Anthony Williams drew on his determination and dream of working in the media to coach and inspire young adults from Hackney to realise their own ambitions. He helped plan and run an event with young adults to take a fresh look at their employability.
‘They could relate to my perseverance not to give up on my dreams to work in the media’
I have a ion to reach out to our younger diverse audiences within my role. The BBC Outreach event with Hackney CVS - called ‘BBC Link Up’ - was designed for young adults to understand the different job roles within the BBC and for them to meet some staff and find out how they gained their roles.
I was a facilitator, helping young people with CV coaching, telling them about my journey, and acting out a hiring role in a mock job interview.
The most challenging parts of this project were to create something that would be informative as well as entertaining, and bringing together the visions inside and outside the BBC for it.
I volunteered to meet up for some evenings with Hackney CVS to rehearse with the team. The scenario of a mock interview at the BBC changed as we developed it – even changing on the day of the event. Using my improvisation skills, I was able to develop a fun yet informative role play for our audience to observe and on.
Anthony, second right, at the BBC Link Up with Hackney CVS
It involved creating an interview with a ‘candidate’, based upon his good-versus-bad body language and engagement during interviews. Our young people observed and gave their thoughts on his different styles. I learned more about young people during the CV Clinic, and I believe I provided them with vital coaching in order for them to create a compelling CV.
I was also able to grasp what their feelings are towards major broadcasters such as the BBC. Some said they never thought they could work for the BBC as it seemed so corporate. This was challenged during the event through discussions and through meeting new BBC colleagues such as apprentices, and by having Charlie Sloth from BBC 1Xtra talking about his story.
A mass selfie moment with Charlie Sloth
The most rewarding moment for me was to share with nearly 50 people my inspirational story of how I managed to obtain my role at the BBC after many unsuccessful attempts. I must say that some audience were very emotional about this, as they could relate to my perseverance to not give up on my dreams to work within the media industry.
I believe I have learnt a lot about young people and I hope to this on to BBC Comedy with regard to developing shows that appeal to our younger audiences, and which could potentially start with BBC Three as our online channel.
BBC Outreach & Corporate Responsibility brings the BBC closer to its audiences - particularly those audiences we have identified as harder to reach - with face-to-face activity, community and staff volunteering.
