I need to lie. - Writers Forum

Ben · 07-23-2005, 10:11 PM

Well, the time I have dreaded has come. I need to do work experience. I WANTED to do something with some sort of film maker... but that wasn't possible. So instead my dad (yes, my dad found my work experience.. I'm just so darn lazy

) found me some advertising place to go to. He knows the guy that works there. They write scripts and stuff for TV and radio advertisements. They also record and film them too. It's sort of along the lines of what I wanted.. buuuut I'm not all that interested in advertising.

Now I actually need to do some work. I have to write six sentences (this should be easy...) about why I want to work there. That's where you come in. I need some help lying in my six sentence paragraph. You don't have to write the paragraph for me (I am going to do some work with this), but any ideas would be appreciated.

So come one come all and post any reasons as to why I would be suitable for work experiences at the advertising place. (I don't even know the name of it). Once a nice number of reasons has been posted I'll compress them all into six little sentences. That should keep my dad happy.

journyman161 · 07-23-2005, 10:17 PM

You love to write & communicate, they do exactly that. You want exposure to the basics of the media/film world, they do that also.

Advertising is one of the best ways to learn about film. Done well, they are mini-movies, done poorly they are still mini-movies, & you may learn more from the poor ones than the good ones, at least about what not to do.

Why must you lie? (or is that the initiation to get into the Ad world? Tell 6 really good lies & we give you a job?

)

I'd say all you hafve to do is work out where your goals can be met by the company then tell them that. It'll make it easier if there's an interview as well & they ask you for more detail on your sentences.

Ben · 07-23-2005, 10:26 PM

Ah, Journyman, I can always count on you. I think I'll go and work out my goals now. You've made advertising seem a little more interesting.. but there are some ads that I truly hate. I doubt you've ever seen the Mr. Bankrupt ads, but they are the worst and most annoying that I have ever seen.. and they are made by the same company I am doing work experience at. But who knows? Maybe they've made some good ones.

Ilan Bouchard · 07-23-2005, 10:38 PM

What is "work experience?" It sounds different from a real job. Is it like an internship?

Ben · 07-23-2005, 10:43 PM

Well, here they make kids in year 10 or 11.. probably depending on what school.. to go and work for 5 unpaid days at a place that is in the field they might want to work in when they're older. Some kids do what they actually want to, others go and work as box packers at the grocery store.

If that's what an internship is then.. yes. It's like an internship.

TimK · 07-23-2005, 10:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Besh

I'm not all that interested in advertising... I need some help lying in my six sentence paragraph.

Why do you have to lie? Don't lie. This is not even an internship. An internship is below an entry-level position. This is below that. My youngest brother did something like this when he was a teenager, a part-time graphic-design position. It's quite appropriate to take a job of this sort in a company you probably will only work a short time with.

I agree with Journeyman's advice. This job could present opportunities that you should pursue. And you don't have to lie to pursue it. In fact, if you do lie, that will make you look bad. Don't lie. But do play up your strengths.

They probably want (at least in part) to see how well you understand advertising. Think of how you can sell yourself to them. They say it's about why you want to work there. As in any interview, it's actually about why they would want you to work there.

If you're not that interested in advertising, don't say you are. But there are other things you can say. Do you appreciate film? Do you have any expertise in it? Do you want to expand your writing and communications skills? Do you want to tackle a challenge head-on? In talking about yourself, try to show qualities that they would want to see in you.

You can also Google for "interview." There's lots of advice on the various job sites about selling yourself during an interview. The first rule, however, is always: Tell the truth.

-TimK

Ilan Bouchard · 07-23-2005, 10:52 PM

Yes, that's what an internship is like, but it's usually more in-depth and informative for the student. Sometimes they even leave the country to work/learn. Some get paid less than minimum wage.

Ben · 07-23-2005, 10:53 PM

They leave the country?! They get paid?! It's illegal here for any work experience student to get paid.

journyman161 · 07-23-2005, 10:54 PM

My impression is interships are for longer periods & usually the intern is already partly trained/qualified in the field. W/E is more to help either school leavers or low-skilled workforce entrants to see how real their expectations are.

Some employers simply use them as gofers, but there are rules to prevent that.

I had some involvement with the process in the IT stream & made sure I got to the applicants before the other depts so I could get them before they learned public service habits from the others.

Ben · 07-23-2005, 10:56 PM

I'm not a school leaver.. and I'd like to think not low-skilled.

They've made it a compolsary thing for all students now.

journyman161 · 07-23-2005, 11:02 PM

Well, dearie, us old folks kinda lose touch with all the ruckesses you young'uns get up to. Why, back in my day, there was no work. We had to go out & invent it for ourselves & as for experience, well, when I was a boy...
(fades into unintelligibility as the drugs take effect)

Ilan Bouchard · 07-23-2005, 11:06 PM

Well, interns are trained specifically in mind to be trained for a job there. An intern working at a newspaper might be the copy boy for a while, and be told simply to file things, but the plan is for them to get enough experience to work at the newspaper firm when they graduate high school.

lisajane · 07-24-2005, 06:17 AM

Over here I believe work experience is paid. My old school doesn't do it anymore, but we had it in year 10. $5 a day for 5 days, though some employers paid $10 a day.

I was a sales assistant in a department store. Kinda a dull job, but I did get two years of a real job out of it.

mammamaia · 07-24-2005, 08:31 AM

to get back to the original post for a moment, i have to point out a fact of life that i taught all 7 of my kids [not all successfully, sad to say!]... don't EVER lie, 'cause lies will almost always come back and bite you in the ass... but that's not the best reason for not lying... the most important one is that it's wrong... plain and simple, a wrongful thing to do...

it's hard to keep up a lie... telling the truth is easy... it's just what IS, so you don't have to worry about getting it 'right' every time you tell it... but lies have to be remembered and maintained and backed up... and few can do that well enough to get away with it...

so, follow jman's advice and just tell the simple truth... ALWAYS...

love and hugs, maia

Ben · 07-25-2005, 01:03 AM

I didn't really mean to lie about.. my 'skills' or stuff... I just needed to say why I want to go there.. which I don't. So if I say why I want to be there, which I've been told I need to do, then, I would not exactly be telling the truth. But journyman helped me see it in a different light and now I don't really need to 'lie' anymore. Doing work experience there might actually be good.