• Work well under pressure:During the course of my university year, I have had to deal with news days and project deadlines. My part-time employment and my tendency to procrastinate have pressured me into leaving things for the last minute and consequently dealing with stress. However, I have discovered I work really well under pressure and produce even better results than normally.
• Good at team work: Having been employed since 2004 in different institutions and my previous education in Bulgaria and Italy, I have learned to be tolerant and patient when dealing with group work or team projects. I am able to separate my personal relationship from my professional with my colleagues and discuss and debate manners in a professional way that does not reflect my friendship with them.
• Good at writing: Before coming to England for my current education in Journalism, I had become popular in my high-school institution for being a good writer. This was proven by my active participation in writing competitions of all kinds, where often I would be recognised for my material. In my universities both here and Bulgaria, I have received exceptional marks for my academic work, as well as my journalism oriented or creative writing.
• Flexibility and capacity to adapt: I have lived in at least five different cities in Bulgaria, as well as two in Italy and one in England. My ability to adapt is my main strength when organising trips or projects in foreign countries, as I have experience in relying on myself and building a life from scratch in a different place. My solid language base allows me to feel confident when planning projects in different countries.
• Good computer and technical skills: Because of my parents’ education in Mechanical Engineering and my father’s subsequent second undergraduate studies in Computer Systems and Technologies, I have been able to learn many things about technology and how the basic things operate. From my work experience as both a technical assistant and an office manager, I have developed my technical knowledge and computer skills, as well as easiness in operating technology when required.  

• Procrastination: From my experience with project deadlines and exams, I have discovered an inability to plan my time properly. Although I work well under pressure and produce good results, I tend to over-stress without reason and regret procrastinating at a later stage.
• Fear of leadership: From my work experience in being an office team manager, I found that sometimes it is difficult for me to confront people and often end up doing most of the team work myself. This ties in with my tendency to be critical of other people’s work and I often don’t have enough trust in my colleagues to put in enough efforts and produce good quality material.
• Inability to present myself in a good objective manner: When creating CVs, cover letters and other documents of self-presentation, I have discovered that it is really difficult for me to be objective as to my own presentable skills and still sound confident and convincing, rather than self-involved and narcissistic.
• Fear of public speaking: Due to my awareness of my inability to cope with public speaking, I applied and was employed by Coventry University for a student helper position, which involves meeting prospective students and their parents, explaining the courses to them, talking about the university, the town and my own experience. Through university presentations, I have proven to seem confident and comfortable when giving public speeches in a professional manner, but I remain absolutely terrified of speaking in front of a big audience.

• Good knowledge of languages: I have the opportunity to find a placement/internship in a foreign country within the language area that I am familiar with.
• Add+Vantage in Book Publishing: Being a part of a fictional book publishing company and acting as an editorial team member, I have the opportunity to find a placement/work in the field
• Editor for East Asian Film Society: My planned work experience as the editor of an online and printed publication for the society has provided me with the opportunity to get first-hand experience from that specific position, which could later on be expanded into a role such as editorial assistant and, eventually, executive editor.
• Freelance: Due to the changes in technology and journalism practices, I always have the opportunity of being an independent journalist writing and producing material on an individual blog or another online platform, that I could manage myself.

• Doubt in the journalism industry: With the implementation of technology and the creation of online blogs and other platforms of communication, it has been claimed that the journalistic practice is becoming obsolete, as virtually everyone could write and produce news. Although the production of this news won’t hold the same news values and won’t apply the basic ethical and law standards, as the journalism practice does, it is a threat to the training journalist to become under-respected and under-paid, as his qualities won’t be appreciated enough.
• Employability: Due to the current state of the world’s economy and the number of applicants for the same employment, the competitiveness and need to stand out has become incredibly important. However, opportunities often depend on the financial means that one could provide/arrange in order to complete certain projects. In this area, I have a clear disadvantage and often fail to propose activities based on my own inability to afford them.

Labels: 201mc