Stephens Scown has a diverse, dynamic apprentice recruitment scheme; in this article, Dan Nation shares his experiences as a Digital Marketing Apprentice.
I joined Stephens Scown in 2018 as the Digital Marketing Apprentice, after deciding I wanted a change of career from finance. You might be wondering how the transition from finance to marketing happened? It’s just one of many parts of an apprenticeship that I’ve been grateful for – read on to find out more.
Content, brands, influence, perceptions
Digital marketing is essential at Stephens Scown, as technology continues to alter the way businesses communicate with existing and potential clients, as well as their own colleagues across offices.
Fortunately, I saw the Digital Marketing apprenticeship advertised at a time when I had just discovered how interesting marketing could be. I won an Adidas competition to design football boots for the 2018 World Cup, and then got to work with the sports brand to implement my design and see it come to life. After a series of co-creation events, I realised how much I enjoyed the marketing, content creation and influencer aspect of the process. From then on I knew that I wanted to try and change direction in my career, and taking an apprenticeship role allows me to learn the necessary skills whilst getting paid.
Within weeks at the firm, I was away filming client stories and was naturally involved in running the social media channels following my experiences developing my personal brand as a football content creator. I received training on all the behind-the-scenes aspects of digital marketing, including advertising, Search Engine Optimization, Pay Per Click advertising and writing training. I was encouraged to attend seminars to network with others within the industry, sharing ideas and gaining new sources of inspiration.
There is a Young Professionals Group at Stephens Scown and they organise events to encourage networking, such as mixed netball tournaments and cider tasting. Being sporty I was keen to get involved – there are always a range of colleagues from different departments that attend. It’s a great opportunity to get to know them away from the office.
Support when I need it
Marketing is a very dynamic role in a fast-paced environment, but the support I have received in my role has been incredible. I know that if I have a high workload or haven’t managed to complete a task, I can speak to any member of my team for support and work together to get it done. The friendly work environment really helped me to settle in after changing industry, and getting to know each department with their specific marketing requirements has been interesting.
I’ve had no hesitations about starting my apprenticeship, and cannot recommend it enough as someone who had little interest in going to university after school. I’ve been armed with the skills to excel in work and I have also been able to use these skills whilst further co-creating with Adidas and building my own personal brand and podcast, so the apprenticeship has benefitted me outside of the workplace also.
To be a successful apprentice, you should be willing to learn and just enjoy what you do. Stephens Scown offers a wide range of apprenticeships including legal, marketing, HR and finance, and there is a real opportunity to get your foot in the door in any field that you choose, so take the opportunity and make the most of it!