Volunteering can be a way to gain on the job experience that could be a stepping stone into a future career. It’s also has mutual gain to both students giving their time and the club having additional support.

In recent years, we’ve grown and improved our media output at Emley thanks to a flow of students and other young volunteers, usually from nearby Universities. It’s the perfect fit for individuals looking for work experience while studying or who have recently graduated.

Here are some ways you can gain experience:

Interviewing players & management
Writing match reports
Live action tweeting / feed
Creating graphics & content management
Growing social media accounts
Running marketing campaigns

Emley AFC media team volunteers are encouraged to apply their existing skills and develop new ones. They are mentored by senior members of the club’s board who, in their day jobs, are highly experienced media/marketing professionals. Club chairman Andrew Painten is a TV producer with experience in radio sport. Krissi Simmons is a senior communications executive for a large multi-national company.

Both invest their time to develop volunteers to benefit the club. Many have used their time with Emley as a springboard to full-time employment in the industry.

But don’t take our word for it…

Here are some testimonials of some of our former media volunteers:

“I had a fantastic season volunteering at Emley. I was given the opportunity to work on all aspects of the media side of the club. It helped me develop my skills and gave the tools to help step up when coming into jobs later in my career. Also, I met so many great people along the way at such a friendly club”, Paul Joannou, Head of Media, Walsall FC

“I am very grateful to Emley for being the first club to give me an opportunity to put the skills I’d learnt at Uni to the test. I was able to write a few web articles, match reports and live tweets from games. This massively helped me to begin my portfolio and was a springboard for other voluntary opportunities and beyond.

Working in non-league football is such a great way to get your foot in the door and gain that experience that every job in the industry requires.

Emley are so accommodating and welcoming of people willing to help and get involved if you’re keen to play a part.” Olly Wood, Digital Content Assistant, Grimsby Town FC

“During my time at Emley, I got the opportunity to update social media posts in-game, write up post-game match reports, interview players and coaching staff, as well as getting to use the PA system on a handful of occasions. All of these are transferable skills which helped me ease into a role with Hull FC, gaining the advantage on many fellow students at the time.

What struck me the most about my time as a volunteer at Emley was the people. The players and coaching staff were all incredibly accommodating and welcoming, but the staff, many of whom were themselves offering their assistance on a voluntary basis, were the loveliest people I have met in almost a decade of working in sport now. This came together to manifest a feeling of belonging, creating an experience I’ll never forget. Especially Andrew who gave me the opportunity to come on board and help out, whilst offering some useful words of advice along the way. It was a great experience from a working perspective, but it also helped me understand the true meaning of a football club at that level.” Luke Greaves, Media Executive, Hull FC

To find out more about joining our media team or any other volunteer role, email office@emleyafc.co.uk