We were joined by Molly Britton, a second-year student at Newcastle University, to gain work experience for her course.
We loved having her at Clearsilver, and here she recounts her time with us, as well as why having work experience is so important to stand out from the crowd:
My lengthy summer had nearly drawn to an end, and the date of moving back to university had quickly crept upon me.
It was also time for my vital planned work experience at Clearsilver, enhancing my abilities and skillset in the area of marketing.
I was nervous, but it would be sure to help me with the reality of employment, as it was my first time ever working in an office, as well as my first experience of engaging with marketing outside of university.
Why is work experience SO important for students like me?
I don’t know if it’s just like this for me, but at Newcastle University it is a highly competitive environment, where every single student on the course is competing to get the best internship. Thus, the following reasons:
Competition within the Business Industry
I mean come on, if I didn’t do work experience how am I meant to compete with students who have swanned off to get experience before first year at university had even begun?! Absolutely no chance.
Work experience is vital if you’re wanting to remain in the running against other students all applying for similar employment roles, enabling you to differentiate yourself from thousands of people in the same position as yourself.
Immense Increase of Knowledge and Skills
Rewind five months; I’m sitting in a lecture theatre trying to absorb a Powerpoint at lightning speed with a total of 55 slides. I’m sorry, but how on earth do lecturers expect you to take in ALL that data at once?! It’s scientifically proven that whilst our long-term memory is virtually limitless, our short term, or ‘working’ memory has a much smaller capacity. Not to mention that everyone learns and processes information differently. In my case, I prefer a more hands-on approach.
So during my work experience at Clearsilver, I shadowed a colleague to get to grips with the systems used during the social media marketing process.
Let’s get this straight, I am no technological wizard, and when my colleague began to explain the ins and outs of the system, I was only familiar with a small portion of the information. Nonetheless, after both observing and working with the system, my technological skills developed rapidly.
Therefore, if you’re like me, work experience is extremely beneficial. Being thrown in at the deep end in a busy working environment, enables you to begin to explore and understand the practical side of the area you’d like to work in, whilst also developing vital technological and communication skills at the same time.
Confidence
I’ve never really struggled in social situations, such as meeting new people or travelling far from home. Despite this, remaining confident in an unfamiliar working environment was difficult, when I had never stepped foot in an office before, never mind a busy marketing agency.
However, after thirty minutes of entering the office at Clearsilver, I soon recognised that the agency had a fun, vibrant environment. The tightly-knit and efficient team offered constant support from the start.
Comparing myself now to my first day at Clearsilver, my confidence hasn’t stopped increasing. My communication skills have improved dramatically, and the fact that the agency trusted me to work on their social media content, scheduling it all for the next month, made me feel valued and respected.
Thus, engaging in work experience will develop your confidence majorly, allowing you to prosper, build on your new knowledge, and reach your desired achievements in the future by enabling you to attend interviews with the approach and confidence required, differentiating you from thousands of other applicants.
Overall…
I couldn’t recommend participating in work experience enough. It has helped me grow professionally and made me a more well-rounded and confident individual, with improved skills. It is honestly the most beneficial experience for a young, career-driven student.
Thank you so much for everything Clearsilver!
If you would be interested in conducting work experience or an internship with us, get in touch.