Introducing myself
My name is Ismail Yoonis and I am currently a Digital and Company Coordinator at Rosetta Arts. This is a continuation of my placement at Rosetta that I managed to get into through the STEP programme. I was part of the STEP 10 cohort, the best cohort to date.
Before joining STEP, I was in a mental state where I wasn't enjoying anything I was doing. During 2023, I had six different employers, which I knew that was too much and something had to change. That's when I came across the STEP programme.
I remember coming across the STEP programme and looking at the requirements for applications and thinking this sounds like an opportunity that matches my description to a tee. The Rosetta Arts opportunity called out to me since it was very local to me, as someone who lived in the borough and had knowledge about them.
Skip forward one month, I had been offered a role as a Projects & Admin Assistant at Rosetta and my journey with the STEP programme had begun. At first, the thing that stood out to me the most was the level of support and protection provided by the programme officers. Any issue I had, however small, was treated as a big thing and they found ways to resolve it as quickly as possible. Being able to call them randomly and ask for advice or be informed about things was really surprising to me. Before starting the program I was under the impression that their role was to just send us out on the placement and we would need to fend for ourselves.
My time on the programme
Where do I start? My favourite moments during the programme, outside of work, were the bespoke sessions we would have once a month. We had the opportunity to gather once a month at the Good Growth Hub and have a session with an industry professional in confidence boosting, self improvement, burnout techniques, managing office conversations, you name it.
These sessions were honestly what I enjoyed the most because I was always learning something. I'll never forget the session with an industry member who taught us about burnout, where she showed us her techniques. We had to close our eyes as she was talking to us through our mind helping guide our thoughts and I fell asleep. I am not joking. I genuinely laid a pillow down and conked out.
It was like laying in bed watching hair cleaning ASMR videos at 3am on YouTube because you cant sleep and you wake up at 7am for work feeling like you slept a lifetime. I need to find out when the next one is because I'm sneaking into the room and taking part of the session. I haven't had a good sleep in months.
The sessions with Reuben, who has many titles to describe himself, was probably the biggest awakening for myself as a person. I was in a room with about seven to eight others, but it felt like I was having a 1-1 therapy session in realising who I am, what it is I want in life and why I haven't got close to achieving what I want to do.
I watch YouTubers, streamers, travel vloggers, and football content creators religiously, and always think that if I was in their position I would do this differently or I would do this to perfect it. The sessions with Reuben made me realise that all these people I wanted to be like or on par with all started from nothing, but they aren't afraid to fail in front of people. They don't shy away from failing or not making everything perfect. I noticed that what held me back from creating content was that I wanted whatever I produced to be the perfect product, but I wasn't practicing failing to know what I can and can't do.
Its been about 9 months since I've been posting on TikTok, and I have amassed 1.8k followers over two accounts, creating two different forms of content. I have taken many, many long breaks but I learnt that taking a break is needed. I shouldn't put pressure on myself to post something knowing I wouldn't be semi-proud of it.
My time at Rosetta Arts
I have now been at Rosetta Arts for over a year, as I managed to get an extension contract after completing my placement.
My time at Rosetta has been amazing. The amount of learning that I have done and knowledge gained, I can't put a quantity on. What it has also made me realise is the professional career path I want to take. As someone who was in a bit of turmoil and undecided, I have a more clear idea that I want to be in the line of marketing and social media, but also understanding data and being able to analyse campaigns.
The first few months were tough because I went from a place where I knew what I had to do daily and you couldn't go above and beyond in your role in retail. There was never going to be room for progression and I just had to come in and meet the minimum standards and go on about my day.
Stepping into an office daily where it's upon myself to make this role mine, going the extra mile in things, and it being noticed and rewarding was a big shock to my system. There were days where I was sitting around waiting for things to fall into my lap and felt like I was wasting away. Very quickly I learnt that I had to go and piece things together to make my role what it is.
To wrap it up...
If you don't think you’re a 'creative', sign up to STEP. You'll learn very quickly that creativity has been stifled out of everyone in society. It's still there, you just need to tap into that potential.
If you're a person who is surrounded by good friends but sometimes you feel like they’re holding you back from what it is you really want to do, then a place like STEP is where you want to be. I'm not saying throw your friends in the bin, but it's important that you’re also in touch with people who have similar ambitions to what it is you want to do.
An analogy I use to explain this is: If you're a photographer and all your friends are photographers, and you need pictures, you wont get far as none of you want to be in front of the camera. But a photographer, a model and a fashion stylist are three different passions, but they come together to create a masterpiece.