“Make the most of every opportunity” – Work experience learnings

Thanks to our universities, higher education colleges and the thriving marketing agency landscape, the pool of talented young people is growing incredibly fast in Leeds. Over the years we’ve welcomed students into our agency and mentored them for a few weeks or for their full placement year. This year two more work experience students have joined us. So, we thought we’d share a few moments with Joe and talk about some of his work experience lessons.

So Joe, tell us a little about yourself…

I’m a third year Economics and Management student at the University of Leeds. In my spare time, I enjoy activities such as football and kickboxing; both of which I have competed in at national level.

Over the past 2 years of studying, I’ve been able to develop essential skills for transitioning into a working environment. The management element of my degree has helped me improve my public speaking and leadership skills through group tasks and presentations. By combining this with the economics portion of my degree, I’m taking away the key theoretical concepts that underpin the running of the economy and day-to-day business activity.

In studying two key business disciplines and seeing the internal workings of a marketing agency, I’m developing a wide range of skills which are essential to the running of firms in the current business climate and will stand me in good stead for what I hope will be a career in management consulting.

Tell us a little about your time at ThinkOTB…

Despite only being at ThinkOTB for a short time, I’ve explored all aspects of the business and met all the members of the team. I have been able to meet with Mark, Chairman at ThinkOTB, and gain invaluable business knowledge that can be transferred to my studies, as well as my future career. I’ve been tasked with briefs that have ranged from creating a new agency and presenting it to the team, to devising social media posts that could be used for the ThinkOTB social pages.

What have you enjoyed most about ThinkOTB?

I have enjoyed all of my time at ThinkOTB so far. In particular, I have enjoyed being able to collaborate with all members of the team, as this has given me chance to explore all aspects of the business and see how they work cohesively. I’ve really enjoyed completing the briefs, as they have allowed me to take a more creative mindset – a skill that I wanted to advance going into my final year of university.

Have you got any take-away tips for other students working at an agency?

During my time at ThinkOTB, I’ve learned a lot about how an agency operates. Coming into the agency I thought it would be a very formal setting. ThinkOTB has a more informal, friendly culture to stimulate creativity, whilst still having the right level of formality to ensure everyone sticks to deadlines – the perfect combination for a creative agency!

One tip I would give to other students coming into the agency would be, to make the most of every opportunity presented to you, and make sure that you get feedback on your work, as this is the only way you are going to improve in a working environment.

It’s been a pleasure for the non-work-experience people at ThinkOTB to share our knowledge with Joe and hopefully show him how powerful marketing is for every business.