Looking for work experience in Southampton?
Work experience is as precious as the finest jewels. It gives us the power to rule out career paths, whilst simultaneously adding new ones to the list.
It allows us to change our dream as many times as we want, and not be too hard on ourselves. Which is why we need to take advantage of it – and that’s exactly what I did.
From being a Doctor, to being a performer, to running my own company – at some point, I wanted to do it all! Thankfully, somewhere along the way I settled on Digital Marketing, wanting to turn a love of social media into a career. This is where the ICAAL Academy comes in.
Work Experience: Where to Begin?
Google. Or at least, that’s where I started my search.
Searching for work experience can be hard, especially when you’re like me and leave it to the last minute, or just don’t know what you want to get into.
Fortunately, it wasn’t too long before I came across ICAAL. After a quick search for marketing work experience in Southampton, I came across the ICAAL Academy and knew it was the perfect place to start.
Before I applied for the ICAAL Academy, I didn’t know a lot about Digital Marketing. I had taken a brief online course on the subject but I was very much looking forward to expanding my skill set further.
The Application Process.
In order to apply for your position at the ICAAL Academy, you can get in touch directly via an online contact form. You will then be asked to send a CV and a Covering Letter – it really is that simple.
If successful, you will be contacted by their friendly team and a work experience date will be arranged.
Your Week with ICAAL
It’s natural to fear the unknown; therefore, it’s natural to have a few first day jitters. But, trust me, an hour into your work, you’ll feel like you’ve been working there for years.
The first day goes by in a flash. After a quick tour of the office and a read of the Induction Pack, you’re ready to begin working on some real-world projects.
Not sure what to do? Don’t worry, it’ll all be explained by your assigned mentor. But that’s not the end of it, in the friendly environment the office carries, you’re free to ask as many questions as you like, making sure you really understand the work set.
Want to know if you’re on the right track with what you’re doing? Just ask! If you want to get a bit of clarification on a task set – just ask! The team are here to help you succeed and do the best you can.
By the end of the first day, you’ll be in the swing of things and, trust me, by the end of the week you won’t want to leave!
My ICAAL Application Experience.
If you’ve read this far, well done! You’re just a step away from starting the best week of work experience. Keep reading to find out what I did a ICAAL and how it has helped me.
As you read before, my journey into the world of work began by searching through copious amounts of companies, begging them for work experience. Thankfully, ICAAL were here to answer my prayers.
After applying to be part of the ICAAL Academy, I got sent a list of dates that were available for me to take, as well as another introductory email from my wonderful mentor. Once my chosen week was set in the calendar, it was time to read up on what my chosen path is all about, learning as much as I could before I started.
Before I knew it, my work experience week was upon me, and I was more than ready to start.
What I Did.
On the first day I was set my tasks for the week which included creating social media content and writing blogs for their website – one of which you’re reading now (yay!)!
Although it took me a day to get to grips with content creation, it was easy to understand with the help of previous months’ work shown to me.
Sometimes, writing flows naturally, whereas other times it leaves much to be desired. In this case, after a bit of research and a solid plan in place, I was good to go!
What I Learnt.
Going into this experience with an open mind, I’ve come out the other end learning more than I thought I could.
- Sometimes making mistakes is the best way to learn. Been asked to write something that has needed a bit of editing to make it perfect? That’s great! Not everything you write will come out perfect the first time. Sometimes it takes a fresh pair of eyes to see things you possibly didn’t.
- Short, sweet and to the point can go farther than you think. Not everything needs copious amounts of text to explain a point.
- Always have the target audience in mind. It’s great coming up with content for a page, but making sure it’s specific for that company’s audience is what will help reach even more people.
- Marketing is like a duck in water. On the surface it looks perfect and pristine. But take a look behind the scenes, and you’ll see a whole world of things that go on, without anyone noticing. From planning posts in advance, to making sure the logo is perfect to upload, it all gets noticed by the customer.
- Trust yourself. When writing my blog post on social media marketing tips, I found that a lot of what you write is from personal experiences. If something worked for you, great, write about it and share it with the world! Trusting what you write and having the conviction to know you’ve articulated your point well will help it go a lot further.
If I wrote everything I learnt over the last week in here, you’d be reading a book, not a blog post. But for now, these are the things that called out to me.
So, if you’re looking to start a career in Digital Marketing and aren’t sure where to begin then I thoroughly recommend ICAAL Academy.
With the experience, the friendly staff and the happy environment, you can’t go wrong with the work experience week on offer.