We asked our 12-week RGU placement student, Annie Buchan, to write a reflective piece on her time so far at P13, here is what she had to say…
‘It’s surreal to think that I’m over halfway through my 12-week placement at Prospect 13!
From day one, the Prospect 13 team welcomed me with open arms and helped me adjust to working life, as being in an office environment is brand new to me! I was told before joining to make sure that I have plenty snacks and I can confirm that is the best piece of advice I’ve been given… I now have a drawer full of them (we’re a bunch of foodies here at P13).
The past weeks have given me a flood of new skills, relationships, and exciting tasks but I can safely say that I’ve gained so many transferable skills from this placement; digital analysis, SEO and communication skills being a few. I now feel much more comfortable about returning to RGU to continue the last year of my degree in Digital Marketing.
Prospect 13 has provided me with the opportunity to not only advance my knowledge in the industry, but also given me a sense of pride and accomplishment from each task I’ve completed and been part of. It has built my self-assurance and demonstrated to me just how much I am capable of. Every day I feel like I am making progress and learning more about the role and myself.
The first couple of weeks were primarily devoted to my own project, delivering event marketing support for “The Spirit of Africa” – an evening of Africulture brought to Aberdeen by The Africulture Network, in cooperation with the International School of Aberdeen. I loved being given the responsibility of managing my own project; producing a range of online content to launch the event, developing sponsor packages, social media schedules, and even a website landing page and Search Engine Optimisation. It’s been a fun project, and I can’t wait to see it come together on the 29th of April 2023.
Throughout the last 6 weeks I have connected with a variety of clients and been given the freedom and trust to communicate with them to get the work done and approved. During this time, I’ve created a variety of social media content, developed social media schedules, Mailchimp content, SEO keyword research, participated in the planning and development of websites, and… my new favourite…generated client analytic reports (thanks to our Digital Marketing Lead Louise for showing me the ropes!). Before placement, the thought of data analysis would have given me a headache but since working with Louise, I’ve grown to love it!
My ability to organise myself and keep track of time has greatly improved. I now write down my priorities and additional work at the start of each week, helping me to avoid stress and cross things off my list as I go… as well as see how much I’ve been able to achieve in a week’s work.
I’ve also been given the amazing opportunity to attend events at P&J Live; including FNS 2023, Subsea Expo and Love P&J Live, where I’ve had my first experience at networking. This gave me the opportunity to meet clients in person and plenty of new faces in the industry, with some good food thrown in (can you see there’s a theme?!).
Along with constantly learning and evolving, I’ve also met some incredible people who have encouraged and supported me as I develop. During my first couple of weeks, I even had the pleasure of taking part in social time with the P13 team – Bongo’s Bingo at the P&J Live (again!) was a LOT of fun – and the perfect way to settle in… with plenty laughs and drinks!
I’m enjoying every minute at P13, they’ve taught me so much already and provided me with amazing opportunities – working in a marketing agency has given me an insight into the digital marketing world and I can’t wait to see what the future holds for myself.’
