When I started working at Hitch Marketing 11 weeks ago I really didn't know what to expect. Horror stories about internships clouded my expectations. I thought that I would be coming in to an impersonal, corporate environment where I would just be making tea and photocopying all day long. I couldn't have been more wrong.
The First Day
On my first day at Hitch I was overwhelmed by a mixture of excitement and nerves. What if the people didn't like me? What if I didn't like them? The dress code was smart casual, but what is smart casual? Do I bring my own lunch? Do I bring books and pens with me or is that too 'high school'? All of these questions were running through my mind at 100mph. I knew I didn't want to be late so I ended up leaving my house at 8am to get there for 9am. It was only a 20 minute drive, safe to say I was there very early.
After the classic Monday morning meeting I was introduced to the team. Hitch is a small company with 12 employees. Before I joined I was worried about whether everyone would be like the stern, cold business people you see in films and T.V. shows where no one talks to one another because they are all busy doing important business stuff. Or on the other hand, I thought that because it is a small company they might not be welcoming to 'newbies' as they all stick together. Yet again, I was wrong. The staff at Hitch are the most lovely, welcoming people you'll ever meet. Seriously, I could write a whole blog post on the positive office environment here, in fact maybe I will.
After my induction I was thrown straight in at the deep end. That's when my ideas of tea making and photocopying went out of the window. My first task was to analyse interviews and pull themes to create an overarching picture, that was used for the research behind a campaign. I loved it. I was in my element, I wrote out all the themes in different colours, much to the amusement of my colleagues.
Working Life
Having never worked in an office environment before, professional working life was new to me. But it's safe to say I am loving it. I have had so many opportunities to challenge myself and try new things. I have written press releases, created surveys, proofread reports, done a swot analysis (turns out you actually have to do those and they aren't just something you do in uni) and posted many social media posts. Most importantly I have found my passion for copywriting and social media marketing and my dislike of losing against my boss at table football.
So far my life as a marketing intern has been challenging, exciting and fast-paced, I genuinely look forward to every day here (even Mondays). Bring on the next 12 weeks.
Top Tips
- Be confident: Going into a new job or workplace can be terrifying. Especially when you are young and fresh out of uni, people can underestimate you. That's why it's important to be confident in your abilities, don't be scared to say "I'm good at doing ..." People will respect your confidence.
- Don't be scared of challenges: New jobs come with new environments and expectations which can be challenging. But this is a good thing, it gives you an opportunity to showcase your skill set and try new things. If you don't try new things then you will never know what you love doing and what you don't love doing. I've always said I would rather be challenged than bored.
- Never stop learning: The world is always changing, especially the marketing world. That's why you have to always keep up to date with current trends and worldly events. Watch the news, read journal articles, listen to podcasts, do whatever suits you best but just don't stop wanting to learn. You can never know too much about something, but you can know too little.
- Learn from others: No one is perfect, even the CEO of a company will still have room to improve in their role. Learning from those around you is a great way to learn on the job because you can have all the theoretical knowledge in the world, but that won't help you practically.
- Be yourself: If you go into a job with a different persona, eventually the cracks will start to show. Be yourself, no matter how weird you are. Trust me it will make your work life much easier when you don't have to keep up an act, and people will like you for who you are.