A Week with FJG’s Marketing Department

The feeling of finishing university is a peculiar one. It is unsettling, daunting, and overwhelming… Just a few of the emotions that spring to mind. This is especially apparent when you’re graduating with a degree in English Literature with Creative Writing, which has no rigid career path. But it’s also exciting. My degree has exposed me to so many different, exciting opportunities and career possibilities. It seemed vital that I try some out for size. Fisher Jones Greenwood kindly accommodated this by allowing me to come down to their Colchester branch and shadow their marketing department.

My week with FJG

Monday

The start of the week was scary, as every new experience is, but I was quickly reassured. Andrew Morgan, Learning and Compliance Officer, met me at the door with a firm handshake and a smile before detailing everything I would be doing throughout the week. I had an hourly schedule showing me exactly what I could expect. I was given an FJG notebook and pen. I was introduced to the marketing team; Rebecca, Penny, and Lucy. An hour hadn’t gone by before I felt right at home.

My first day revolved around understanding and getting comfortable with, the department’s dynamic. I sat in their weekly team meeting and watched how each individual member pulled their work together to function as a larger unit. It was apparent that each team member, and the clear and direct communication between them, is vital.

I was then invited for a one-to-one with Selina Noton, Marketing Director of The Marketing Centre, who comes into the FJG office on a consultancy basis once a week. Selina gave me a thorough overview of what marketing was all about. She distinguished the differences between in-house and agency marketing and identified where she thought my skills lay. I left feeling assured that marketing was a viable and desirable career path for me.

Tuesday

The rest of the week tackled different areas of the marketing department. Tuesday focussed on the element of Press Release. Both Penny and Rebecca gave me insights into the different elements of PR and how they functioned. The growing importance of social media and the more traditional structures of print. They also demonstrated how different platforms were managed in accordance with the type of information. From there they let me play around with my own press release, giving me feedback on what could be better and what was working.

Wednesday

Wednesday presented me with a different perspective of marketing. FJG organised for me to go and spend the day at Green Square Communications where I saw how an agency functioned. Steve and Linda Green, Directors of Green Square, were hugely accommodating. After introducing me to the rest of the team, Steve allowed me to shadow him for the entirety of the day. I observed the day-to-day workings within the company and how Steve would approach various situations. No matter how difficult the task, every phone call ended with a cheery goodbye and every email with a smiley face. Steve also showed me some of the projects they were working on and explained each process, taking the time to ensure I understood what was going on and why. Once again, it was clear that every member of the team was vital to the overall success of the company and each of them approached their role with great care and precision. I thoroughly enjoyed my day at Green Square and am grateful to Steve and Linda for letting me join them.

Thursday

On Thursday I sat with Lucy and was introduced to customer relationship management. She patiently explained how she would identify methods of marketing that proved most effective in securing clients and how this information was utilised to improve their customer relationships. A profound understanding of Excel was necessary for the role, but Lucy talked me through each spreadsheet with ease.

In the afternoon I was tasked with writing the firm’s Friday newsletter. It was a fun task that allowed me to play around with Mailchimp, an email marketing service. By the end of the newsletter, I found that I understood how to work the programme. Rebecca then tasked me with uploading some blogs to the firm’s website. This introduced me to WordPress, a software I’d heard of but never tried out before. After some trial and error, all of which has now been fixed, I found myself enjoying the software with a good understanding of how it worked.

Friday

My last day came around quicker than I could have imagined. I’d been introduced to every different element of FJG’s marketing team and was now given the opportunity to sharpen my interview skills. Andrew conducted a mock interview for a marketing role within the firm. Afterward, he reviewed my answers and gave me constructive criticism on how to improve for future interviews. This was extremely helpful as he offered me a structured way to answer interview questions that would do everything expected of me. I also had to present a marketing idea for the firm. Once again, this allowed me to practice skills that I will carry forward into any interview. I found both extremely helpful.

My final task was to write this blog on how I found my week at FJG. I can sincerely say that I have had an amazing week with them and am now sure that marketing is something I am extremely interested in pursuing. I can’t thank Andrew, Rebecca, Penny, and Lucy enough for organising and running such an interesting week for me! I also must thank Selina, Steve, and Linda for taking time out of their busy schedules to sit down with me and share their experiences within marketing. I am sure that this week will assist me in whatever I choose to do next.

Written by Abbey

If you are interested in work experience at FJG, please contact Su Barker, Training & Knowledge Co-ordinator – [email protected].