“Hiya, y’alright?” Bethany Dean, or Beth, as she is preferred to be known, says as she welcomes me into the Middlesbrough & Stockton Mind offices.
At only 23 years old, she works here as the Communications Officer after graduating with a First-class degree in Media Studies from Teesside University. Not only is she excelling in her career at a young age, but she also has an award-winning blog, Polished Couture, under her belt, that boasts thousands of followers and a host of collaboration opportunities for the media enthusiast.
She truly is a girl boss and an amazing example of where your passions can take you, so I was eager to interview her to find out more.
During her A levels, Beth found a love for media after studying it alongside applied science and health and social care. She found that her strongest area was online journalism, but also had an interest in magazines and photography, so it felt right to pursue Media Studies at university.
Even though it was her passion for media that she chose to follow, she found that she was still able to use what she learned from her other A levels in her current role. She said, “I really understand the mental health care setting more because I studied science and health and social care.”
After studying for three years on the Media Studies undergraduate course, she graduated with a First and a blog that was quickly gaining recognition.
“I started my blog at the end of 2013 as part of my degree and I had no idea what it would become,” Beth recalls. She was tasked with creating a site about something she enjoyed, and initially, she struggled to decide what topic to write about. Once she started writing about fashion and beauty, though, she never looked back.
Almost five years on, Polished Couture has almost 17,000 followers and provided Beth with some amazing opportunities and a rightful place on some outstanding companies PR lists, such as Urban Decay and Topshop. One of her biggest blogging achievements was her invitation to New York Fashion Week 2017 – something that many fashion fans can only dream of!
In amongst all of these opportunities that she has received, Beth thinks that she has her work on Polished Couture to thank for her Communications Officer role. “Consistently writing on my blog showed that I had self-motivation, great written communication skills and initiative, and these are all skills that I think are vital in my role.”
Middlesbrough & Stockton Mind is completely accessible for anyone in need, as it is situated in a residential area of Middlesbrough, giving it a community feel. This branch of the national charity has around 30 employees, so the office has a tight-knit family feeling. Together, they aim to raise mental health awareness and empower anyone that is suffering from any mental health issues by providing services such as counselling and workshops for the area. Beth is the only Communications Officer in the team, but Service Manager, Sarah Ross, is on hand if she needs any assistance with her workload.
Beth was alerted to the role after being emailed by a lecturer, and just by looking at the requirements, she knew it was for her. She was called in for an interview, during which she found one of the elements rather strange. “I had to pick an object off the table in front of me and write an engaging advert for it. I chose a vintage dress pattern and pitched it as something that can be made into many things,” she recalls.
After finding out that it was between her and one other candidate, she was given the role and has now worked for the charity for almost two years.
As well as the skills that she developed by authoring her blog, Beth also thinks that she was able to outshine other applicants with her natural empathy and listening skills. “With the nature of working in a mental health organisation, you need to be a good listener and be empathetic, and these just come naturally to me. My experience with social media and creative writing also had a huge part to play in my application, and I keep my skills in these areas up to date with training courses.”
Something Beth particularly enjoys about the Communications Officer position is that no two days are the same. “I start the day with emails and phone calls, and this could include communicating with external media, such as the radio. Other things that I could do throughout the day is update social media, answer queries, write and proof read promotional material and handle fundraiser activity.” She may also work with the team of volunteers that she manages to create multimedia content for the Mind website.
The workload can feel weighty at times, but the amount new people that she meets and doing her part to break the stigma of mental health outweighs any negative aspects of the job for her.
Not only does Beth love the work that she does, but it has also made a huge impact on the charity. “One of my biggest achievements with the Alright Teesside event on World Mental Health Day,” she recalls. The event was a great success and did a great job of promoting mental health awareness and Mind – so much so that Bethany received an award in 2018 for her efforts at the Stars In Mind event. “Honestly, I was so happy to win the award and to know that the work I’ve done has made a difference.”
I’m very excited to see what the future holds for Beth and her career. Polished Couture seems to be going from strength to strength, but she is adamant that she wouldn’t want to turn it into a full time job. She said, “I want to keep going with it as a hobby, not a business. Any other opportunities I get along the way would just be a bonus.”
As for her Communications Officer role at Mind, she hopes to continue working there and progressing her skills through training opportunities. However, she wouldn’t rule out a Master’s degree – “maybe something in PR or communications. I’d also like to go freelance in a few years and set up a little business.”
For someone so young, I was impressed with all of Beth’s knowledge and experience, and so I left the interview feeling as though the future looks bright for her.
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