This post was written by third year BSc Marketing student, Joanna
My first two months on placement have flown by, and I’m feeling very settled at work. I’m working at Ascension, which is a Church of England church in Bitterne Park, Southampton.
Working for a small charity – there’s just seven people on staff here – has meant that I’ve taken on lots of responsibility very quickly. I’m employed to manage our media and communications, so I run all our social media channels and I work with a key volunteer to manage our website. I’ve been using Adobe CC to develop branding for new projects, and I’ve also been synchronising and streamlining our current branding. I’ve also been able to use my videography skills to make promotional videos for key events, such as student welcome and highlights of summer festivals. I’ve even developed a new database management system, a challenge that has taken me back to some notes from first year modules!
As the only marketing employee, I’m learning to work very independently. When I find part of my work difficult, or I have to make a new decision, I look back at module notes, or research for information that will help me move forwards. I often find myself thinking creatively or using my initiative, which is intellectually stimulating and allows me to really feel responsible and take pride in my work. My line manager is very releasing, and allows me to get creative and trust my own judgement, which has really increased my confidence and autonomy at work.
Working in a small team means that my role, and my day to day working activities, are very varied. I’ve been part of policy development and strategic meetings, as well as helping to run our onsite café and improving my latte art skills! I’ve loved the variation, and I enjoy that I don’t always sit at a computer all day.
The team here have welcomed me well, and I feel integrated and settled. We’ve had team days where we all work on the same project together, which has at times felt like doing group project work at uni! We’ve also had a staff fun day at GoApe, which was really enjoyable. As well as working with the team, I also get to work with volunteers from the church congregation. I’ve particularly enjoyed this because I spend time with so many different people. Church buildings are rarely quiet, and it’s not unusual for people to pop into the office unannounced – it’s a very informal and sociable working environment.
Follow Ascension on Facebook (www.facebook.com/ascensionsoton), twitter (www.twitter.com/ascensionsoton) and Instagram (www.instagram.com/ascensionsoton) to see more of what I’ve been doing.
