A day in the life of a Junior Content Producer at Dogs4Rescue
If someone would’ve told me a year ago that I would get to work with a big group of rescue dogs, capturing photos and videos of them, getting to walk them and cuddle them, and that I would be getting paid to do so, I think I would’ve laughed in their face.
Throughout secondary school and sixth form, I had absolutely no clue what I wanted to do after my A-Levels, I just knew that uni wasn’t for me. One day early 2021, I was scrolling through the government apprenticeship site and saw ‘The Juice Academy’. I had absolutely no idea what it was, but I thought it sounded interesting, so I applied. My boyfriend and I ended up sitting up all night completing the application process (we still laugh about it now).
A few months later I received an email telling me that I made it through to the next stage of the recruitment process – at this point it was summer after my A-Levels and I had honestly disassociated myself from anything remotely connected to college or education, so I was quite reluctant to complete it, but I did. Then, a few weeks later I was sent an email saying I had been successful in the second stage and was sent a list of employers in which I could choose from. I saw Dogs4Rescue and I instantly emailed and asked how I can improve my chances of getting the job.
I was determined to get the apprenticeship because I knew it was a perfect fit for me. So, I wrote a cover letter and built a portfolio of animal photography I had done in the past, and a few weeks later I was offered an interview. At the time, I was in Lincoln living with my boyfriend, so I had to get a 4-hour train to Manchester the next morning at 7am to make sure that I would make the interview. A week or so after this, I received an email from them asking me to complete a few tasks; only a day after finishing these, I got a call to tell me I had been picked for the role!
I was so overwhelmed, and I honestly couldn’t believe it. I never would’ve thought that my application from very early 2021 would land me the perfect job. So, if you’re wondering if my role is as perfect as it sounds, here is my day in a life at Dogs4Rescue…
10am:
I get into work at 10am and the first thing I do is give one of our sanctuary dogs, Grandson Charlie a big cuddle. He’s got dementia and spondylosis so he can’t go into the park all day, every day like the other dogs as his legs get tired very easily.
10:20am:
Once I’ve set my laptop up, messaged my line manager for today’s work and said a big hello to Grandson Charlie, I usually take him out on a decent walk to settle him down for a few hours and let him go to the toilet.
11:00am:
Once Charlie has been out, I check any emails and get on with the work I’ve been set. As you can imagine this is different every day. Now, our Christmas shop is our main priority, so I’ve been going through any email enquiries and making spreadsheets for sponsor dog orders. However, this could be a range of tasks, such as replying to comments, making any picture collages, writing up sponsor dog drafts etc.
1:00-2:00pm:
Lunch.
2:00pm:
I message my manager for anything else that needs doing; sometimes I get to join our dog handlers on a walk and take pictures and videos of some of our dogs, sometimes I get to go into the park and film some footage or meet any new dogs, but other times it’s not as exciting. Every day varies.
I then upload any videos to YouTube which haven’t yet been uploaded and reply to any comments which need responding to on Facebook and Instagram.
4:00pm:
Most days I get to end the day editing a video for our socials. This can be a rehabilitation video, a day in the life, ‘walkies’ video, kennel-free living etc., sometimes this is my own footage but other times the footage gets we-transferred over to me.
Once I’m happy with the content, music, adjustments, add any text, I send the video to my manager to get it checked over.
If you want to have a look at the sort of videos we make, here’s a link to a few I’ve edited:
6:00pm:
Say my goodbyes to Charlie and then home time!
If you’re reading this and you’re anything like I was with no clue what to do with your life post-education, try not to worry too much; everything will work out in the end and who knows, maybe you’ll end up getting paid to spend all day with dogs too!
Cora Gribbin, Digital Content Creator Apprentice at Dogs4Rescue
