GetMyFirstJob Ambassador
Hello, I Am Katie
Your future is only for you to decide. No matter the pressure you might get from family or your school, you need to make this decision for yourself.
Tell us more about your experience
As part of my role as a Programmatic Account Executive, I work on Essence’s own system, called Olive, to run YouTube ads for organisations like Airbnb. I also get involved with talks about creatives, training courses and use DV360 to start different ads. Working with Airbnb was one of my favourite projects, it’s also so much fun to run YouTube ads. My proudest moment when I was in my apprenticeship is when I passed my Olive exam – it was lovely seeing the support from my team!
I knew I wanted to do an apprenticeship as I was finished with the educational process of exams and revision – it wasn’t for me! I wanted to go into the digital marketing industry, and this really helped me in my decision-making. It helped me refine my search for opportunities and I knew that a career in the industry didn’t necessarily require a degree. I utilised this, began networking, and landed my role through Multiverse, which has been the best decision in my life.
My school and sixth form were very university-driven. They wanted all pupils to get into Russell Group universities with the best grades and rarely had any insight into the potential other options. This made my research difficult – I had to start from scratch! Once I started applying, I was turned down multiple times, for probably about 50 or so roles, maybe even more. I’d only received 3 interviews despite all of my applications. My advice would be to test your school norms and choose the path that you think is best for you despite the challenges you might face.
“If you’re not interested in the idea of university, you don’t have to go – it’s as simple as that.”
Your future is only for you to decide. No matter the pressure you might get from family or your school, you need to make this decision for yourself. You’re the one person that knows what you enjoy or dislike most, it’s so important to go with your gut. If you really want to find opportunities and land an apprenticeship, work hard for it!
I’ve received a lot of support from Multiverse, it’s been incredible. They set up a lot of sessions in the first seven weeks of my apprenticeship. This involved home training on the basics of digital marketing, and other sessions which went over topics like mental health and diversity in the workplace. The owner of Essence (Group M, owned by WWP) has their own university which also run some sessions.
“I received loads of support from my employer and training provider – it’s helped the adjustment into the apprenticeship!”
Group M’s university has some amazing mentors that constantly assure any worries you might have about the apprenticeship process. As it’s such a big change to go into an apprenticeship alone, it can be quite lonely and hard, but my colleagues and other apprentices’ support has really helped me. I’ve picked up so many skills from my apprenticeship. From organisation, networking, and communication, getting into the industry has been a huge learning curve! I’ve also learnt to use important platforms and picked up loads of responsibility.
Group M looks for all the agencies they work with to keep their apprentices on after their course has ended. That means that (hopefully!) I’ll be remaining with Essence for the foreseeable future if all goes well. If you’re considering an apprenticeship, join different social media pages or attend networking events – these can help you find an apprenticeship role or even make friends!
Interested in becoming an ambassador? Find out more!