Shannon is wild about landing her 'dream job' ahead of graduation


Landing her “dream job” with Europe’s largest YouTube children’s specialist is down to her time at De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) according to Shannon Emma Golder.

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At YouTube's London space where Wildbrain shoots some of its videos

The Photography and Video graduand has started a six-month internship with Wildbrain – a media company managing the digital rights of popular children’s television series such as Teletubbies, Arthur and Inspector Gadget – which has the potential to become a permanent role.

The 21-year-old from Oxfordshire said: “As someone who started the degree with no interest or knowledge in video at the time, I’ve managed to get my dream job in London.

“I’ve known for a year now that I want to be a video editor, but if it wasn’t for my course and both the Professional Studies module in my second year and Creative Professional Practice module this year, I don’t think this would be possible.

“The modules help you build a strong online presence and give you lots of support with CV writing and interview preparation. All of it came in handy when I was applying for jobs and was reflected in the positive feedback I got from interviews.

“Without the modules I definitely wouldn’t have got the job.”

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Hosting her own radio show on Demon FM

Seven weeks into her role, Shannon has earned a YouTube certification and is working on rotation around the company’s different teams to better understand the breadth of its work from creating original short form content to working closely with consumer brands.

She is currently enjoying working on video editing within the marketing team.

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Due to graduate from DMU with a 2:1 on Friday 21 July, Shannon said: “I’ve worked hard and I’m really proud of myself for getting this far.

“I faced some personal difficulties during the first year of my degree and even considered dropping out, so I never thought I’d get a job before graduating, let alone my dream job.”

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Interviewing Scouting for Girls was a personal highlight

Despite having studied photography at college, Shannon found the video aspect of her degree challenging at first, saying: “I finally started to get into it during my second year and when I got a GoPro for my birthday I was hooked! I took it everywhere with me.”

With #DMUglobal trips to both Paris and New York offered as part of her degree, Shannon soon found herself with enough video content to set up her own YouTube channel.

This, together with the other practical skills and experience Shannon gained while at university, impressed her employers at Wildbrain.

During her final year she had the chance to work with TwentyTwenty to produce a powerful split-screen video for the Leicester-based charity which supports disadvantaged young people into further education and employment.

Shannon also took advantage of DMU’s multiple award-winning Demon FM - she auditioned for the station’s Catalyst music show and was selected to host her own weekly slot.

She said: “It was really good fun and I learned so much about using all of the equipment. The highlight was getting to interview Scouting for Girls during their last tour.”

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Shannon (back) met LCFC's Chairman Vichal Srivaddhanaprabha

Choosing DMU also led to an unexpected dose of Premier League action for Shannon, during Leicester City Football Club’s meteoric rise to victory.

“I was searching for a part-time job to keep me on my feet and ended up working as a sales assistant in the LCFC Fanstore, which is the first place anyone goes to when visiting the stadium,” she said.

“It was a very busy job, especially from April to September when they were crowned champions. I was working more hours then than I am now in a full-time job, but it was rewarding and really fun.

“I got to stand pitch-side when they lifted the trophy and had fireworks, and I got to meet the owner of the club. It was an amazing experience.”

Posted on Wednesday 5 July 2017

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