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Friday Apr 17, 2009

Work experience at TheSite towers

Just a quick hello from me and now I'm passing you over to Rachael who has been doing work experience at TheSite.org towers and has managed to fit in loads of stuff in over a relatively short amount of time...

This is my last day of work experience at TheSite.org and what better time to divulge some inside information than now!  Firstly the office is massive, if you are lazy like me than getting to the printer is really good exercise.  When I first arrived I realised what a hive of buzzing activity it is.  People are always exchanging ideas and inventing new ways to make the website better.  I think this is reflected throughout the website in the way that the content is always changing and the information available for young people is always expanding.

One of the features that I was able to be involved in during my time here is askTheSite.  People are able to send in their problems and receive a tailored response full of decent advice.  Before I even came here I realised what a valuable resource it would be but seeing the process firsthand it soon became clear just how much effort and time went into perfecting one of the helpful replies.  I attempted to respond to a problem myself but quickly realised that it was quite difficult to remove any wording that could influence or be detrimental to the person with the problem.  It sounds picky but it’s really important to take care when responding to a problem from someone who is obviously feeling very vulnerable, incase you worsen the situation. 

A definite perk for me being here was that I was able to literally change how TheSite.org looked on a daily basis.  Call me sad but it was a proud moment to upload a new poll complete with an image.  Makes you feel like God.  Or maybe not.  Something I didn’t realise is how much the discussion boards influence the content.  I took part in ‘board watch’ which is browsing through the boards to see if a topic could inspire any new content such as a fact sheet.  It was very difficult to find a topic that TheSite.org hasn’t covered as it’s pretty comprehensive.  I even took the plunge and managed to create a Rant for you to read. Nudge nudge.  Why don't you have a go at submitting a rant yourself and get things off your chest.  It can be very therapeutic! 

I was also invited to take part in a new website called Lifetracks; it provides online consultation with young people concentrating on the topic of work and careers.  I really, really recommend that you join.  The questions asked are perfect for when you are stuck for something to do and it just makes you think.  Blatant plug but you can apply through TheSite.org's sister website do-it.org.uk. It would be great if new people joined and I promise once you get into it that it gets addictive.

Posted by Helen ( 3:39 PM ) Link to this post  |  Comments[1]