Week in the life of a marketing work experience student

As a student, trying to map your life out at the young age of 16 is tough. Some people have the rest of their lives figured out by the age of 13 and others will finish university and still not know what they want to do in their future. It’s always been something I have struggled to plan out for my life, especially without ever experiencing any field of work.

I have always enjoyed studying business at school, particularly marketing, and thought about focusing on this when it comes to looking for work. This is what led me to Shropshire Creative Agency. They combine marketing with the creation of content which are two things I have always taken an interest in. I followed my passion for business into my week of work experience to get the best idea of what it’s like in this industry.

Monday

Starting somewhere new is always unsettling. You want to make a good impression on people in the space where you will spend the next five days. It is always important to stay confident, composed and remember to always be yourself.

Coming into the office for the first day was lovely. After making my way upstairs, Vicky and Ben introduced me to the company and what they do. It was amazing to gain a deeper insight into what the business does day to day. This was followed by a tour of the floor the office is on which gave me the opportunity to see all the facilities I would need for the week. We made our way back to the office where I was introduced to rest of the team, Sammy and Becky. I spent most of the week shadowing these two and getting an insight into their roles within the company.

Sammy started off by showing me the social media schedules for the week. We sorted through some of the pictures from the F1 event at Silverstone from the previous weekend. We then created a social media post for Instagram and Facebook to highlight the day. We followed this up by sending out an email to Garage Talk Radio’s email subscribers letting them know the schedule of the radio show and what to expect from the coming week. After this, we used the graphics made for the radio shows and scheduled them to premiere with the radio going live.

I also helped Becky with the production of a feature of the monthly video magazine; condensing footage down to highlight the most interesting and engaging parts. Before we finished for the day, Sammy and I worked together on making a TikTok post about Ben’s time at the F1, hoping to get a few views, likes and some new follows from a new audience.

Tuesday

I was back in the office for 9:00am again this morning. The TikTok post we did the day before had amassed over 30,000 views and 2,800 likes. This was amazing news as it had caused an influx of followers on the Garage Talk TikTok account.

By 9:20am, it was time for me to join in on my first radio show of the week alongside Sammy, Vicky and Ben. This was such a fun experience to use all the high-tech audio equipment and just build conversations with each other. It was such a laugh. After the radio show finished, Sammy and I started working on the “Out of context” graphic for Instagram. This was us being able to use a more fun creative side to build up the social media presence of the Garage Talk Radio account.

We had a team meeting in the afternoon, discussing what had happened in the week and what the aims for the next few days would be. It was great to be able to sit in on this and listen to the communication between the team and how ideas are bounced around and developed into future plans. After this, Sammy demonstrated how she used a program to make social videos out of the radio recordings.

While Sammy carried on with some scheduling work, I joined Becky in some more video editing for a client. We used Adobe Premiere Pro to cut up interviews to enhance the flow of the clips, and overlayed additional footage to demonstrate some of the topics discussed in action. This enriched the visual experience making it more interesting to viewers.

It was another great day full of gaining new skills and trying out different areas in the business.

Wednesday

On Wednesday morning, I began my blog on how screen time affects businesses, the workplace and everyday life. The topic was fascinating because it involved researching statistics on how much time people spend on their devices each day. This helped me think critically about a subject that is widely debated in society. After completing my research, I was able to explore both the benefits and challenges of increasing screen time, and how it can help and hinder businesses.

Recently, Shropshire Creative celebrated its 10th birthday. I had the pleasure of observing Sammy editing clips from the party into one single celebratory post. We then used the video footage to make still images, highlighting the lovely things people had to say about Ben, Vicky and the business.

To end the day, we headed downstairs for an ice cream which was great to spend a bit of time away from an office setting talking to each other. 

Thursday

Today started off a little more chaotic than the rest. I was scheduled to join Ben and Vicky on the radio for my final time this week. Due to technical difficulties, the show was delayed, giving time for troubleshooting to help resolve the issue. In the meantime, I helped Becky edit a video interview of a client and find suitable b-roll to accompany the interview. This built on the video editing skills that I had developed over the week. After this, it was time to start the radio show at the delayed time of 10:30am. This was again a great experience to develop my confidence talking to others, and with an online audience too.

Vicky and Becky had a client in the afternoon who has hired them to record his interviews with various mediums. This gave me the opportunity to help set up and get ready for the interview and get a behind-the-scenes look at how the videography side of the business operates. Furthermore, it was very interesting to be able to listen in on the interview and hear the conversation taking place.

I ended my day by starting to write another blog for the website. I further gathered footage from the office and what I accomplished in the day to make a ‘day in the life’ vlog for social media.

Friday

I got to the office at 9am again in preparation for my final day with the company. I jumped straight into finalising my blog from the day before. At 9.30am, it was time to produce some content for social media. This involved me getting to observe the team answering their weekly questions, usually involving questions about social media debates or producing content. This week, the question was over planning or winging social media content. It was great to be able to get an insight into the thought process over the content produced and the different approaches from person to person.

After this, I returned to my blog to make final finishing touches to elevate it further. Once this was completed, I began to use the footage I gathered throughout my day on Thursday and edit it together to make my day in the life vlog. It was amazing to have the opportunity to use the skills I have garnered over the week and make something myself. I then worked on the voiceover and got it ready to be recorded and edited over the clips. I then put everything together using Premiere Pro and added an audio to complete the project.

Sometimes, you will feel nervous to go somewhere new, but it is important that you embrace opportunities as you can gain ideas, experiences and skills. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time spent at Shropshire Creative and it has given me the kind of experience that I can keep with me and use in my future career in this industry.