This summer, I’ve had the wonderful opportunity of taking on a job working on digital marketing at COOLSPIRiT. I have recently turned 18 and had always planned to get a job this summer to gain some real-world experience and make some money before going to university. I thought I would get a job in a shop, cafe, or other job that wouldn’t give me many skills relevant to the industry that I wanted to pursue for my career. This is why I am so grateful for the role I have taken at COOLSPIRiT as I want to go into the digital media industry, and digital marketing is very closely linked in many aspects.
While working here, I’ve been part of a variety of projects. The biggest continuous project has been working on the social media accounts that COOLSPIRiT has, during which I have planned, created and published many designs and informative captions. This has really helped me to understand more about brand identity and how a company wants to appear in the eyes of its audience, and designing graphics in a professional capacity has also developed my design skills. Learning to use InDesign to create and update documents and files has been another skill that will be useful for the media industry and something that I wouldn’t have had any idea how to do without this experience. My communication skills have also come on in a professional sense as I have been speaking to colleagues about projects and taking on feedback in ways different from how I have done before when at school, which helps to show how a few months spent doing something new can develop your skills and personality in many ways. The team have let me sit in a few meetings and calls which has also given me a new experience and understanding of how companies operate, interact and conduct business with other companies and how teams work within them.
I’ve also started and ran a TikTok account for the business to reach new audiences and create audiovisual short-form content that is still new and under-utilised in the cybersecurity industry. This has been a valuable experience as I have not made short-form content like this before. My time here has been my first experience working within an organisation and it has been insightful to see how a business works day-to-day and what goes on in the corporate world.
The people that I’ve had the opportunity to work with have made this summer very enjoyable, as there is a friendly ethos and community feel around the office. Working with CMO Alex Raben has been a significant part of my time here as we have worked together and exchanged ideas on most projects that I’ve undertaken. We have worked very well as a team, as I don’t have any background in cybersecurity and so his experience and industry knowledge have helped to make our projects reach the intended audiences much more effectively.
Another aspect of my time here that I have appreciated is the experiences out of the ordinary that I have been part of, such as using the ground-breaking new technology of the Apple Vision Pro headset for the first time, as well as a work trip to Manchester to take part in a sports day ran by Gamma with employees of other organisations. This day was only a couple weeks into working here, and it gave me a great chance to properly get to know some of my colleagues and have a great day out, while also staying active and competitive.
I’m now a day away from finishing working here and I will be heading to university very soon. I’m delighted to have this experience under my belt as it will help me in my future, both at university and when working after my degree. I can’t wait to use the skills and experience I’ve gained here to progress my prospects. COOLSPIRiT has been a great company to work for!
