ARTSREADY TRAINEE BLOG – Positives of Completing a Traineeship Through Lockdown
Moving to Melbourne I knew things were going to operate a little differently than what I was used to due to COVID. For the first few weeks after relocating, I was getting comfortable within the job and remembering the directions to the office. Starting a traineeship through a pandemic I was a bit worried about the security of the position but over time I learnt that a lot of workplaces now have adapted to a work-from-home structure.
I hadn’t worked in a setting like this before and came to learn that a lot of it is self-motivation and accountability. A great part of AFL SportsReady is that the company organizes different meetings for staff to get together and catchup. I am a part of the Connector committee, Yarning Circle (First Nations Staff), RMBD team and RAP committee. Through these different groups I can connect with a variety of staff members across the country and get to know everyone. This helps me build relationships with staff and makes it easier for me to request ideas for articles and social posts etc.
Having a job during COVID has been a real positive and knowing that even as a trainee my position in the company is secure, gives me assurance to really focus on learning and developing my skills. Over the last few weeks I have learnt parts of the admin side to marketing. Learning about campaigns, how to piece them together, how to understand the platforms we use to send them out, content making and website updating.
Another area the team and I have focused on lately is how to deal with uncomfortable situations involving our social platforms due to racist comments on our posts. The team and I came together and discussed the best way to resolve and defuse the situation and we put together a plan to outline a resolution. We posted a statement online reinforcing AFL SportsReady’s stance on racism and highlighted AFL SportsReady’s vision for a united and fair Australia. I felt really proud at how we handled the situation, and our statement was well received. It showed me we really stand up for what we believe in and to work for a company like this, feels pretty special.
Something AFL SportsReady really encourages, especially within the staff is to be flexible and to take time for yourself. Encouraging self-care, exercise and breaks from the screen. For me, this has really helped me settle into a new city as I have time to enjoy the unpredictable Melbourne weather and get out of the house when the sun is shining. Personally, I’ve picked up some old hobbies like drawing/painting, skating, yoga which is fun and I can already see the difference a little booster break can do when producing your work. I’m happy and proud to be a part of the AFL SR family and believe I have found an awesome workplace that connect and work so well together given all the hurdles. I’m excited to continue to learn and build upon my career from these lessons.
As part of our trainee blog series, Dakota will be sharing her traineeship journey!
So, keep a lookout for her next blog!
To read her other blogs click here.
To find out more about the ArtsReady program click here, or view our current job opportunities on our jobs board today – www.aflsportsready.com.au/jobs-board/