on The Authentic Happiness Inventory rating. This is only one theory or method to assess happiness and it is also an assessment on this moment in time, therefore a wide range of factors influence career happiness.

Define

I would like to work as a media producer in film or TV; as I have worked in this field before many years ago, I have identified that I am changing careers (again) and moving back into this industry.  I have defined my career problem / career idea as:

How do I re-focus my career to re-enter media and communications industry to obtain the role of a media producer?

Ideate

I have identified themes and findings by completing a mind map

• There is a lot of directions, which is a positive in terms of potential opportunities. However, this is also a negative as my ideas are still very broad and I need to focus further.
• Film and TV comes up frequently in most areas and it is independent of the scale of the specific industry or employer type
• Options of continuing studies such as a master’s degree could delay the main objective of finding work and it is not a guarantee to obtaining a producer role
• In most cases it seems like the best way to break into the field is by gaining actual experience and through networking
• Creative projects and organisations like the media and entertainment industry are more interesting to me than corporate style areas
• Global and international roles mean working on larger scale projects and perhaps with more opportunities

Prototyping

Prototype 1:

I will prototype about gaining experience using my current work in the corporate sector to develop ideas and gain experience within the communications department.

I am trying to find out:

If I can gain some real-life experience in the corporate communications field through my current job?

Are my existing skills and studies relevant and valuable for corporate media roles? What level can I enter the industry?

What kinds of projects would I be working on in this kind of job? What are internal communications in the corporate sector?

Do I already have enough skills and experience to obtain these kinds of roles?

These questions are important to understand:

–     If I would like to work in communication with a global scale company within corporate world.

• To assess if money and security are an incentive (salary) versus freelance or project-based media production work
• Can I move sideways into a media and communications role within the company from my current position in property and workplace

I will prototype my ideas:

• Volunteering for internal projects at BHP relating to media
• Using my technical skills, scripting, shooting, editing videos for internal communications of new areas of workplace
• Networking with media and communications teams within the company
• Applying for internal roles including graduate programs
• Completing training and development programs provided by BHP that relate to media and communications
• Looking for a mentor in the media and communications department

Prototype 2:

I will prototype about returning to my birth country Chile, to work in TV with my former classmates and friends who currently work in the industry.

I am trying to find out:

What has changed in the TV industry in Chile in the last decade?

Is it a realistic option to find a job if I were to move back now?

What are the roles I could realistically obtain?

Is there growth in the industry and would it be worth moving back?

How much would I earn and how does that compare to Australia?

If I worked back in Chile for a few years and then returned to Australia, could I enter the industry here with that experience, or would I face similar challenges as now?

These questions are important to understand:

I must decide if it is worth the sacrifice and disruption of packing up my life here in Australia and relocating to Chile.  Understand if it will it help me with my career in the future by gaining experience, specifically in Australia in the future.

I want to be happy and proud of my work, this could allow me to work in an industry and role that I am passionate about right now.

I will prototype my ideas:

• Interviewing my classmates and friends on their experiences.
• Conducting job searches in Chile that require international experience
• Obtaining freelance work that I could do remotely to maintain connections and gain knowledge of the industry, such as correspondent production projects that I have completed recently.

Prototype 3:

I will prototype about getting a job as a media producer in a TV show in Australia.

I am trying to find out:

How do you find what roles are available and where are they advertised?

Do I have enough qualifications to get that job now?

Have I completed the right studies to get the job?

What are the industry standards for applying for these jobs; do I need a resume, portfolio and examples of media content such as films?

Do I need to do unpaid internships or work experience to get my foot in the door?

How can I connect my previous experience working in TV and make it valuable?

How can I communicate my skills from events are hospitality are valuable and transferable?

These questions are important to understand:

It’s important for me to follow my passion work in something meaningful.

I would like to build on my previous work experience and use my qualifications.

I enjoy work that is dynamic and fast paced, such as TV production

It could be more realistic to enter the industry at a local level on a smaller scale before trying to enter a large global organisation.

I will prototype my ideas:

Searching  for jobs in local TV such ABC and SBS.

Finding a job in a local tv station.

Enrolling into short course with specific technical skills for TV, such as editing.

Taking an entry level job at a TV station and working my way up to a producer role. Applying for work experience.

The empathy phase helped me to understand my behaviours and values to discover my true passion and consistent themes.  To focus further I needed to brainstorm the various career pathways and then define my career problem and ideas of working as a media producer.  The final step was completing the prototype phase, to truly understand each step needed to test ideas and experiences before committing to a final decision.

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