Four months has quickly passed from my previous post of Intern Diaries. From creative to account handling, right now I feel pretty settled. The majority of my experience has been working as an Account Executive on two accounts – with both being miles apart from each other. I have learnt a lot from the world of convenience retail marketing to how to market several brands into the big four supermarkets.
Reflecting on these past few months, I feel my marketing knowledge has progressed immensely. Working alongside years of experience – it was inevitable, I am constantly learning. The main areas I feel I have developed in are: professionalism, confidence and organisation.
I remember feeling like the smallest fish in a huge pond fascinated by all the big characters swimming frantically passed. I attended internal meetings and shadowed Account Managers as they took their briefs through the studio – In those early days, I sat there, filtering the conversation in front of me, a rush of ideas circulating my head, but no confidence to express them. This is very unlike me, during university, I was always expressing my opinions. Something had to be done.
As a Savvy tradition, sharing knowledge and ideas are found at Lunch and Learns. Presenting my research in front of Savvy employees? I thought it was a great opportunity to further my professional growth. My mentor and I presented together and I was so nervous at first. Confidently presenting in a tutorial amongst students was never an issue for me, but presenting in front of the agency at Savvy was a completely different experience. After receiving positive feedback, it struck me that I wasn’t such a small fish after all. From then; I feel I have come a long way, liaising with clients and suppliers to expressing ideas in front of colleagues is now just a regular, weekly routine.
It dawned on me prior to attending my first meeting; I have never worked within a professional environment before. It hasn’t taken long to adjust to. From face-to-face client meetings to constantly liaising with suppliers, being professional came naturally as I found my feet in my role.
As part of my role, it has come to my attention that a key skill to have is organisation. Prior to my work experience, I didn’t realise how organised I could be – the untidiness of my bedroom would disagree. Now this means planning events, handling social media platforms, working pro-actively ahead of schedule to assure creative is seen though studio, approved, sent to print and delivered successfully to the press, managing creative POS through studio and working to tight timings, handling online and in-store competitions and working to specific T’s and C’s. If I wasn’t organised before, I feel like I am now! My bedroom is also benefiting from my personal progression.
Overall, the experience is great and I know it will help me a lot with my final year studies. Not even half way through my placement year, there is much more to learn and I am looking forward to the year ahead.