Working on the Open Day in LJMU, ADA.

Date: 25th.October.2011 (15th. Oct.2011)
Time: 00:45am

A sign-up sheet for paid-work (7 pounds and hour) for working on the Open Days in the Art and Design Academy caught her attention, it was sitting there very close to the wall far away from her. After the tutor finished his lecture, those students who needed money or were in work experience hunger rushed into the sign-up sheet and tickled it with their signatures, so did she. 

Not having thought what she is expected to be doing on the actual Open Day, she was arranged to be in for the first shift on Saturday on 15th October. Days were packed with university works and a live project, her awareness of finding out her Open Days duties were still not prioritised either, nor did her mates. All she was thinking was the enthusiasm of an upcoming job, the happiness of assisting new people and the enticing economical gain.

The day has magically arrived for those who were awaiting, tones and tones of fresh faces were stumbling into the Art and Design Academy with curiosity and anxiety towards what the university offer for them and what they can achieve if immersed in certain subjects after graduation. The atmosphere was excellent and hectic.

Having signed up in the attendance paper, put on the WOW t-shirt, and told what to do she steps out of the preparation room to meet her friends and start their duties together. Certainly prior to that, the main organiser of the Open Day asked her if she attended the training induction the day before which assigned each person a specific duty so they would not be lost today, however she did not get notification of any form about the induction nor did her mates. The manager nonetheless designated them to fill up places where workers may be necessary whom duties involves directing people to a specific subject’s stand or provide them with information about the course studied and talks happening over the day. 

Never had she been to an Open Day, and there she is to give ‘the Open Day’ a hand.
As a first hand experience, it wasn’t as bad as she thought it would be. The tutors she is familiar with were also there therefore it generated a good and relaxing start for her friends and herself. Students along with their friends and parents came up to the tutors and chatted with her friends about their opinions and experiences in the university over the past two years. Sometimes, one of the members were chosen or volunteered to show the people around the Art department in order to widen their perception of the building and understand the division of rooms and provision of technological entities, as well as professional equipments for quality work production. Encounters she met through the Open Day were all from different locals, each of them had different interests and plans for their higher education studies. Although talking to them is part of the job, it had made her realised how essential the ability to communicate understandably and efficiently with people is, how important is to understand the cultural and creative industry in the nation and around the world is so as to clear up what her long-term path presumably is gonna be like. She listened to her friends attentively and managed to catch up with what they say to people, learn and observe the way they establish information for the audience and their manners of dealing with problems. Then later on, she inputs what she has learnt from them into her duties when involving conversation or formal speech, though it didn’t include much formality as tension will be lightened if it is more of free speech as long as the decency
is maintained. And after a long, awaiting to be finished, shift the university started to become emptier than in the morning, her friends and she had a tiny recap and went straight home.

I must say it was indeed a long and exciting experience, but I have come to a conclusion from what I have learnt which will be noted down in bullet points as shown below:

o—- Always be aware of inductions/training inductions before attending work just in case it is compulsory and will cover everything on the job’s duties.  

o—- Do not get introverted over speaking with new faces, it’s very important to speak up with courage and socialise well.

o—- Organize well what each of you will be doing if it involves team work or if there is some kind of implication that indicates joint force to effectively serve people. 

Overall, I enjoyed it very much. ^^