Diary of an Apprentice

Diary of an Apprentice

Publish Date: 2022-01-25

Author: Aimee Hodgkinson

I’m Aimee and I have recently become a Digital Marketing Apprentice for Space HR. Before I fill you in with my experience so far, I want to tell you a little bit about why I became an apprentice.

From 2018-2020 I studied Media at Runshaw College. I was extremely interested in Media and knew it might be something I would like to pursue. I had planned to go onto University following my exams but after doing some work experience and volunteering, I realised that I didn’t want to give up the work side of my life. Instead I decided to take a gap year in order to save up some money so that once I had figured out what it was that I wanted to do next, I was in a good place financially. 

After thinking about it for several months, and asking every young person I knew what their plan was, I decided to apply for apprenticeships. My brother had just completed an apprenticeship in Business Administration and it has now led him on a path that he really enjoys, so I took inspiration from his story and looked on Indeed for any availability. I guess the question now is: Why did I choose Digital Marketing?

I have always been a creative person and inspiring others is something that I am passionate about, so I knew I wanted a career that would showcase my creative skillset. Film Production was my favourite hobby at the time and I loved to create short films and other media content.

I wanted a role where I could still do this whilst expanding my knowledge of the things I was already interested in. Digital Marketing just seemed to tick all of the boxes. I then applied to Juice Academy who were able to place me with Space HR after an easy application and interview process.

I haven’t been at Space HR for too long but to say that I have been able to get stuck in would be an understatement. I guess it might be best to go through each day and see what I got up to and how it worked out. So, here it goes…

 

Day One:

I wasn’t nervous until the morning of my first day. Victoria had made it so that I had no reason to be. During my interview she was very friendly and once I had found out that I had the job secured she gave me a ring and we talked for a while about me, about her, about Space HR and what I would be stepping into.

I found that this call helped to relax me and, more than anything, it made me very excited to join Space HR and meet the team. I had planned to set off with plenty of time to spare just in case I was late. But of course, the weather had other plans. I got to my car and it was frozen. Both on the outside and inside. Luckily, even with the 5 mins it took me to defrost my car, I was still somehow 10 mins early. 

I first met Victoria and Alec, we sat and discussed my role in the team alongside the tasks that I will be doing whilst I am with them. The majority of the day was spent getting to know the ins and outs of the company, who’s who and setting up my new laptop. My first day at Space HR couldn’t have gone any smoother and it’s all thanks to Victoria and Alec.

 

Day Two:

My second day was spent shadowing Victoria. We conducted a few interviews in the morning and it was extremely interesting to see what it’s like on the other side of the interview, where it doesn’t affect the path that your life will go down. In the afternoon we travelled to see a client, BEAM Fieldwork

BEAM is an independent Fieldwork agency who work in market research and strive to set exceptional standards in fieldwork, becoming integral to the success of client research projects. Whilst working with BEAM I learnt more about employee engagement and why it is important to make sure your team is happy and satisfied with their job roles.

I was able to see how different teams work together and support each other through their struggles and successes. Also, a vital takeaway that I gained from this meeting was that if you ever feel overwhelmed, there’s always people there to help you when you need it and these people will do whatever they can to watch you succeed. 

This must have been the most mind-blowing afternoon of my life. I was sitting in a meeting room with 5 ridiculously hard working business women who were talking about things that I did not understand yet. It was incredibly inspiring to see how much these women cared about the job they do and the people around them. I am very appreciative to Victoria for letting me sit in on this meeting and watch how she works.

 

Day Three:

This was my first day at Juice Academy. I met all the other apprentices, the tutors and Sandy Lindsay (Director of Juice Academy- She’s a big deal!). It was very interesting to listen to Sandy and take in her advice on how to be successful in the workplace. She recommended a few books, one of which being The Chimp Paradox by Prof Steve Peters which is currently on its way to me via Amazon.

It was great to see everyone and start to work on the training we are going to be receiving. This day would need its own blog post to be able to include all of the things I learnt.

 

Day Four:

Day four was my first official full office day. The morning consisted mostly of a catch up with Juice Academy in order to get me and Victoria completely up to speed with the apprenticeship and all of the tools that will be available to us during it. Then it was onto my tasks for the week. We had established these on my first day. Predominantly, I learnt how to research properly.

Online research is incredibly important in Digital Marketing and so I have been working on how to effectively do this. I looked at how to do a SWOT analysis of both Space HR and its competitors. The objective of this was to see how we could find new ways of marketing our brand and perhaps discover a viewpoint that we hadn't considered.

I specifically learnt that ongoing research is very important in the marketing industry and I will most likely be looking at YouTube videos and other online materials to help me do this as I continue on.

 

Day Five:

Friday. We had established Fridays as a day for me to spend solely on my college work. This was also my first day working from home. Victoria and Alec had made sure that I had plenty to be getting on with whilst working remotely. This meant that I had to fully manage my time by myself. I won’t say it was easy, because it wasn’t.

Coming from working full time in a food industry type job where you work 10 hours a day, are constantly on your feet, running around, to then sitting at a desk with tasks to get done and trying to manage your time is quite the sudden change. But I was fully supported for this change by both the Space HR team and the Juice Academy team. On this day I also learnt how to create a contact list for prospective clients and who a great client is for Space HR.

 

I have only been at Space HR for a week but I have learnt so many things already that will help me not only in my professional life but in my personal life as well. I have been given so many opportunities to succeed and I will be taking advantage of every one that I possibly can.

 

I am excited to continue on with Space HR and watch this amazing company grow. I’m sure there will be many more updates from me about my journey as an apprentice at Space HR. But for now, it’s goodbye.

 

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