Taking On New Challenges

It is a year today that I began my apprenticeship journey, a year today that I set foot in the very office I am working in right now. A year ago today I was like a deer in headlights, the headlights being the marketing industry.

Now, exactly a year on, I find myself in a position not many people my age are in and I am doing things that a year ago I would have been terrified of.

Last week, I attended my first business breakfast with local business people. Although I have attended many different networking events this year; from business expos to dinners. I had never eaten breakfast in a professional environment before. Now, even just a month ago this prospect would have been very daunting. Yet I found myself with calm nerves walking into an environment I had never been in before.

For someone that used to struggle a lot with anxiety and even experience panic attacks on almost a daily basis at sixth form, this took me by surprise.

My boost in self confidence has also meant I am able to contribute to meetings now, instead of just sit awkwardly at the back and not speak. One to one client sessions have also become a part of my work duties and I feel completely at ease doing them.

As I have grown into my role at the agency and proved my skills I have had the opportunity to hold more responsibility for projects.

The diverse range of services the marketing agency offers reflects in my workload and I have been involved with jobs such as; international conference photography, e-commerce on social media and even making a batch of DVD’s!

Even my daily tasks have changed as I implement social media strategies instead of just taking over from one that has already been put in place. I have created brand new social media accounts and built up the audience from scratch - let me tell you, that's a great feeling!

With all of these tasks, I dove in head first and really got stuck in with them. On some occasions I was learning as I went, other times I was using transferable skills. One thing is for sure though, I will never make the same mistake twice. When you are physically doing the job, mistakes hit hard but it is an integral part of the learning curve.

In fact, I have got tasks in the pipeline that will be a first for me to do, but that fact doesn’t faze me like it would have done a few months ago. There is nothing but excitement for the events lined up in the calendar, something I haven’t really experienced before becoming a digital marketer.

I think the way that I am learning is the reason for the huge amount of progress I have made in the marketing assistant role.

As I near the end of my Level 3 Digital Marketing Diploma, I am getting excited about the new opportunities that may arise and what challenges I will face. I am looking forward to more incredible experiences as I grow into the professional I aspire to be.