In the month that I’ve been an apprentice at Space HR, the most common comment that I have gotten from those who I have spoken to about my job, is that I seem happy.
I am very glad that not only am I happy as an apprentice at Space HR, but also that this company has had such a positive impact on me that my friends and family have noticed too.
If you want to know how my first week went, you can read all about it here.
Canva
During my second week at the company, I was assigned a couple of tasks which meant that I could put some of my research from the previous week into action. I was introduced to Canva, which is my favourite thing to use, ever. I love creating things so using this has been like a dream.
Canva is a free graphic design platform that I have been using to create a variety of social media posts for Space HR. It’s great when trying to make a graphic that is both informative and eye-catching. It has made it very easy for me to make multiple posts for different platforms.
At Space HR, Victoria Bond has been very encouraging of not suppressing my imagination - that’s where the best ideas come from - and this has been very impactful when creating posts for social media. I have really enjoyed having the freedom to create.
Client Meetings
I had a client meeting during this week to go over the results of an engagement survey. I learnt the ins and outs of the technology behind Space HR as well as how follow-up surveys are important when making sure everything stays on track. I look forward to doing more of this in the future.
The Juice Academy
I had my first official session with the Juice Academy during this week. We had many guest speakers, a few of whom were: Rebecca Parker, the importance of brand; Calum Metcalfe, how to build better relationships with clients, colleagues and suppliers; Luke Twomey, understanding and segmenting audience and Abbey Robinson, content planning.
The things I have learnt in this lesson, I have no doubt, will be used daily during my apprenticeship. I am extremely grateful to Rebecca, Calum, Luke and Abbey for these lessons and I can’t wait to put what I have learnt into practice.
Webinar Learning
Also, I attended a couple of webinars in my second week, the first one being ‘How to secure and manage PR for your business’ hosted by The Federation of Small Businesses. Its guest speakers were Andrew Bloch and George Taylor. I thought this would be important to improve my understanding of PR and how it is managed within a business.
I learnt that there are websites to use where you are able to get your message out to journalists and how to create something that journalists will actually read and choose to write an article about. I will be using what I have learnt when it comes to creating content that will attract people and also when thinking about Press Releases and where to distribute them.
I would definitely recommend connecting with Andrew and George on LinkedIn as the things that I have learnt from this are going to have such an impact on how I think about how to approach journalists in the future.
The second webinar that I attended was ‘How a podcast can build your brand and engage clients’ hosted by Steve Randall and Sarah Hamilton-Gill. I have always preferred podcasts to any other digital medium and so I was excited for this webinar. I learned that planning is incredibly important when creating a podcast.
You have to make sure the format doesn't stray away from what you have advertised as that is the reason why people are viewing your podcast. If you are straying away, viewers will go elsewhere to get the information they want. I have been interested in podcast production so I wanted to have this information ready if I ever got the chance to work on a podcast.
Week 3 - deadlines!
Now onto week 3. It seems like I have done a lot in these first few weeks and that’s because I have. I work best when I’ve got lots to do so I am extremely happy with the amount of work I’ve been given so far. My third week was a bit calmer than the previous week.
I got to grips with the schedule that I would most likely be working on for the duration of my apprenticeship. This meant that I was able to set weekly deadlines for myself. For example, I try to finish any research by Wednesday so that I can get onto the creating aspect of my job for the next couple days of the week.
This is something that I haven’t had to do before so it’s great to be able to decide what works best for me.
Week 4 - Creating Content
Week 4 was the week that I started to create and post content. One of my tasks was to take one blog post and create multiple social media posts around it. This was a very exciting task for me as it allowed me to think creatively. I also spent a lot of time working on an up and coming project.
This is going to be a podcast, and I have been starting to create content for it to share on social media. Through doing this I have been able to take feedback and work on it, which is something that I love to do. I am always trying to improve. I am very excited for this podcast launch and I will share all when I can.
Support From My Team
Another thing that I'm very happy about is the support I'm receiving from my team. Not only have my teammates been more than happy to answer my questions, explain concepts or proofread my work, but they have expressed a willingness to help me with whatever I need to feel comfortable.
Asking for help is not easy for me, but I know that when I do ask for help, that support is available, and I'm very grateful for that.
What's Next?
This month was full of learning and improvement. Specifically with creating content. I have learnt more about social media and emails during this month than I ever have - and I’m Gen Z! I have also enjoyed watching my fellow apprentices. I see their posts pop up on my LinkedIn feed and I am very proud that we get to go on this journey together.
I know I'm still in the early stages of this job, and things will continue to change and evolve during my time here. But for the most part, things have started off well and I'm very happy with my role and the company. After a stressful first job and a long and difficult search, I feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders, and I can’t wait to see what else is in store for me in the coming months.
