Newcastle University graduate, Zara talks about her experience as a marketing intern for the Careers Service START UP team and how it helped her to land a graduate role in digital marketing.
Since graduating from Newcastle this summer, I have started working as a Digital Marketing Coordinator, a role I never would’ve imagined myself in when I started studying Psychology in 2019. During my degree, I took up an internship working in social media marketing at START UP, an area of Newcastle University’s Careers Service that supports those pursuing or considering a self-employment career path. Upon leaving my internship, I faced the decision to continue with my original plan becoming a clinical psychologist or taking the plunge into the world of social media. From the confidence, skills, and experience that I gained from working at START UP, I felt equipped to follow the latter route and began applying for jobs, landing one pretty much straight away!
Finding an internship
I began to develop my creativity skills from what I’d learnt in A Level Photography during 1st year, creating graphic designs and videos for my university society social media pages. I got the basics of a few different Adobe software and noticed that I grew in those skills quite quickly. Finding this internship on MyCareer felt like the perfect time and opportunity to channel my new-found creative skills into professional experience in design, social media, and marketing. Other attractions of the job included the flexibility around my studies, the chance to learn new skills and software, and the work of START UP itself.
Life as an intern
My expectations were more than exceeded over my time at START UP (initially 10 weeks, ultimately a year). I enjoyed overseeing my own time and projects each week, with regular check-ins with my line manager over Teams and eventually in person. It was great to complete a whole year, helping to manage the social media in relation to academic events. I was trusted to experiment with new ideas and social trends and reviewing the insights to inform future strategies. I was also trusted to work independently, which allowed me to take initiative and build confidence in my choices. Another positive was the flexibility, as I got to adjust my hours and working pattern each term and holiday around my classes. The main take away for me was the confidence it gave me to pursue a career in social media and marketing. I developed my creative skills as anticipated, but also picked up many more unexpected skills like building social strategies, using analytics, and learning more about how to win at social media.
Above all, I had a lot of fun with the team at START UP and in the Careers Service and getting to know the START UP founders and the amazing work they do - even spending an evening tasting Sichuan food for one.
Finding a graduate role
It is without a doubt that my internship at START UP landed me my graduate role in digital marketing. The professional experience and knowledge I gained helped turn a hobby into a career, building my CV, gaining me interviews, and eventually impressed someone enough to give me a job! I never expected to walk into a workplace and actually feel like an expert in my area, which is something I owe to the START UP team for investing so much in my progression and development. If you’re thinking about doing an internship, my advice is 100% go for it – you never know where you might end up!