My experience at IDM Summer School Assessment Day 2015!

Back in November, I was lucky enough to go to a talk at UWE by the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) and the Institute of Direct and Digital Marketing (IDM) about a career in marketing and agency-side focus, which I personally lack experience in and therefore found really rewarding and interesting. I was able to network with a couple of the speakers afterwards and was told about the IDM Summer School- an opportunity for graduates to spend 5 days immersed in the industry with the IDM in London and work to create live briefs for real clients and meet top agency contacts- what could be a better opportunity! I was dying to apply and wrote up my application almost immediately! The application was a long document summarising not only work experience but also university studies. I also had to write a brand review of a campaign I really liked which provoked a direct response- easy! I wrote about Kraken rum, a campaign I actually worked on myself and therefore knew inside out and really loved!

I submitted my application in December and didn't hear anything back until March! Such a long wait but I was so happy to be invited to attend an Assessment Day in London! I wasn't told much around what to expect apart from to prepare a presentation on something I was passionate about.

Once I arrived at the assessment day, I was greeted by 13 other candidates who were all absolutely lovely- I would genuinely be so happy if I made it through to the summer school alongside them- they were ace! We then took part in an ice breaker where I was asked which one person would I like to be for the day and I said "Obama or Simon Cowell".

Then we were given a brief for a group task which we had to compare two pieces of direct mail and identify the strengths and weaknesses of each, having studied and worked in marketing I found this really interesting and relatively familiar territory- nothing too challenging! I really enjoyed working with my group and I didn't experience the usual sense of tension or competition that can arise at some assessment centres, we were really collaborative and worked great as a team!

Then I was called to present my topic I was passionate about- I chose the lack of industry and development in the north and the lack of GDP that is created outside London and the South East. It really is a topic I'm passionate about and I did a lot of research to back everything up! I also used prezi for the first time to make it look super swish!

Then I was given an initiative test, which was a really interesting assessment method I haven't experienced before. I was given a scenario and had 15 minutes to prepare what I would do faced with it. I then had 10 minutes to present my findings to an assessor and I was able to compare the scenario to some event management work I have done and therefore found it quite interesting to see their response!

We were given lots of time in between the tasks to chat and I got to know the other candidates really well which was nice! I hope to see some of them again!

Then came the bit I dreaded the most- the maths test!! But actually it really was OK! It was basic percentages etc. applied to real-life marketing situations and therefore I found it much easier to think logically about the questions before I answered them. I hate it when assessments use questions like "What would the conversion rate between x and 9 be?" Name a time within marketing when I would actually ever use such a ridiculous calculation!? The questions at the IDM assessment day where much more applied and relevant which helped me do well (I think!)

Then we had a proof reading test which was to correct any spelling or grammar errors within a letter which was OK and we had lots of time to work through both tests so my panicking really was wasted!

Then my favourite bit of any assessment day... the interview! Mainly as I love talking about myself and I really do think selling myself is one of my main strengths! We spoke about my dissertation, work experience, agency culture, my career aspirations and placement year. I really liked all of the assessors and felt really comfortable talking to all of them!

The day ended with a summary of the week itself and what we could expect should we be lucky enough to get a place on the week long summer school in June! I should be hearing back in May whether or not I have a place- I can't wait to find out!!

Feel free to drop me a tweet @stefclarkx if you have any questions about the application process or assessment day!

Stephanie

Judging for Target Jobs National Graduate Recruitment Awards 2015!!

This week, I was lucky enough to be asked to judge the Target Jobs National Graduate Recruitment Awards 2015 at the Guardian Head Office in London! As a committee member of Enactus and on the graduate job hunter I was honored to be asked to be part of the judging panel!

I am a judge today! 🙎 At @guardian head office judging The Target Jobs National Graduate Recruitment Awards!! pic.twitter.com/hZmuIddZEZ
— Steph Clark (@stefclarkx) February 13, 2015

So off I went to the Guardian offices where I met lots of other students, both university and school leavers. I was put into a team with 7 other university students and we were given the task of judging 'The best student marketing campaign for organisations recruiting more than 50 graduates a year'.

Teams are working hard judging away!!! pic.twitter.com/xJwu2P6Bep
— Steph Clark (@stefclarkx) February 13, 2015

We had over 50 campaigns to sift through, so it was a super long day as most organisations had sent through huge packs, some of which contained videos, iPads, interactive games and storyboards. However, it really gave me a chance to see a) how large organisations are marketing their graduate schemes to potential recruits and b) which firms I would love to work for based on the innovation, creativity and messages that were displayed.

At the end of the day- the more students you reach and inspire, the more will apply and therefore the better chance you will have of recruiting a higher standard of candidate! I understand that some firms have bigger budgets than others, but I'm talking FTSE 100 companies here- you would be surprised by the lack of imagination that had been brought to the table!

I can't reveal the campaigns yet due to confidentiality! However when the awards take place in June I will try and do a follow-up post about the ones I liked!

The firms that shocked me weren't the kind of organisations you would expect! I was really shocked by the marketing campaigns I rated the highest! I was also surprised by how engaging and exciting I found these campaigns- marketing jobs or a workplace wasn't something I'd really ever thought about. Of course marketing products and services is something that had been drilled in to me, but never marketing a job! It really is true that you can market anything and everything!

However, the whole experience did make me thing about what stands out in a recruitment marketing campaign and I did a bit of research to find some really creative examples (these weren't part of the entries I was judging):

IKEA

When IKEA needed new employees, they created a piece of direct mail and consistent with their branding in the style of a flat-pack instruction manual. They then slid this into every flat pack piece of furniture purchased by a customer. This was a really simple, yet effective idea and a way of reaching a wide target audience, yet was completely cost effective. The physicality of the job advert was also really shareable, it allowed a talking point and perhaps cut through the noise of other, typical job adverts such as those in newspapers and online. I believe one would be much more likely to take notice, read the advert and perhaps show it to someone who they felt might be suitable, if they didn't feel suitable themselves.

OgilvyOne
The kings of advertising, if anything, should be able to market a role within their advertising empire right? I love this recruitment video for an internship, which invites candidates to send in a video of them 'selling a brick'. The actor is superb and it really sells the tough world of advertising and doesn't candy coat the skills and determination needed.
This was a highly targeted social media and YouTube campaign which really meant 1-on-1 contact between candidate and employer before any sort of formal interview!

Mastercard
Mastercard effectively used social media to find their new interns and used the hashtag #InternsWanted to attract graduates, who then submitted a new innovative idea to help Mastercard move towards cashless payment. This really meant that the employer could gain a sense of candidates' creativity and entrepreneurship without having to read through lengthy application forms. The entrants won an internship based on the number of 'likes' or 'retweets' they achieved! 
Of course, this is a totally new way to hire employees and it wouldn't work for every role- but the engagement and connection is really new and exciting! 

Those are just a few really interesting recruitment campaigns which have totally made me think about the creativity that can surround marketing job roles or companies as employers! It's such an interesting area and I'd love to read any more so please do tweet them to me at @stefclarkx or pop them in the comments!
Overall, I had a great day at the Target Jobs judging day and can't wait until the winners are revealed! I also met some really great fellow judges and mentors on the day who I hope to see again in the future.
Stephanie.

What it's REALLY like in an interview for JWT Graduate Scheme

Hello,

As part of my blog, I'd really like to describe my graduate job hunt, the application processes and my experiences along the way!

The truth is, I went in to the whole process slightly too optimistic, I was convinced that having secured dozens of placement year interviews, and passing my very first assessment centre ever, securing a job with IBM straight away and turning all of my other ones down! I presumed it was going to be just as easy to get a graduate role- I couldn't be more wrong! It's a billion times harder!!! The applications are ruthless and the deadlines are much earlier!

Recently, I was lucky enough to have an interview with one of the biggest advertising agencies in the world, JWT. After a lengthy application process, I was invited to the Account Management interviews in London.

I was told the interview would be 45 minutes long and there would be nothing to prepare. So I headed over to London, had breakfast with my friend Umesh in the Hospital Club (shout out!) and prepared for my interview. We went over my competencies, skills and experience of the marketing/ advertising world plus general facts about the company and their clients. I thought this would be great preparation as knowing the company is a great start to acing an interview!

The email said 'Smart Casual dress code' so I opted for a Black Ted Baker dress, a tailored jacket and plain black heels- as apposed to my usual suit.... however when I arrived at the offices in Knightsbridge, I couldn't have been more overdressed! Everyone else seemed to be in leggings!!!!! jeans, super duper casual wear! I stuck out like a sore thumb!

Before the interview I had been reading the graduate blog that JWT published which contained profiles of all of their 2014 grads. Literally, every single one of them attended Cambridge, Oxford, UCL, Bristol and the likes.... this immediately worried me even before I arrived on the day. I go to UWE, a previous 'poly' which focuses highly on employability through practical skills and application rather than simply academic theory. I love this part of my uni experience and honestly, I believe UWE has been great at providing me with the skills and experience and I feel 100% ready for the world of work..... something which I doubt a lot of graduates share. However, I couldn't help but feel that JWT didn't value these types of skills, however they valued a highly academic, book-smart candidate, something which I couldn't necessarily provide to that level.

However, I had been offered one of 100 interviews out of 1000's of applications- so they must have liked something right?

There were around 4 or 5 interviews happening at the same time as mine, so I chatted to a few of the other candidates whilst we were waiting, yep Cambridge studying philosophy.... Bristol studying psychology..... London studying Latin.......... thank you for confirming all of my doubts! When I told the girl from Bristol I was from UWE I think she was a little shocked! I was so proud to be sat amongst these brainy, brainy people and know that I had earned my place there! Speaking to them, I realised that none of these people were from business/ marketing backgrounds and therefore advertising agencies aren't really valuing these types of degrees!

Once I was called into the interview, I was met by a lady and a man, one from HR and one who I believe was a fairly recent graduate account manager. They were both really nice and helped me relax.

We started by talking about my degree- I wasn't really expecting this but went on to talk about my dissertation, the modules I was studying and the people I had met. We then talked about IBM, Vet's Kitchen and a couple of other projects I've been working on (read previous blog posts for more info!). This was all fine and I have written so many applications, I know these roles and skills inside out!

We then went on to talk about advertising in general and they asked me about which adverts I really liked..... my mind went really blank and I think this is where I messed up!! I had researched JWT's advertising in-depth and had hundreds of THEIR examples, without really thinking about the industry as a whole! I ended up talking about Sainsbury's Christmas advert and then M&S Christmas advert....... zzzzzzz how boring and cliche!!! My mum (a midwife) could have probably given those answers, nevermind someone who's supposed to be a mini expert in the field! She even asked me "what about non-christmas adverts" and I gave her a really crap answer about Oreo........ I literally froze I struggled so hard to find a answer that would blow them away!

I know I write a bloody blog about great advertising campaigns!!!!! But at that moment I couldn't think of a single one!!!!

We then looked at a number of adverts, the first one was a picture of a tomato on a white background with GAZPACHO written across it..... tell me how in god's name you are supposed to analyse that! It's crap!

Then there was an army advert which I think I analysed well and one for electronic cigarettes which allowed me to speak about ethics etc. which i think was ok!

Then, they asked me about my 'culture' and what I like to do in my spare time, I spoke about Enactus, my entrepreneurial society for social action- something I thought they'd really like, but they were like "No, what do you do for FUN".... but Enactus is fun!!! So I spoke about Bristol Wine Club which they seemed to like, then they said "What about aside from wine?" I just wanted to turn around and say "Well aside from studying a full time degree, running events at least 5 times a week, attending a monthly wine club, seeing my friends, writing my dissertation, acting as marketing director for enactus and doing job applications there isn't much time to do anything else" but I was too scared so I just said travelling........

All in all, I left thinking it had gone really badly- turns out it had as I didn't get a second interview! Honestly, they were ruthless and I guess I don't fit the perfect mould of candidate they were looking for, but that's OK!

I have learnt a lot about Ad Agency interviews and although I really wanted the job before I went, I am OK with not getting it! I think I would be a lot more prepared if I ever went for a similar job....these opinions are totally my own and I would love to hear if you've had a similar or completely different experience!!!!

Thank you for reading!!

Steph

End of placement, beginning of internship

Hello!

My marketing placement year at IBM has finally come to an end! A year of working in marketing full-time has given me a glimpse of the real world and how marketing can function outside of the textbooks, lectures and models that university can bring.

If you're currently studying marketing at university and have the opportunity to take part in a placement year, DO IT. It will open your eyes to the real world, you will learn an awful lot and you may decide what field of marketing you would like to work in, or in my case... NOT work in.

I first ventured into studying/ wanting a career in marketing whilst steering away from Journalism/ Public Relations therefore for me, I want to pursue something creative, which I can really sink my teeth into and experiment with... the great thing about marketing as a career is that there are so many avenues to go down, one area of marketing can be completely different to another!

Working at IBM was an amazing opportunity, a world-wide company which has a huge budget and is therefore able to commit to huge conferences, websites which are designed down to the T by the leading design agency in the world, events which the Senior execs of the biggest organisations in the country will happily attend at short notice... all of these things are obviously, amazing assets and what better position would you want your company to be in? The thing is, they don't actually NEED to do any marketing! The IBM brand is so well established and is a household name, in the business world it's the top dog of technology and therefore where is the competition? Where is the drive to increase awareness from 0% to 100%? It just doesn't exist!

The opportunities at working in such a large organisation, however, are probably unmatched with other types of jobs. I was able to get expenses to travel across the country, try out lots of education courses, meet hundreds of new people and network to my hearts content! I was also able to see what was successful and the struggle that such a large organisation faces when transitioning in to a new way of thinking/ new technologies.

A big company can offer flexible working, a great pension scheme, great pay, great facilities and the support you might need at a readily available service. However, weigh this up against just being 'a number' in 400,000 employees, facing outsourcing to other countries, never actually seeing your team apart from their icon photo in a conference call, having to phone a helpdesk every time you want to send a parcel, having to get every project you complete checked and finalised by hundreds of processes and procedures, it can sometimes feel like your individuality, thoughts and suggestions and even your personality can be a little bit squashed....

However, the experience was of course, priceless and an amazing opportunity, which I (hope) grasped with both hands and got the most out of. Even in a bad situation (not saying that it was a bad situation) you can always learn and grow through the things you experience.

However, I think I have almost made my mind up- I would like to work in a small- medium enterprise, or at least a highly competitive industry! I also think, for me, it's important to market something which I am passionate about and can relate to.

So therefore, this summer I am undertaking an internship at Vet's Kitchen in the marketing department (consisting of 2 people) which is an start-up pet food company based in Swindon, their products are sold in Tesco, Sainsbury's and Asda and online. It couldn't be more different to marketing at IBM which is exactly what I wanted, a chance to try something completely different and a chance to show my skills to a small team of people and to actually have some responsibility, and mostly- to make a difference.

As the business is B2C, I am also getting the chance to try types of marketing activity that I would never had been able to within a B2B organisation. Vet's Kitchen literally do every type of marketing campaign I could ever think of- which is an amazing opportunity for me to gain experience in all of them! They are big on social media, and I am basically running all of their social media channels at the moment, advertising- print, radio, online etc, events (I'm going to exhibit at one of their road shows in a few weeks), email marketing, public relations, web design, packaging design, sales promotion, direct mail, merchandise...... I've literally done the lot! I've only been here 2 weeks and already I am learning the ins-and-outs of the organisation, how it operates, and how the company has grown and how the marketing can be used to attract new customers, raise awareness and ultimately gain market share.

I am also able to make my own suggestions and plan my own marketing activity (an amazing opportunity!!) and if I think something would work, I can suggest it AND request budget! There is so much freedom, flexibility and creativity- everything I wanted from working in marketing.

I'm really excited to carry out the rest of my internship and hopefully learn lots before deciding what kind of graduate job within marketing I would like to apply for.

Of course- everyone has their own desires and different opinions of work, I think any experience is a good experience, again even if this makes you realise what you DON'T want to do.... I know I don't want to work in a B2B technology organisation and I thank IBM for providing me with such a rewarding experience that helped me realise this! I would highly recommend a placement year there to anyone!

Opinions are entirely my own!

Steph

Career Choices

I was lucky enough to be able to volunteer to work at the Bristol University careers fair on Tuesday representing IBM and inspiring students to apply to the internship, placement and graduate schemes that IBM offer. 

 The careers fair looked awesome in the University Great Hall!

As a UWE student I found this quite daunting, the two universities are historically and brutally, rivals. I was pleasantly surprised that everyone I spoke to was extremely friendly and even when asked what I studied and where, there was no judgement! I feel like the two universities are very different in what they offer, the courses people study and the types of backgrounds the students come from- which isn’t necessarily a bad thing! What I did expect (frown upon me for my stereotypical attitude) was for the students to be very career-driven, headstrong and to have done plenty of research and be very sure of what they wanted to do in life.

I was very surprised to find out that most students had no idea what career path they wanted to follow, what opportunities were available to them and what they wanted to do after university.

I would say I have known roughly what career path I wanted to take for about 2 years now. I want to work in Marketing as it is my passion (hopefully you have gathered that by reading this blog) and something I seem to do well in (according to my exam results/coursework/ability to get a job in said field….).

However, this has not always been the case…

When I was doing my GCSE’s I had my heart set on a Journalism and French Degree, I loved English and I knew I wanted to do something creative that involved writing, I also enjoyed French and loved the idea of studying abroad for a year. When it came down to choosing my A-Level options I went for English and Photography for the Journalism aspect, French and Drama (just because I had no idea what else to choose).

Then I decided to visit Sheffield University on an Open Day as I really wanted to go there and I saw they had a Journalism and French Degree course. I liked the University and decided to go to a talk on Journalism… I am so glad I attended that talk, it was one of the biggest eye openers I have ever experienced in my life.

The lecturer explained that if I wanted to apply for the cause then I had to be 100% committed to Journalism and I had to work extremely hard in a competitive job market, where graduates usually start on a salary of £10,000 if that. He said it was extremely hard to find a job in Journalism as it was, never mind one that pays well.

I decided that from that moment on, I had made the wrong choice and I didn’t want to go into Journalism. After my first year in A-Levels I failed French so that was languages out of the window too!

I do remember being stuck at this point and having to seriously consider what Degree I wanted to apply for as if I remember rightly you have to choose your degree discipline quite early in A2.

I knew it still had to be creative and to do with writing, as I was doing really well in English A-Level. I looked at Public Relations and thought that it was something I really found interesting and wasn’t too far from Journalism, but might be too specific.

Then I looked at where the jobs were at the time, and what percentage of each set of graduates from each course got a job in their chosen field after university. Marketing seemed to rank fairly highly and there were lots of Marketing Graduate jobs available when I did a search.

So, that was it! I risked everything and just went for Marketing, without doing an AWFUL lot of research I must admit. I feel like if you ponder over something for too long you might be put off the idea, I’m the kind of person to say yes and then stick to it, whatever the consequences might be.

I’m so lucky the risk paid off as I really do love Marketing and now I’m lucky enough to be working in it, I’m so glad I made the right choice. I was initially so worried, as I had never studied Business or anything similar, and when we arrived at uni a lot of people had done Business A-Level and therefore knew lots about the degree. I also squirmed when I saw the timetable and “Finance”, “Stats” and “Economics” were on the list. I had absolutely hated maths at school and I was certain after I left that I would never have to do it again.

Well Finance turned out to be my favourite module (Admittedly, economics was my worst) but what I’m trying to say is that you should CONSIDER THINGS YOU MAY NOT HAVE CONSIDERED BEFORE. Take a leap of faith in an uncertain direction!

So I would say the same applies after university, take risks, try new things and even if you aren’t sure what you want to, make sure you know what options are available to you.

Sorry about my life story!!
Steph