Appyness!

The iPhone and I have now been partners in crime for a couple of months and we are getting on very well :) My initial hatred for iPhones has been taken over by the love. And now the apps have started to be downloaded!

So far I have only gone for free apps - the obvious ones being Twitter and Facebook - which were downloaded within a few hours of having the phone up and running!

Others include:

Snapchat - Love this! Great fun sending funny pictures to my friends. The pics are gone              within 10 seconds.

NHS Blood - This lets me check out where I can give blood and book appointments.

My Fitness Pal - Counts the calories, exercise done and allows you to keep a food diary. Perfect aid for my diet!

Big Day Lite - Countdown to your big events! Mine is currently counting down to going to see Watsky

Dominos Pizza - Not so great for the diet, order pizza from anywhere!

These are only a few of the ones I have downloaded so far, but I would highly recommend them!

Do you have any suggestions of apps I should download? I don't really like games but anything else would be greatly appreciated!

Also, why not take part in the poll I am running? I want to get some feedback on what you would like to see in the future on this blog! It will be running for a couple of weeks, so please let me know!

Ciao x

Holding out for a placement....?

Let me tell you the story of the girl and her search for a placement...

This time last year I was searching high and low for a placement, applying to anything and everything. I had numerous phone interviews, travelled up and down the country for interviews and had written more covering letters than I can remember.

I was so nervous in interviews I would clam up and forget how to answer questions that I had the perfect examples for and I would be constantly wiping my hands on my trousers to get rid of the clammy heat before I shook someone's hand (vile).

For one reason or another I didn't get these opportunities. But I refused to ever give up. Instead...I got cheeky!

I sent out a letter showing what I could offer people and why they should employ me.

(As I have previously mentioned I think cheekiness and I will go far....)

And low and behold this led to a placement. 8 months on here I am, loving my life and more confident than ever before. My skills, confidence, communication and cheekiness have all grown more than I ever thought they would!

If you are looking for a placement don't give up!!!! If you seriously want one, you will get one. For me this was so important I was not going to go down without a fight to get one.

Top tips:

• Research the company - I know uni nags about this, but listen to them!
• Use as many examples as you can in interview questions - not just uni ones though
• Ask at least 3 questions - show you are interested :)
• Find out what previous placement students have done (if the company have had one)
• Remember that this is a two way street - you need to write an assignment etc so make sure you have enough to do this

Questions? Throw them over this way and I'll try to help.

Ciao x

Assignment time

Happy Easter! (sorry to be a day late!) I hope you all had a lovely long weekend!

I have indulged in Easter Eggs and been suffering from a cough all weekend, although there was still time to be the Easter Bunny!

With only 17 weeks left of my placement, panic is setting in...! During this time I have an assignment to write, flat to move into, and I have to realise that I will be leaving behind everyone from work! :(

And on top of this next year at uni is the final one...which means that it is the start of the rest of my life/ going back to being poor! (yikes!)

Anyway, the assignment. So the challenge of this is to write 3000 words of a 'critical evaluation written after careful reflection and research' - say wa? So far I have slowly been plodding through each of the sections making notes... Yawn. But it has to be done and I am getting into the right frame of mind to make this assignment AMAZING. (sorry for using that word Dad)

So basically I am after any words of encouragement to get me through this assignment... Cheeky request, but being cheeky is how to get through life à mon avis. Endorse me and I will use whatever I can in my assignment!

This is a load of waffle, keep reading though...these blogs will get better!

This is where the magic happens.

Ciao x

Advert Addiction?

Welcome! Since the last blog I have decided to go on a Facebook detox...which gives me more time to spend on my blogging, assignment and actually talking to people!

Today's blog is looking at the wonderful world of television adverts! This became my focus after watching Foyles War (yes, I am cool) and ITV only advertising their own programmes for a whole hour...how and why? 

At the moment, I am finding several adverts VERY annoying. Now, this could be because I have been watching too much telly or something but still, here are a few of the adverts which have my list (this is not a good place to be)...

• You buy one, you get one free...I said you buy one...Safestyle Windows must have had this advertisement going on for a good 10 years? My sister and I know the number off by heart though, just in case you do actually want them!
• Meerkats have become a family favourite with Compare the Meerkat - but have they become a victim of their own success? A man standing in his pants seems to suggest so! Fetch me my angry trousers!
• A crying garden shed...know the one I mean? What on earth are we gaining from this advert? Other than Cuprinol calming down my shed, what else does it do? Oh wait, there goes my garden shed crying again, be right back.............
• ............. And for goodness sake, will the nation ever be saved from the singing Welsh man? What do you want from me!!

Rant over.

There are also some adverts that I love at the moment, and I guess they deserve a mention too!

• Have to completely agree with this little girl...I would want to swap a brother for a kitten too! Meow.
• This makes me think that moving in with someone will be okay
• And if I was a pony this is how I would spend my days #danceponydance

Thank you to those who commented on the last blog - it was lovely to hear from you!

Let me know if you agree/disagree/what adverts you love and hate :)

Ciao for now x

Let's get to know each other...

I stole this idea from the blog at work (shhh...don't tell!)

Look, you've been reading this for a few weeks now, the honeymoon period is over and I think it is time to get to know each other a bit better...

I have laid bare my LinkedIn profile and you can read all the random tweets I write.

Other key facts about me...

I am 21.
I love writing my blog to you lovely readers.
You can bribe me with some Revels.
Zumba is my favourite form of exercise.
Owls are my favourite animals (although I do love my cat - he is a bit like an owl!)
Having a laugh is my favourite way to spend my time.
Must haves include my phone, a chunky statement ring and my car.

Anything you want to know about me? Comment and I will reply! (Obviously lets be sensible here...)

But...I want to know about you! Comment and say hello, let me know who is out there and what you think! Think of this as a virtual cuppa and chat...!

Ciao x

Choo! Choo! The Social Media train is leaving from platform 6...

Before I start this I just want to make clear that I completely agree that kids should not be on Social Media sites under the age of 14 so anything I refer to hereafter is OVER 14 years old. Thank you.

I use to have a stereotypical view that anyone over the age of around 35 had a cynical view of social media, and they thought it was just for chatting to people or causing trouble. I could not have been more wrong! The average age of LinkedIn users is between 35 and 44 (source) and they post a wealth of information, communicate and have a full understanding of the opportunities.

So is there a cut off limit for the age on social media?

Personally I believe that anyone and everyone should be on there - why not?! All people need to do is embrace the changes in communication methods, I have heard a lot of older people claiming that it is too hard to understand and use, but they haven't even tried it!

Lots of schools, community groups and even Which? magazine offer courses, advice and guides on how to use social media channels, so there is no excuse! 

Within businesses there are so many opportunities once staff are involved. But this means you need to get everyone to jump on-board and join the social media train, which can be hard if they are not willing to even get a ticket (hope you enjoyed that train metaphor!)

Maybe I am just being too ambitious or something but I would give up my time to teach anyone who had a genuine interest and willingness to learn...

Ciao x

What is your weapon of choice...?

Much to the annoyance of some people, I am on social media all day every day. And this got me thinking about which social media channel people prefer to use.

The main channels that I use are Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Pinterest.

LinkedIn

I love LinkedIn from a professional social point of view. The company pages are brilliant, especially for posting links to blogs and company updates. I haven't quite got into the discussions on groups yet but hopefully this is something that I will do in the future. I know a few people who have found this to be really beneficial. I don't think I would ever pay for the premium account though...seems like a slight waste of money?! (No offence if you have it!)

Twitter

This has to be one of my favourites. 140 characters to portray your thoughts - perfect! Short, sweet and snappy is what I love about it! I use this both for personal use and to follow interesting companies/people. In my opinion I don't have a problem with employers seeing this as I don't really write anything bad on there and it can give people an insight into who I am etc. Hashtags and tagging is a great way to connect to people and see how relationships can be formed. And of course it offers the odd cat picture - purrrrfect!

Pinterest

Fairly new to this so it is taking me a while to build up my boards and pin on a regular basis! I love the idea of an online pinboard - which I can share with my friends and build my ideas for different projects such as my house (I can but dream!)

And last but by no means least... Facebook! Well there won't be a link to my Facebook because I am going to keep that as private as possible! Where would my friendships be without good old FB?! I use this to keep in contact with my friends and post photos of our days and nights out. 

So...my question is what is your preferred method of keeping social? Does it differ between personal use and company use? It would be great to hear your thoughts!

Feel free to have a mooch around the links...connect, follow, repin!

Ciao x