At BIMM Institute, we’re committed to developing every student’s talent and employability so they can find their place within the industry. It’s why we have a range of outstanding careers and employability initiatives, programmes and partnerships in place, such as Talent Match: our exclusive in-house recruitment service that sources talent for the creative industries.
In our new interview series, we speak to the students and graduates who have walked through our doors and secured their dream roles in music. Next up is Julia Ksiazek, who secured her role at Absolute Label Services through Talent Match. We spoke with her to find out more about switching jobs during a pandemic, her current position, and how her time at BIMM has helped get her to where she is today.
I always knew I wanted to be in a creative industry. However, before BIMM, I wasn’t sure whether it’d be film, art or music. Going through my huge Bob Dylan and Kate Bush phase made me realise music is in fact where I want to be.
I get inspired by passion. When someone is passionate, that to me, is the best thing about them. I feel most people in the music industry are certainly passionate.
Studying at BIMM was the gateway to the music industry for me. I felt supported by my lecturers throughout my journey – not only with learning and uni work but also with mental health. I feel that the lecturers at BIMM always made me feel like anything is possible and can be achieved with focus and hard work. I also attended careers meetings throughout my time at BIMM and they were helpful as you got to meet professionals from the industry. This helped me to figure out what it is I actually want to do and the direction I wanted to go in after uni.
“I wanted to be around people who inspire me and I found just that!”
My highlight at BIMM was definitely making friends. Everyone I met on my journey there was so open-minded and creative. This was something that was hugely important to me when choosing my uni. I wanted to be around people who inspire me, and I found just that!
The other best experience about BIMM was meeting my best friend and graduating knowing you’ve successfully stuck to something for three years. I think uni is a big commitment and sometimes people don’t realise this until they’re in it. My other favourite memory is going for my course interview. I was so excited and nervous!
Talent Match and Working at Absolute
The process with Talent Match was very easy and straightforward. I contacted Catriona after hearing good things from another BIMM student, who was also getting help from her. Catriona set up a call with me to get to know me and my passions. I was already employed within the music industry before graduating (working for a central Europe-based distributor). However, I was looking for a change and work based in London.
“Take every piece of advice.”
Due to Covid-19 happening around the same time as me looking, I was nervous about changing jobs. However, Catriona was very helpful, reassuring and helped me build my confidence. When it comes to Talent Match, take every piece of advice and be open-minded to changes and suggestions from the mentors.
I have been at Absolute since June. My day-to-day responsibilities include product build, creating/writing pitches and asset and promo coordination. This includes liaising directly with Absolute’s labels, priority campaign updates (such as checking for playlist placements for newly released tracks and in-store playlist submissions) and sync brief coordination.
“Always be yourself, as there’s only one of you in the world.”
If I could give one piece of advice, it would be to never give up and to always be yourself, as there’s only one of you in the world. That’s the best advice I got from a lecturer and it’s something I think about a lot to this day. I’d also say to be creative and have fun! Sometimes, you may land somewhere entirely different from where you imagined, but it could turn out to be the best thing ever.
We wish Julia every success in her career and can’t wait to watch her live her dream. Find out more about Talent Match here. To discover more about Employability and Careers at BIMM, head here. Alternatively, you can read more about our student success stories and inspirational alumni here.
