September 26, 2018, by Postgraduate Placements Nottingham
Making space for more than one passion
This week we hear from Lexie, a University of Nottingham music postgraduate, about her placement with at1.SPACE yoga and wellness studio.
Music is a life-long passion and, having already achieved an undergraduate degree at the University of Nottingham, I’m now close to finishing a postgraduate degree in the subject. Reaching this point I noticed that, after fifteen years of music study, I was ready to broaden my horizons when it comes to thinking about career options. Music will always be a huge part of my life but I wanted to see what other possibilities were out there. The many opportunities offered by the Postgraduate Placements scheme (PPN) gave me a chance to think about this and try out something different.
I was thrilled to get accepted to do my placement with at1.SPACE, a new contemporary yoga and wellness studio. The project I worked on involved business development and had two distinct phases involving, firstly, stakeholder relationship building and then, subsequently, marketing and sales. During the former stage the studio had yet to open and much of the work involved event management and setting up business essentials such as insurance. Then, in the second stage, my role became wider and involved many duties such as looking after expenses, running sales reports, writing blogs for the website and using Mindbody software (business management software for fitness establishments). Overall, you could say that my role was to help the company launch successfully and to provide additional support during its early months.
Initially I had some concerns as to how I could fit a work placement alongside my academic research, teaching commitments and concerts. As it turned out though the flexibility of the PPN programme meant that there was no negative impact on my other commitments and I even ended up making a nice earning on the side. The interview process was also really relaxed and friendly which made the whole process of adjusting much easier.
I feel that I built a great working relationship with the business owner, Yasmin, and I really appreciated the opportunity to get an insight into a very different world from the one I am accustomed to working in. The space Yasmin has created is very calm and radiates positivity and wellness. Her studio consists of a lounge area, nutrition café, a pop-up vegan shop, massage rooms and, of course, a large yoga studio at the back. During my time there I began to realise the importance of self-care, taking time to focus on positive energy and I discovered that yoga is really great!
In terms of personal benefit, this placement has massively boosted my confidence. It has been such a valuable experience and it has given me quite an insight into the running of a business. I gained expertise that has caught the eye of subsequent employers, and I’ve greatly improved my workplace interpersonal skills.
My advice to those who are feeling uneasy about jumping into something new; just do it! If something brand new interests you and you feel you have the potential to progress and succeed in that role, then I seriously recommend you give it a chance. You will reap the rewards and have great fun in the process!
If you’re a student interested in doing a postgraduate placement visit our webpage for more information, or check out current opportunities at the Placements Portal.
No comments yet, fill out a comment to be the first
Leave a Reply