I started this journey three months ago sitting in a lecture theatre at the University of Wollongong, listening to the incredible Roxanne speak to the Public Relations and Marketing Cohort.  I jumped at the chance to apply for an internship with EST10, but to be honest, I hadn’t touched my CV in four years.  Luckily one of the topics Roxanne covered was how to create a stand-out resumé.  After interviewing at EST10, I was offered the internship and I was a little surprised, because there are 300 members in the cohort and some fierce competition.

When I started my internship, my main jobs were mostly small tasks such as gift wrapping, but over time I have been given much more responsibility.  Social media has been my favourite job and was what I was most looking forward to.  I have especially liked finding content to post, the hunt for everything from outrageous memes to inspirational quotes.  Posting as a company was a very unfamiliar concept and I was conscious to make sure posts were relevant, appropriate and interesting for the EST10 audience.  I now appreciate the importance of being authentic and real when posting for a brand like EST10, something I am not used to doing when posting for myself.

I got to write some additional blogs aside from this one and I loved it.  Being able to practice my writing skills has been great and especially receiving some guidance, which I have not been given before.  I’m so grateful for the assistance to make my writing more informative and something that I can be proud of to show future employers.

One event I attended with EST10 and thoroughly enjoyed was Executive Secretary Live Conference. The conference was an amazing experience and Vickie Sokol Evans made an incredible presentation about tips on how to improve your Microsoft Office skills.  She highlighted key shortcuts and tips in Word, Excel and PowerPoint that left everyone in the room both amazed and frustrated to not have known sooner.  Some skills, especially in Word, I still use for assignments and notes.

Above all though, the absolute highlight of my time at EST10 has been working with the team!  From the first day everyone made me feel so welcome, which definitely helped me come out of my shell.  Every single person in this office is an inspiration – their dedication and passion for their work is amazing.  I’ll always cherish being the ‘bogan’ of the office!

I’ve learned so much about the multifaceted aspects of marketing that I hadn’t considered would be so important to fulfilling the role of a marketer.  I highly recommend to other students that if they have the opportunity to be an intern, to do it.  It has been a great learning experience and well worth the effort!

So, where to from here for me?  After finishing University next year, I’d like to take some time off to travel and I have always wanted to be a ski instructor, so you may find me on the slopes at Thredbo next Winter!  After that, I think digital marketing is where I want to take my degree, I find it interesting and something I could be really good at.

To Rox and the team at EST10, thank you for giving this little Wollongong girl a chance to pursue her career dreams!  It’s been a blast!

Me and my beautiful flowers from the team at EST10…

The End!