The one-day event aspired to show young creatives how to get ahead with talks from high-profile speakers, along with networking masterclasses for budding creatives to connect with industry influencers.
The event was created by young Londoners from Create Jobs, working alongside NME and Disturbing London in a series of editorial, design and marketing workshops.
Inspirational speakers from media, design, fashion, film and music took to the stage to share their advice on careers and life in the creative industries, as well as hosting workshops and networking sessions.
When myself and Mollie got there, Jamal Edwards MBE was sharing his story, explaining in great depth the obstacles he overcame and how SBTV became a recognised platform, working with the best in Grime and branching out working with influencers and utilising his skills to the max. Jamal spoke about his views on the EU Referendum and his political views which left a few listeners with questions.
When asked who his favourite Grime MC was? You could tell he had met so many amazing artists and couldn’t make up his mind, in the end he confessed that JME is his favourite.
The audience was totally drawn in to Jamal and like everyone else we were all absorbing the information and guidance that is so essential for our growth and perspective.
Some of the advice I took from Jamal was;
The ‘Quality’ of an approach is imperative, passion rules over experience in this industry. Staying in contact with people is paramount and should always be present. Keep your friends, always ask for feedback from your immediate circle, but also be wary of people that make their way into your presence.
We attended the ‘Building Brand: YOU‘ workshop which had an amazing line up, I’ve disclosed some of their success secrets below;
‘The Frugality’ – Hannah Beesley who is the social director at Iris Worldwide mentioned that “Influencers connect with brands, it is less about being everything to everyone but more about finding your niche, focusing on that, developing in the right areas and delivering what you know to the people that want to know.”
Paul Davies – UK CMO at Microsoft was asked about how one should present themselves on social media such as Twitter and LinkedIn and what he would look out for when finding a potential employee? His response was “I will look at a candidates social media and online profiles so I can get a sense of the individual, find out what some of their interests are and if they actively communicate via social media. You will be able to see what they like, what they comment on and if they are confident voicing their opinions that’s a plus. A candidate should show enough of their personality to interest the employer and showcase a few skills, personal life on social media should be kept to a minimum and always keep your integrity.”
Alex Stedman – Blogger “You can only grow with your passion, have a voice, have good content. Own your stance, create your own unique field and become an expert on it. When you get offers you do need to sit back and think about whether it is right for your brand and if it works well.”
NME’s Digital editor – Charlotte Gunn advised that “when applying for a role/internship etc… suggest a coffee meet up and a chat, it is wise to create a PDF document of your recent work that you can show, and offer that brand. Don’t be scared to email people, if they don’t reply someone else will. People that pitch with an idea, structure and examples have a better chance of being recognised.”
A hackspace was put in place for start-ups to present their businesses.
The ‘NETWORK & CHILL‘ area was great, everyone seemed to be at ease and conversations flowed naturally.
Food had been provided by VooDoo Rays in the form of their gigantic pizza’s and super healthy drinks courtesy of Moju . (That Turmeric shot was nice)
The interior of Islington Metal Works had turned into a creative’s dream, there was inspo and quotes from some of the greatest plastered all over the place.
(I did take a poster with a quote from Kano, on the sly obvs.)
The event drew to a close with performances from The Indien and A2, then the evening was topped off with an exclusive surprise performance from the award winning Tinie Tempah.
SGX
