Month 2!

Where did this month go?

Early in the month I started working on my first project in my social media calendar for International Women’s Day. I asked if the Apprentify team could take pictures holding their hands up and/or wearing purple (the colour used to represent the day and movement). I originally planned to take a picture of everyone in the Monday team catch-up, but unfortunately, like all good plans it didn’t work out as not many people could make it. So, in came plan B and I spent most of the day getting pictures from colleagues which they’d taken when they had the free time. This actually worked out better, as making a collage of all the images was rather fun and I think the finished product looked much better than a screenshot of a Teams call would have. I guess you could say it was a happy accident.

Apprentify Annie is out and about more than me in lockdown, as she has been involved in the EPA (End Point Assessment) explainer videos and an Adobe Connect landing page.

• The EPA videos are there to make the whole process clear to apprentices at the start of their apprenticeship, plus if they are ever unsure, they can refer to the videos for any information they may need.
• The landing page is for Adobe Connect lessons. It is a few clips of Connect playing at the side while Annie explains what’s happening. Apologies in advance to all the future apprentices that get sick of the sound of my voice running in a loop before every session – I feel your pain too!

It has been a little challenging to record her lines this month, as there has been a lot of noise in my house right now, with building work going on! It’s gone from my recordings being ruined by my brother shouting at video games, to loud drill noises from the building work. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to be a one cut wonder.

As I said, I’m getting rather sick of hearing my own voice as Apprentify Annie has become a staple in the videos I make. However I much prefer voicing Annie to animating words individually to music as the time to do this is ridiculous! It may be time for Annie to find a friend, any suggestions or volunteers are welcome.

Another new introduction is ApprentiFit, which is something that SallyAnn has launched to promote being healthier mentally and physically and to try to encourage everyone to get up occasionally. While working from home I think a lot of people often get submerged in their work and lose track of time. This project is much more SallyAnn’s than mine, but I was asked to make a logo/animation for the project. I ended up making a circular character that does star jumps and then transforms into the Apprentify logo. It was quite well received and the character I made is now the icon for the ApprentiFit chat which is cool.

In terms of my personal development, at the beginning of this month I had my first coaching call, it was nice to talk to Sharon (Development coach) about everything I had been struggling with/ enjoying throughout my first month. One of my main concerns was probably not feeling like I was getting the hang of things quick enough, Sharon reassured me that this would come with time, and I shouldn’t worry too much about it. I can gladly say that I am getting the hang of everything better now I’m over two months into my role.

After two days of online training, the other two girls on the junior content course and I decided to schedule a weekly call to talk about the project we needed to work on together. The project itself is about a brief for a theme park, trying to figure out budgets is rather difficult considering I’ve never really done anything like this before, but it’s great to have Zoe and Kaleigh to help me out and it’s nice to know we are all in the same boat.

This month Apprentify had a Development Day. It was my first time attending a companywide event and it was nice having a day to talk to everyone, although I didn’t do much talking, because of the background noise of the construction workers at my house. The day was great fun. Other than work related things, we also played a game of Rock & Roll bingo… I really should get more familiar with the “classics”!

On a personal note, my second month means my second pay cheque! It’s usually tabooed to talk about money, but since it’s my first proper job I decided to make my first indulgent purchase. I’m lucky enough to have all my wages as disposable income, so I spent a fair amount on a new vinyl to add to my collection. Having my own money to spend does make me feel quite independent.

Overall, I think this month has been a good second month and so far, I’m enjoying my apprenticeship a lot!

How do I find out more?

If, like me, you want to start your career in digital marketing through an apprenticeship then get in touch with the team through our Contact page.

-Julia

My First Month as a Junior Content Producer Apprentice at Apprentify!

I can’t believe I’ve been a Junior content producer at Apprentify for a month now, whilst I feel like I haven’t fully settled in yet, I am starting to feel a lot more comfortable about where I fit in and what I’m doing. I’m also getting more used to working from home, but as someone who’s never really used Microsoft Teams before, I have found it rather challenging to reach out and establish relationships with everyone. I suppose if we were in office there’d be more chats than there is over Teams. I do rather like being at home, as it means if I don’t have any calls, I can just sit in my pyjamas doing work (the comfy factor is a plus). It also gives me space to be creative due to having all my own software at home. However, it does have some draw backs…… whilst I was doing voice recordings the other day, my younger brother started screaming at his video game, which was particularly frustrating as I was struggling not to get tongue tied reading the script I had written. (Note to self - next script - not as wordy and fewer S’s).

I’ve started a few projects this month. I’ve been into the office a couple of times and taken my filming equipment to record introduction videos for the development coaches, though the first time I did forget my SD card (Sorry Dale). I’ve also made some videos with an animated character (say hello to Apprentify Annie).

In total I’ve made about 10 videos this month, some still need some further edits, and some have been completed and approved. Ten videos might not seem a lot, but the render time of these videos has been ridiculous sometimes, it’s really demonstrated that I should go into these projects with a clear idea of what needs to be included and some of the video specifics. Before joining Apprentify I would create videos for my Instagram, I was just editing clips of shows and characters I liked, and the creativity would just come to me naturally. Now I’m making videos for more practical purposes, so I really must think about how to make it more engaging - right now I’m thinking about how to make data look interesting! My boss Dale told me that campaign planning is up next in my online lessons, so I’m sure I’ll find this useful going forward.

I’ve started doing some of the social media plan ideas that I started in my first week, the first one being for International Women’s day. At Apprentify we have a team catch-up meeting on Monday, so I suggested in support of the day we should all wear purple, as it’s one of International Women’s Days colours. I did find myself writing my message in word before posting it to the Team Apprentify chat, just to make sure I didn’t embarrass myself by not making sense or (god forbid) a spelling mistake. I am also starting work on a project with Rebecca, (a development coach at Apprentify), on promoting health and fitness to apprentices. Rebecca had an idea of having a post each month to promote a different way an apprentice could improve their health (mentally and physically). Rebecca herself is an avid runner, so we thought it’d be good to do a post on running, maybe something about couch to 5k.

One of the great things about working for Apprentify, is I’m surrounded by development coaches and so every time I speak to any of them, they are super helpful and always make sure I know I can come to them for more help if I need it. This reassurance and support are exactly what I need as a young person in my first job. I think having that extra support has really helped me feel more comfortable doing the small things, for example just speaking while I’m in the office, on my first few times in the office I struggled talking, asking for help, etc, as it made me feel anxious. But now I do find myself talking in an office environment and on Teams even though I may not still be the best at speaking up, it’s nice to not be as anxious speaking and having a little more confidence in myself.

Something I have noticed to be more challenging from a non-work-related perspective is that there’s been a massive change to my work-life balance, especially considering before my apprenticeship I had much more free time on my hands to talk to my friends, most of them either still being in college or at university, so we now have quite different schedules. I find it strange that now we have to plan time to talk rather than just randomly calling one another.

In other news, I had my first coaching call with Sharon (Development Coach) and it was nice to tell someone what I had been struggling with (mainly time management) and she gave me some good tips in how I could manage my time better by using SMART targets. Getting along with my Bud work as well, I completed my Google Digital Garage. I was supposed to complete it over the course of my Apprenticeship, i.e., doing a few modules a month, but being eager and not a very attentive reader I mis-read the part about only needing to do the first few. So, I’ve completed the lot, oops!! Hopefully, this will save me sometime in future though! I still have a few tasks to complete like updating my LinkedIn with more about me, my experiences, and interests etc.

I have really enjoyed my first month at Apprentify and my first taste my working life (although I must admit I do miss my daily lie-ins massively). Working has given me more of a sense of purpose – as strange as that may sound, especially in the current COVID world we live in, and I’ve started enjoying my hobbies more again. Before, all I was doing was my hobbies, and I was starting to get some hobby burn out, if that’s even a thing. If you want to read more in depth on what I did in my first and second weeks make sure to check my other blogs!

How do I find out more?

If, like me, you want to start your career in digital marketing through an apprenticeship then get in touch with the team through our Contact page.

-Julia ?

Monday

Week 2 as an Apprentice at Apprentify! Today, I went into the office to talk to Dale about what I’d be doing working from home for the rest of the week. Some of the tasks included messaging a few co-workers about their apprentices and employers that I could potentially make videos about Apprentify and their experiences. I’m excited for this task as I can be creative with the videos and it also reminded me of a project I did at college.

After getting the information I needed for the tasks this week, I started on some of my Bud (training management platform) activities. I finished one and started on another about safeguarding.

I also listened in to a call with SallyAnn (Head of Commercial), where she was talking to a prospect about the apprenticeships Apprentify offers. This sit in was really valuable to me as it enabled me to get more of an insight into the real value of Apprentify.

 

Tuesday

Tuesday started a lot more peacefully, as I got an extra hour lie in due to me working from home, hooray! I started my day by going back to the Digital Marketer informational video I made last week, to tweak a few things, plus I added some more information suggested by my Line Manager Dale.

I let the changes render and then started on writing my first post for Apprentify on LinkedIn. I was a little nervous as anyone is about doing something for the first time, but the task didn’t take me too long, so I moved on to emailing Apprentices and Employers about potentially making testimonial videos with us. I had a lot of help from SallyAnn in messaging the employers, as she introduced me to them and told me a little bit about them in a Teams call. I now know how I’m expected to talk to customers and have some background knowledge on the people and their companies.

Also, today I had a get together with Paul (MD) to discuss the brief/style of the videos I’d been working on. This was extremely useful (I’ve got to say that as he’s the MD) as it gave me some more ideas around the style he wants for our videos. However, it did mean that it was back to the drawing board for me on this project.

 

Wednesday

Starting off today I was set a task by SallyAnn, to create a brochure for the Data Technician and Data Analyst Programs. I was given all the wording by SallyAnn, so I basically just had to make it look pretty.

I started by looking through of some of our other corporate brochures and used them as a guide, so this one would fit in with the others. It was useful to have them available, just to give me a rough idea of how the layout should be, etc. I tried to make it as interesting as I could, by adding pictures and making the text look appealing with formatting. Being someone who is very much into the creative side of things, it was interesting to work with different formatting and layout ideas.

SallyAnn suggested adding some images to break up the text, which I did by adding various logos of the different software used in the apprenticeships, but overall, it is an informational piece of literature and so lots of text is required. I did enjoy making the brochure, especially working with Apprentify’s brand, I really struggled using Microsoft PowerPoint, as I have very limited experience using it, I basically played with it for a few hours at high school, but I certainly know more about it now.

I had a call with Dale at the end of day, as he’s on holiday for his birthday tomorrow and Friday to make it long weekend. He set some Bud work I could get on with if I had any downtime alongside the tasks which had been mentioned on Monday. It looks like I’ll  be busy the whole two days though, so I will have to schedule it in sometime next week.

 

Thursday

Today started with a quick call with a colleague Emily about the additional learning support that Apprentify offers. I want to make a short video explaining what it is and to make people aware that we do offer extra support!

Straight after I had a call with SallyAnn about updates to the Brochure. I’m learning to love the vibrant orange colour scheme (I’m more of a pink person), my deadline for finishing it being 12pm. Shortly after this, I had to brand up some more PowerPoint slides in Apprentify colours for the NEW Data Analyst Apprenticeship.

Looking forward to getting my head down and stuck into the remake of the two videos on the Digital Marketing and Junior Content Producer Apprenticeship’s tomorrow. I also need to start getting more familiar with all communication systems; Teams, Outlook and diary planning/appointments - as they are all new to me.

 

Friday

Yay, finally Friday! Lie in tomorrow! Who doesn’t love a lie in? Today started with a chat with Paul about adding some more links to the brochure. Soon after that was a Teams catch-up meeting, in which I was praised for my hard work on the brochure which is always nice to hear. After the meeting I added the links Paul wanted then got to work on completing another safeguarding course.

After planning for a little while I started on creating the videos for the Digital Marketer and Junior Content Producer, hopefully second time lucky. I now have a clearer view of what sort of information should be conveyed in these videos, plus what sort of animations I should use, animating every word is going to be quite time consuming, but I think I’ll enjoy it as editing is my passion.

So that’s me signing off for my 2^nd week at Apprentify. It has gone really quickly, and I’ve learned so much in such a short period of time.

 

How do I find out more?

If, like me, you want to start your career in digital marketing through an apprenticeship then get in touch with the team through our Contact page

-Julia ?

My new role as an apprentice at Apprentify

Hi, I’m Julia and this week I’m starting at Apprentify as a Junior Content Producer Apprentice!

From a young age I have had a major passion for content creation. Having an Instagram and YouTube, making videos as a hobby, I decided I wanted to turn my hobby into a potential career path.

Around the start of my second year of A-levels I realised I had no official plan, the main reason being I was not sure what I wanted to do. Most people were putting in their university applications and I was convinced university was the only way I could further my education, but after doing some research about my options I decided an apprenticeship, specifically a Junior Content Producer role, was the way for me to go. I wanted an apprenticeship as experience is valued highly, and with an apprenticeship I could further my learning and get the experience at the same time.

I found Apprentify through the Government apprenticeship site. I was looking for apprenticeships that suited me and Apprentify offered The Digital Marketer and Junior Content Producer Programs. When I found out Apprentify wanted to interview me, Scott rang me and talked me through how the interview would take place. I was quite nervous the video interview, but Paul and Dale told me all about Apprentify and asked me questions about things I knew about so it made me feel more relaxed, although I probably still came across as quite quiet. So, I was delighted when they asked me to a task to demonstrate my skills. The following week I got a call from Scott, telling me they would like to offer me the role and my search for a job was over (yay!).

 

MONDAY

Starting Monday was quite an exciting yet nerve-wracking experience for me, considering it would be my first proper 9-5 job! Even though it is different to start work in the current “COVID” situation, I have not known anything different, so I do not have a comparison.

When first arriving at the office I was nervous about meeting everyone and what I would be doing for the next 8 hours, but as soon as I walked in, I was greeted by 5 friendly faces who were in the office today. Paul who is the managing director did my introduction and talked all about Apprentify. Initially, I felt like I was not doing enough, as my company laptop had not arrived yet. But soon I was given some tasks that I could start getting my teeth into over the next few days.

 

TUESDAY

Tuesday, I got my laptop and could start working on some of our projects. I started by setting up the laptop and saying hello to co-workers over Microsoft Teams, and continued by getting a grasp on the basics of HubSpot, working through some of the online courses. Today I was also introduced to an online video creation software Viddyoze, enabling me to start making some intro-style videos around Apprentify’s branding, using the company colours, fonts, etc. Which might be used for future YouTube/informational videos.

It was quite interesting to use a different software application other than Adobe After Effects, especially as these videos were pre-made. However, I found it quite straightforward to understand and was soon enjoying creating various videos. I later showed it to everyone in the office and they all loved them, and were coming up with different scenarios we could use them in.

 

WEDNESDAY

Wednesday, I started by joining a team catch-up meeting and seeing more faces of my co-workers. I was rather nervous in this call, as I did not really know what to say as I have only just started, but it was great seeing everyone, they were all very friendly and made me feel welcome!

After the catch-up meeting, I was updated on what my role for the business looked like. Some of these things included creating introduction videos for development coaches and updating the resources on some of the lessons, to try to make them more interactive and cleaner cut. This was exciting news for me, as I would be able to put my skills on After Effects to the test, and start being creative with my ideas. I also delved into Google Analytics and started learning about how I could potentially bring more new people to Apprentify to help boost the performance of our website.

 

THURSDAY

I had my first day working from home today, which was nice as I could basically just roll out of bed and start work, although I did sometimes find it a little more difficult to concentrate as there were some interruptions throughout the day from my family but a few welcomed interruptions from my dog Teddy(!). I had a call with Sharon (Development Coach) to setup my Bud account and officially start my apprenticeship course. Then I started working on the social media calendar ideas, I began by doing research on the different National days which Apprentify could post about. I wanted to find some that would be quite light-hearted, or just celebrating an occasion, but also some that were more pressing matters, for example mental health, the environment, etc. Researching National days was quite fun as I found some that I didn’t know existed, there’s a whole day dedicated to tea!

Exploring Excel was something new to me as I had never really used it before, still some way to go though! I also updated my LinkedIn bio; I have got three followers now woohoo! To end the day, I chatted with a few more colleagues and I have been set some new projects, one of which I am starting on tomorrow.

 

FRIDAY

My day started with another casual team catch-up meeting, talking about lumbar support, bald heads and pets. Meeting Smirnoff the hamster, which led to a series of pet sharing pics over the Apprentify chat. I then started working on my first official video on After Effects, introducing and explaining the Digital Marketing course. I’ve now finished it and I’m not 100% happy with it but I’m hoping Dale can give me some advice in our call later how to make it more engaging, and of course finished writing my first blog!

My first week started slowly but I can’t believe it’s Friday already and I’ve already got things to do next week. So, I’m beginning to feel a part of the team. Next week I’m hoping to make more progress with my tasks on Bud.

 

How do I find out more?

If, like me, you want to start your career in digital marketing through an apprenticeship then get in touch with the team through our Contact page

-Julia