Work placement: Getting up for 9am and other new skills

As my year-long placement approaches its end, I have a bittersweet feeling really! I feel privileged to have been given the opportunity to work in a marketing agency. With support from amazing colleagues, I have gained so much industry experience. I know it will be invaluable to me in the future.

On the flip side, as a 21 year old, I am really excited to return to uni in Newcastle. I will get to enjoy the final year of late nights with hardly any real-life responsibilities. Then, my life in the world of work will commence properly!

Real-life industry experience

I have definitely had an invaluable experience with Think OTB. Thanks to them, I have gained a huge amount of knowledge and developed so many skills through my placement this year. I feel totally prepared for my final year in education and for a career in marketing beyond. Taking theory from university and applying it to real-life situations has definitely improved my skill set and commercial awareness. I have developed strong transferable skills and built relationships with my colleagues. This will give me an advantage in securing a graduate scheme, whilst also having a fun time!

Applying theory from university to real-life situations has regularly come through during this year. I have referred back to the module content when looking at a work-related situation.

5 specific things I’ve learned:

Actually having responsibilities and being held accountable

From external responsibilities such as responding to client’s requests, liaising with suppliers, to internal projects such as our customer engagement strategy, I’ve learned a lot of valuable skills. One of my highlights has been project managing our newsletter. It was my responsibility to get it booked in, briefed, through studio, and sent out on time.

To be more creative and innovative

Of course working in a creative agency inevitably makes you become more innovative and think differently. I have been exposed to new ways of working, new creative challenges, brain storming sessions. The monthly newsletter improved my creative skills by exploring new topics and researching what to include. With each issue of the newsletter, I have helped come up with new and interesting ideas to share with our clients.

How to solve problems efficiently

Being a uni student, many of the problems you face in life do not always phase you. In real life working situations, I have had to deal with real problems and resolve them effectively to the satisfaction of my managers. For example, I’ve learned to work at a fast pace to a sharp deadline. I have also been able to produce high quality work and juggle tasks. This marketing work placement has taught me how to negotiate schedules with co-workers to ensure work is completed on-time too!

Agency processes and new software

Throughout my placement I have become familiar with internal agency processes, from liaising with clients and writing briefs to producing quotes, working with suppliers and briefing work to studio and the creative teams.

Before I started my marketing work placement, I had absolutely no idea how any of these processes worked! I’ve also had crash courses in using new software for online quoting and becoming proficient with email and newsletter software.

Getting up for a 9am start – very different to life at University…

One of the biggest things I have learned is how to get up at the crack of dawn rather than going to sleep at this time!

Working life is certainly different to uni life! This year I have adjusted to the difference between life in the workplace as opposed to life as a student. Although I have had no assessed work within this work placement, I have still had to deliver high quality work to ThinkOTB and our clients.