Former Marketing Apprentice – now full-time employee – Geo Craig writes on his experience of being an apprentice at 72Point:
If you had asked me what my feelings were at the start of my apprenticeship I would have responded with three simple words; fear of jargon. When starting out as an apprentice on the marketing team of a Top 20 consumer PR agency you find yourself asking everyday “what does this all mean?” and “how many times can I get away with asking someone to repeat something before I seem crazy?” It’s safe to say that after coming from a career as an academy footballer at a professional team I would have to suffer being the village idiot for a while. But sometimes being fresh on the scene can be your biggest strength.
After taking the necessary time to settle in and get to know my colleagues I started to find that people were surprised by my fresh outlook on the PR and marketing industry. I found I was able to bring a new element of creativity and even spontaneity to the table, rather than reverting to type and doing things that I believe to be true because someone taught me so. When you have a fresh pair of eyes you’re able to attack a variety of challenges in an infinite amount of ways and you just throw out all kinds of ideas ranging from bonkers to brilliant.
Using an analogy that makes sense to me, I liken it to how modern football managers are increasingly selecting young players so that they can tactically mould them into the role they need them to carry out, rather than picking seasoned professionals who have experience but may be set in their ways.
Of course it helps to have mentors around you. I believe that a young professional is only as good as the experienced individuals who they can constantly learn from and who support them. At 72Point, there’s been no shortage of mentors. At times, being a fly on the wall and observing the day-to-day operations of various people in various teams (design, creative/idea generation, social media, account managers, video etc.) has been the most effective form of professional development. It’s been a rare opportunity to get to grips with so many different areas of an industry and the possibilities are truly vast for an individual who grabs opportunities with both hands.
I’ve now been at 72Point for a year and a half, and every now and then I have to take a step back and acknowledge just how much I’ve learnt in such a short space of time. Managing and coordinating events, handling our social media accounts, maintaining our website and the day-to-day uploading of content to it are just some of the many responsibilities I’ve been able to get to grips with and now at the age of 20 I find myself in a full-time role, having been offered the job by 72Point at the end of my apprenticeship with a year’s professional experience under my belt. Also, the networking opportunities have been incredible. Being able to attend events and meet marketing professionals, make friends and set up knowledge sharing sessions has been invaluable and possibly the best part of my apprenticeship.
The biggest testament to the start my year as an apprentice has given me is that I’ve gained an appetite for new challenges and new responsibility. I’ve discovered a confidence in myself and the ability of young people to allow themselves to be molded, and quickly immerse themselves into anything. Two years ago I was playing against some of the top U18 footballing outfits up and down the country and couldn’t tell you the first thing about a marketing strategy, now I find myself with a significant amount of marketing experience and on a pathway to more knowledge.
72Point’s social channels will be taken over tomorrow by two of our apprentices,, use #AskAnApprentice to get your questions across and get insight into a working day here at 72Point!
For more info on our career opportunities, visit: https://www.72point.com/careers/