Hi there! My name is Jenna; I am the Volunteering and Managed Opportunities Intern, and I am coming to the end of a year-long placement here at the Careers Service. Since starting back in July 2023 I have worked across lots of different projects trying to make a name for myself in the Careers Service and beyond as the ‘radio girl’ – but I am getting ahead of myself. Where did this all start? What is so special about radio? Why should you consider getting involved?…
Leeds Student Radio
My entry into the world of radio was completely due to the Leeds Student Radio Society. I heard about a fresher’s welcome talk in LUU and dragged myself out of bed to go along. I am so glad I did, because a whole world I never knew existed was shown to me. We were told about all the different shows you could apply for (including your own original idea!), society socials, awards and so much more. I was sold and could not wait to apply! I reckoned that a History and Politics student such as myself might do a good job on the News of the Week show and found myself researching local and student news just 2 weeks later preparing for my on-air debut. There wasn’t much that could prepare me for the adrenaline rush of talking into a microphone and knowing people were listening – I was hooked.
It took around a year of being a member of LSR for me to pluck up the courage to apply for my own show. I had attended the 2022 Student Radio Awards in London and was mesmerised by the people who looked and spoke like me, who were my age, being presented with awards of all kinds by the industry’s biggest bosses. I went home and started drafting the plan for ‘Chutzpah!’ (meaning ‘confidence’ in Yiddish). It was a secular Jewish radio chat show covering everything from musicians and festivals to Yiddish slang and different Jewish foods.
I was very lucky to have found my niche –there wasn’t anyone in the country doing a show like mine and I was so grateful to LSR for supporting ‘Chutzpah!’ at every opportunity. Clips from ‘Chutzpah!’ even went into our winning entry for Best Student Radio Station 2023! The confidence I gained from producing and presenting alone was unlike anything else. I was edging closer and closer to considering a career in radio so thought I’d best see what was out there.
Networking + Conferences
I learned very quickly that to get a foot in the door in the radio industry, the first step was networking. From there, you work up to asking for Zoom calls or chats over coffee, which can lead to getting work experience and shadowing days.
Through a mix of LSR networking events, the Student Radio Conference (where all the country’s stations get together for industry talks, a bit of socialising and the Amplify Awards) and also just fishing online for email addresses, I was able to secure my first shadowing gig at BBC Radio Leeds with Andrew Edwards on the Saturday Morning Show. It was FANTASTIC. I felt like I was in the place I was meant to be. Andrew showed me some producing and presenting basics, and even had the newsreader Jeremy Buxton help me with recording my own news bulletin. I worked hard to get as much experience as I could after that and have recently managed to secure a part time work experience gig at the Heart North West Drivetime Show that is based in Salford!
The Careers Service
I have been quite candid with my colleagues about the fact that my original motivation for wanting to do a placement year was to delay writing my dissertation. Never did I imagine that my year as the Volunteering & Managed Opportunities Intern for the Careers Service would bring so many radio opportunities as well as a temporary escape from my diss!
In my first few months at the Careers Service, I worked hard to broker a sponsorship deal between the service and LSR – the outcome was a daily advert, social media campaign AND a specialty careers-themed radio show, hosted by myself and other interns. I found it so rewarding to be able to bring careers into LSR, especially as so many of the society’s members and listeners are focused on the graft of making it in the world of media and really benefit from the support of the Careers Service.
My placement also offered me the chance to mobilise a crew of LSR members to go to Leeds City College and deliver a session all about the world of student radio. This was through the Societies into Schools program, which I worked closely on and wanted to experience myself. I learned in more detail how radio isn’t just about presenters – a good show needs producers, engineers, social media teams, event planners and more! It was an amazing experience to deliver the session, as it culminated in us helping the pupils produce and record their own shows, which we later played on LSR!
What’s Next?
This year has felt like a defining moment for me. I have certainly tried to make myself known in Careers as ‘radio girl’ and through my placement I have learned about the power of Instagram and have set up my own portfolio on there as well as a SoundCloud and a Linktree (@radioshamash – give me a follow if you’re interested)! Whilst Chutzpah! is no longer active, this year it has been widely recognised at different Student Radio Association Award ceremonies, which has boosted my confidence and passion for radio even more.
I have also just been elected as Head of News over at LSR and have a whole general election to cover before next year even starts! As much as I am looking into radio grad jobs and the scary world of freelancing, I still have a whole year left and I am hoping that the end of my placement doesn’t mean the end of Careers radio, so keep your ears peeled for some more LSR x Careers content over the coming months…
Careers Service Blog 