My Time as An Intern at SQ Digital

If I were to describe my time as a Digital Marketing Intern during the Summer at SQ Digital, I would honestly say that it has been an amazing and worthwhile experience. The amount of responsibility I was given since the beginning has been great. The fact that the company has had so much trust in my ability has given me a lot of confidence in my work and has also built on and improved my self-confidence.

After completing two years at Newcastle University studying Marketing and Management, I knew it was time to gain real business experience. I initially started applying and attending assessment days for companies located in London, with the idea of finding a year-long placement. However, due to the massive competition, they proved extremely hard to find, so I decided to change my search to focus on finding summer work experience instead.

Living in Lancaster, I decided to send my CV to local companies. SQ Digital replied to me within a day, offering two weeks of work experience; I think it was meant to be! I soon realised that the opportunity of work experience during the summer would actually benefit me far more than taking a year out of university for a placement.

I couldn’t have wished to work for a more friendly and dedicated team.

My University Experience

My studies at university mainly focus on business management with marketing theory and practice. While this allows me to build up an extensive knowledge of marketing, it doesn’t allow me to gain practical and real-world experience.

In my first year, I took compulsory modules such as Quantitative Methods for Business Management and Introduction to Management and Organisation, which were heavily maths and theory-based. One of my favourite modules from my first year was Critical Perspectives on Business Growth. I enjoyed attending lectures on fascinating topics such as ‘Are Entrepreneurs Born or Made?’, ‘Illegitimate Businesses’ and ‘The Mafia and Business Growth’. Every time I left these lectures, I felt like I had learned something new, but it also left me wanting to research more.

In my second year, I purposely chose more marketing-based modules to ease away from theory and learn more about contemporary marketing case studies and strategies. I started to choose topics that were of interest to me when completing my assessments, which helped increase my productivity as I actually enjoyed what I was researching. I completed a group report on how social media affects different age groups, wrote an essay on Stormzy’s billboard marketing campaign, and wrote a strategic marketing plan for the online fashion company Missguided.

While the university had already made me hopeful for my future career, I knew my time at SQ Digital would help me understand what I was really passionate about.

Interning at SQ Digital

When I first started my work experience in early July for SQ Digital, I admit that I started with minimal expectations, knowing I wanted to gain experience in social media marketing and digital PR services. But by the end of my first week, I felt comfortable in the easy-going work environment and well adapted to the company. I tried my hand at writing blogs, learning how to match my writing style to the tone of voice of a company. I also wrote social media posts for various clients and even wrote a couple of outreach articles and press releases. In such a short space of time, SQ Digital enabled me to understand the workings of a digital marketing agency and really become part of the team.

At the end of my two weeks of work experience, I was offered an internship for the rest of the summer before going back to university. This was a perfect opportunity for me and something I had been looking for during most of my second year at university – good things do come to those who wait! Working in a business environment as opposed to a university environment is very different. At university, I’m responsible for myself and my own work, and at SQ Digital, I’m responsible for the company’s work and maintaining its reputation. This is challenging but very rewarding! Staying at SQ Digital allowed me to develop my digital marketing experience and skills while producing some work that I am very proud of.

The internship has opened my eyes to the wide range of companies that exist, and the work carried out on a day-to-day basis to ensure a company’s brand image is portrayed correctly. Writing blogs has improved my creativity, and social media has helped me create innovative posts to gain a unique competitive advantage over other brands. A highlight of my time so far is having two outreach articles published online, something I hadn’t written before but something I really enjoyed.

Meeting the Team

The individuals I have worked with at SQ Digital have all been extremely welcoming, ensuring that I’ve been getting the most out of my internship throughout my time here. Michelle, the Lead Digital Marketing Executive, has made time every week for a 1:1 meeting with me to ensure I was happy and getting the most out of my experience. Throughout these sessions, she’s helped me perfect my CV, given me tips for writing a cover letter, and helped me improve upon my weaknesses. This reflects the hard-working nature of the SQ team and their willingness to go above and beyond to help others.

 This was also confirmed to me through their various activities for charity. The team is taking part in Born Survivor and hosting a family fun day to raise money for Unique Kidz & Co, a local charity that they selected to be their charity of the year back in January. This is something which they should be extremely proud of. I couldn’t have wished to work for a more friendly and dedicated team.

The Future

Moving forward, my experience from SQ Digital and the confidence I have developed while I’ve been here will aid me in my final year, completing my dissertation, and in my future career. As well as gaining business experience for a digital marketing company, I have also perfected personal skills such as time management, public speaking and have even been inspired to start my own blog. SQ Digital has confirmed my passion for digital marketing, which I now know is the right career path for me. It has only fuelled my ambition to work hard and excel in my future career.

Thank you so much to the SQ team – I hope you’ve enjoyed having me as much as I’ve enjoyed being here.

 

Want to work here at SQ Digital? Please take a look at our careers page to see our latest vacancies.