Changing careers, producing films and settling in Bristol – Monsurah’s Skills Connect Experience
Monsurah moved to Bristol from Nigeria with her family a year ago and made a big decision to change her career. She wanted to move from HR and Tech to the Creative Industries.
“I’m finally pursuing something I wanted to do which is working in the creative industry. What I found was that I was stuck, so I thought, “OK, well, one of the first things is to try to find out about how to get into the industry here in the UK.””
As part of her explorations, Monsurah took part in The Bottle Yard’s Workforce Development Programme and gained an insight into the Film and TV industry.
“[The Workforce Development Programme] was very interesting and that opened me into the industry. Understanding how that works, how to network, how to navigate, what to do, what not to do. But as you may know, the film and TV industry is quite volatile, up and down. One piece of their advice was to get something still within the same space, get the usual skills. I started to look for a job. While I’m still pursuing my passion.”
Monsurah began her job search and attended a jobs fair at Bristol Beacon.
“I would say because I’m new to an environment, you can’t expect everything to happen to you and to happen just online. So I would put myself out there, if something was happening outside, I would go.”
At the jobs fair, Monsurah spoke with the Employment Support Team – Skills Connect.
“I met two lovely ladies who I spoke with. I did tell them “This is what I’m doing, these are my concerns. I want to be in the creative industry. I’ve had this background in HR and tech and entrepreneurship” and they’re like, “oh, yeah, we can help you with some clarity to begin with”. Clarity will always precede action.”
The Employment Support Team got in touch with Monsurah and matched her with Joe, a Career Progression Coach. Joe and Monsurah met for multiple meetings which involved one to one coaching and support with job searching, CV writing, and interview preparation.
“The first meeting was to understand what I wanted to do and what I was looking for. I spoke about my problems and concerns. I need to get a job. I want, beyond just getting a job, to understand the environment in the creative industry and really apply my experiences, my skills to this wonderful industry and this place. And so we went on with, “OK, you’ve done this, you’ve done that. It’s a little bit disjointed in a way, so how can we marry them and tell that story?” It was incredible. I thought “there is finally someone who can take all these eccentricities and make sense out of it.”
Joe and Monsurah worked together to identify Monsuarh’s essential criteria to help with her job search. When Monsurah found a job that ticked all of her boxes, the next step was to design a CV. After reviewing some templates with Joe, Monsurah created her own CV and applied for the role.
“I got called for interview and an assessment. I did write to Joe again. We did a quick rundown of what the possible questions could be. We had a mock interview. It was really very helpful.
I had some guidance on what kind of questions to expect and how to answer them. I think without that conversation with Joe, I may have botched it. So it was nice to have that, you know, “this is what to expect and this is how to respond to that.” That was really good.”
Monsurah was successful and has secured a role as Customer Experience Manager at Bristol Grammar School’s Performing Arts Centre.
“I do have my passion in writing and storytelling. So it’s good to have a job that is part time that’s still within the industry. The Bristol Grammar School has a Performing Arts Centre, I’m going to be the Customer Experience Manager for that space. What that means is even though it’s within the school system, I’ll still be working within the industry as a creative.
I’m looking forward to it. It gives me time. It’s flexible, it’s part-time. Which means that, yes, I’m not going to be frustrated just like “Oh I’ve left everything I was going to do now.” I’ve met some of the team that I’ll be working with. They are incredible people and I’m really looking forward to it.”
Monsurah has been pursuing her storytelling passion in Nigeria and in the UK.
“I’ve shot a couple of my own personal projects, yeah. I’m a screen writer, writer, storyteller, and my interests are in children’s content. Thematic stories around gender and mental health.
They are in post-production at the moment. They are focused on mental health in young men. They were all done in Nigeria. I’m working on hopefully getting my first production done here before the end of the year. The one that I’m working on here is about mental health in the workplace. Yeah, it’s about the invisibility of mental health and how we don’t see that people carry it to work.”
Monsurah also shared her thoughts on support services in Bristol and gave some advice to others who may be in a similar situation.
“I think one of the things that I have enjoyed and I’ve loved Bristol for so far, is just having the right services. There’s something for everyone. There’s always something that can happen. And I think it’s important to spread the word across communities to know that there are services that you can always access. Yeah, there’s a wide range from the library, I’ve used some IP centres, The Bottle Yard, Bristol City Council itself. It’s fascinating to know that they exist and know that they are accessible.
Go for the support that’s there. Then don’t be shy. There’s so much out there, and if you don’t know where to start, just Google “Bristol City Council” and what you need and you will find something. You may be working and wonder “what kind of support can I get in this regard?”
Trust the process and enjoy the journey.”
If you are interested in Monsurah’s creative work, you can connect with her on LinkedIn.
To find out more about Bristol City Council and the West of England Combined Authority’s employment support service Skills Connect, click here.
