By Georgia Lee
To set the scene. I'd just completed my second year at the University of Nottingham studying History and had been looking for an opportunity to get my first real taste of the world of marketing. Coming from a degree unrelated specifically to marketing, I had been fortunate enough to participate in a Digital Marketing course within my university. However, I was yet to gain real hands-on experience within the sector.
That’s where Gradconsult comes in!
Following an application process including a virtual interview I was offered the role and was set to start in the next few weeks.
Hitting the ground running
From day one, the dynamic and supportive team culture of Gradconsult completely shone through. My first day included a welcome call with Annie followed by a team lunch to meet everyone.
From then on, the days flew by as I learnt how to use the website CMS and soon started to make new updates and changes to the website. This included: adding headshots and bios for team members, adding new testimonials and brochures, and refreshing general content. All things I had never experienced first-hand before!
I also got stuck in creating new social media content and templates. This involved scheduling posts on several social media platforms, creating new team banners, and collaborating with different team members to come up with new ideas. So, it’s safe to say that I was able to hit the ground running right from the start.
Over the course of my internship, I also had the opportunity to schedule in time with team members to get advice on CV writing, application processes as well as more general advice which gave me incredibly valuable insights that I will definitely be taking forward.
The benefits of working online
As we all know the world is a much different place to how it was a few years ago. Covid-19 has helped platforms such as Zoom become common household names, with virtual means of communication becoming the new norm. However, even before the pandemic it seems the hybrid way of working and the move to a virtual workplace was already on the rise.
Like me, you may not have been entirely convinced by the whole move to an online workplace. Despite this, through undertaking my four-week virtual Digital Marketing Internship with Gradconsult I have been able to experience the benefits of working online first-hand.
1) More opportunities
This may seem like an obvious one, but through use of online means the benefit of being able to connect with people across the country is invaluable. For instance, if my internship hadn’t taken place online it’s extremely unlikely that I would’ve been able to do it. Instead, thanks to Microsoft Teams it has never been easier to collaborate and meet team members online, despite being based in different places all over the country.
Following on from this, I have been able to get to grips with new applications such as Canva and have generally gained many more transferable skills, especially with regard to online tools, than I might have done with an in-person internship.
2) Strong online team culture
Of course, like most people, I would have loved to actually go into an office each day, go out for team trips and lunches, as well as actually see and meet people in real life! However, my internship with Gradconsult has shown me how great working online can be. Through having online team meetings and one-on-one conversations with team members placed up and down the country I still felt completely part of the team right from the start. Gradconsult has been able to create such a positive team culture and welcoming environment, which I feel is sometimes quite difficult to maintain through online means.
Gradconsult’s values and way of doing things has definitely changed my mindset on how great the virtual/hybrid workplace can and should be.
3) More confidence and self-belief
This may not be the same for everyone. But I know for a lot of people (myself included) working and meeting people online can seem pretty daunting. I can now say that I feel completely differently to communicating online thanks to my internship with team GC. Even after the first few days I could feel a greater sense of confidence and self-belief, collaborating with other team members and sharing what I’d been working on in group meetings.
Of course, there are the downsides of a virtual internship, with there sometimes being WIFI and technical issues for instance. However, Gradconsult has given me such a positive experience through this virtual internship, where I have still been able to fully immerse myself in the work they do and become a valued member of the team from beginning to end.
Final thoughts
To finish there are a few key points that stand out to me for making my internship such a positive experience. Firstly, it was an extremely exciting time to be a part of team GC as new members were joining (meaning lots of fresh content for the website) as well as lots of new developments and opportunities with different clients.
Secondly, there was a strong sense of trust and belief in every team member. It was such an enthusiastic and encouraging team environment to be a part of, whilst also having that self-accountability and responsibility to get the job done.
Thirdly, despite having previously been a bit sceptical of things moving online, this virtual internship has given me renewed confidence and self-belief through attending team meetings, client workshops and having one-to-one chats with fellow team members.
Bonus tips – making the most of your virtual/first internship:
• Have as many conversations as possible with different team members
• Join/observe client workshops/meetings and any other team workshops
• Get stuck in and involved from the get-go (time goes very quickly, so make the most of it!)
• Go into your internship with that self-confidence and eagerness to learn