As part of my Digital Marketing degree at Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen, I decided to undertake a 12-week work placement. While my work placement could’ve been anywhere in the world, I decided to look for an opportunity closer to home as I’ve spent a lot of time away from my family in the first two years of my course as well as studying abroad in Madrid in my previous semester. Because of this, I was actively looking to work in the Malvern Hills area especially since I am very passionate about the local area, and a chance to contribute and get to know local clients and businesses seemed like an obvious choice.
I am very enthusiastic about Digital Marketing and I feel very grateful to study something that I am genuinely very excited about. My degree is especially beneficial as we get the opportunity to look at Digital Marketing holistically and to try every avenue and see what we enjoy the most. For example, I had a class in web design where I quickly learned that I don’t enjoy coding however there are far more areas that I am more enthusiastic about such as Digital filmmaking. This meant that I had a lot of well-rounded skills and understanding that I could bring to the role. For example, for the first two years of my degree, I was part of the marketing team of the Go Green Society and over time became the head marketing co-ordinator and had to learn many skills such as managing a team and setting up and leading meetings. I also learned how to use platforms such as Mailchimp which allowed me to confidently create newsletters for DITS.
I am very grateful to have been able to work with Design in the Shires as part of my degree as it has given me the chance to see what it is like to work at a design agency and be part of their team. It meant that I could try and explore different areas of Digital Marketing to see what I enjoy the most so I can continue that in my future career. For example, what I have discovered so far is that I really enjoy meeting clients, building relationships with them, and listening to their needs so that we can offer the best possible solutions. I also realized that I really enjoy branding, especially regarding brand and competitor research in order to provide the best possible results and solutions.
The more time that I spent with the Design in the Shires team the more grateful I became that I chose to work here. The work culture very much aligns with my personality and the team made me feel very included and welcome. The friendly and approachable atmosphere that they offer clients extends to the work culture as a whole. It promotes an environment that is inclusive, safe, and positive environment to learn and make mistakes. For example, as a person who experiences Dyslexia, I was a bit worried that spelling mistakes would become an issue for social media posts however I never felt like it was a major problem but just meant that an extra pair of eyes would need to look over the posts before they go out.
Overall, I would say that the organization and workflow are very organized a streamlined so that each member of the team can efficiently complete tasks and easily communicate with other team members. This meant that I got to further enjoy my work placement as they already had a foundation of effective communication so that I could feel confident completing tasks and learning as I go.
Top 4 things I've learned
1. What a digital marketing agency actually looks like and how it operates
2. What my main skills and weaknesses are
3. The importance of effective communication in a workplace
4. The value of workplace wellbeing
