I started off this year at Leeds Trinity University, after finishing my A Levels, I felt University was my only option! Although after a while I decided I was really on the wrong path for myself, so I began to look at different routes to get me to what would be my dream career.
Looking back, dropping out of university was absolutely the right decision for me, and completing my first week at The Best of Bury has confirmed for me I made the right choice! With such a warm and welcoming team, even though I was nervous on my first day, Kathryn, Phil, Debi and Ian made me feel right at home.
Being on an 18 month apprenticeship scheme I knew I would be taught things about the business and practically using what I had been taught. Sure enough, right from my first day I was learning how to use the system and was scheduling actual events and showcasing the different clients of The Best of Bury. This was great as I was being kept busy and I could be creative in the posts I was writing, whilst I was working in a productive, routined day, and earning money (which was a real struggle for me when at university).
By Tuesday I was already confident when adding events to the Facebook page and adding them to The Best of Bury website. I was impressed to find that I already had a meeting with Janet from Bury College who would be handling my apprenticeship work and the modules I would have to study for the position of Social Media and Digital Marketing Apprentice. As an apprentice I would need to select and study different modules then complete an assignment on them, enabling me by the end of my apprenticeship to have gained a level 3 in Social Media and Digital Marketing.
Wednesday and Thursday followed and I continued showcasing for clients, exploring the different social medias, such as Instagram, and scheduling more posts from there - part of the job is being confident around various platforms of social media. Wednesday and Thursday also resulted in me getting the chance to shadow my mentor Kathryn in some of her meetings with clients, in which Kathryn would review their progress when it came to promoting themselves and getting their business more well known throughout Bury. This was particularly interesting and really does show why doing an apprenticeship is brilliant for getting actual experience on the job, as when you are studying in a university, you would not get that first-hand experience of client meetings. After shadowing just a few meetings I had already learnt and understood a great deal of different marketing techniques and got to meet a few different clients.
On Friday I was putting into practise what I had learnt throughout the week by scheduling more events. However, in the afternoon I sat in a meeting that Kathryn was having with a lady who had just joined one of The Best of Bury's clients in administration. This was useful to me as I could see a presentation that showed exactly what The Best of Bury was about, in depth.
Don't get me wrong, I was looking forward to the weekend by Friday (like any sane person) and getting up this Monday morning was a bit of a task, but I really have loved working with The Best of Bury team so far and I am enjoying my actual role as well. I feel very 'in the know' about all of the upcoming events, and if someone I know needed a plumber I could definitely point them in the right direction!
