September 13 2023

Starting A Marketing Career – Our Interns Experience

Starting A Marketing Career – Our Intern’s Experience

We enjoy having students with us as part of our commitment to sharing our knowledge and helping future marketing professionals in their careers. Tijen recently joined us from Warwick University for a 6-week internship and has given us an insight into her time with us including some of the activities she completed whilst with us.

Towards the end of my first year at university, I was applying for creative industry internships in hopes of finding summer work experience. After countless applications and no luck – I was starting to feel hopeless and decided to take a different approach.

I began reaching out to individual professionals in the marketing field and small businesses located in Canterbury. During my search I came across Lydia at I Do Marketing and reached out to her on LinkedIn, presenting my CV and a brief cover letter, initiating my journey as a marketing intern.

My main responsibilities over the 5 weeks were content creation, competitor analysis, idea development and market research. My favourite task was the consumer personas which allowed me to gain valuable insights into the target market with storytelling – contributing to my overall industry knowledge while fostering brainstorming.

I had significant creative freedom while working on projects. This freedom enabled me to learn transferable skills such as communication, critical/analytical thinking and design.

One specific project was to develop concepts and strategies aimed at enhancing I Do Marketing’s ability to effectively market its website design services. Applying the knowledge and skills I acquired during my internship, I created a presentation with illustrative ideas to present to the team. Several of the strategies and campaigns I proposed have since been incorporated into both the short-term and long-term plans for the company.

A few of the strategies/campaigns I had pitched have been added to long and short term plan for the business.

Social media was also a big part of my hands-on experience, as I had the opportunity to design and deliver social media posts, blog content and video content that were featured on I Do Marketing’s social media platforms and website.

Additionally, I shadowed client strategy meetings, providing me with valuable insights into the business process and the importance of maintaining strong client relationships. One example of this is The Sharpening Lady discovery session where we helped her map out a plan to achieve her business goals.

The team at I Do Marketing and the office environment were incredibly welcoming, friendly, and comfortable from the beginning and I always looked forward to coming into the office. I was also treated as part of the team, joining in on events like a golf outing and dinner.

Working alongside industry professionals proved to be an invaluable experience, enriching my understanding of the dynamics within a marketing agency. I enjoyed how every day was different as it exposed me to various industries and challenges.

Following this internship, my interest in marketing has grown and I’m now more knowledgeable and confident in pursuing a potential career in the industry.

Tijen was a pleasure to have with us throughout the summer. I and the team were all very impressed with her attitude to learn. She would alway take the time to listen, ask questions and work independently on tasks. Presenting the work produced she was confident and showed a great level of thought and ideas. You can also read an article Tijen wrote for us here.