Member Article

Sophie’s Story - Apprenticeship to Social Media Manager

Sophie’s Story - Apprenticeship to Full Time Social Media Manager

How I Started Off as an Apprentice to Now

So, I want to start off by going back to June 2015 when I sat down with Steve Smith and Stephen Robinson in an interview to discuss my skills and interests in marketing, social media, blogs, and content. At the time, we covered a range of job roles and skills I already had as well as new ones they desired, but it turned out that they didn’t have a job for me.

Not because I wasn’t right for the job, but my skill set and willingness to learn ventured out to various roles and prospects, allowing them to be inventive and come up with a new job role specifically for me.

I loved it!

Prior to my interview, I’d just finished my two-year college course studying IT User Skills at Middlesbrough College. As the end date of our course loomed, our tutor began asking what we’d like to do after college. I knew right away that I didn’t want to go to university, if I’m honest, the idea of all the lectures put me off. I still wanted to learn and develop my skills and achievements, but not through higher education, especially when there is no guaranteed job at the end of it. This is where the apprenticeship idea came in, working and using my practical skills whilst learning at the same time, for me, one of the best ways in which I could progress my career.

Cutting a long story short (I don’t want to overdo this) I got a phone call mid-June asking if I could go in for an interview the next day at ‘Espresso Web’. “Yes of course I will!”.

At the time, I had no idea what Espresso Web offered or who they were. I spent the rest of my evening researching, prepping and getting ready for my interview the next day…

*back to the interview*

“So, we’d love it if you would join our team and we’ll find a job role to suit your skills, strengths and goals. To start you’ll join as an apprentice then we will work from there to further your career. Does that sound OK?” - of course it did and the following Monday I started working for Espresso Web!

Monday came and with it being my first ‘proper’ job straight from college, I wasn’t too sure what to expect. But everyone was so welcoming and friendly I instantly warmed to the place. Back then there was about ten of us working so everyone knew a lot about marketing, web design and SEO and I was worried that I wouldn’t cut it.

But with Dave as my mentor, I knew I could ask any question I needed to, no matter how silly I thought it may sound. It was from listening to others and asking these questions where I began to learn a great deal more.

Throughout my apprenticeship, I have come to learn so much about not only digital marketing but my skills, what I’m capable of and even my own personal attributes. I have really come out of my shell here and I absolutely love the team and how family oriented the business is. I’m always a bit shy when I meet new people but by having the friendly faces and people showing an interest in my weekend or what I’m working on, it’s hard not to become as fun-loving as the rest of them!

Now, I have more confidence in myself and wouldn’t change my time at Espresso for anything. I would like to thank everyone at Espresso Web for their support and friendliness from the day I started off as an apprentice to this day as a Social Media Account Manager, it really means a lot. Thank you.

I would recommend Espresso Web to anyone wanting to learn more about digital marketing or online advertising. Whether you’re an apprentice here or not, everyone is treated the same and you’re given as many opportunities as anyone else. As an apprentice, I’ve went to exhibitions and meetings where I represented the company to hundreds of people, I even gave a speech at Middlesbrough College, now that was scary! I love having responsibilities, knowing people trust me to do my best, which I always try to do. I’ve recently been given my own sweet shop too, which has been a little dream of mine, so that’s ticked off the bucket list!

There’s always new ways to grow and learn here, be it with overtime to get more work done for our clients, pay rises and even birthday treats. It’s amazing the amount of effort that everyone puts in so together we can all achieve more. I just love this place, they’ve given me a career path I never knew I wanted to go down and a complete mix up of jobs so my tasks always differ, giving me a new challenge everyday.

Thank you for reading my story, I hope you liked it! And they all lived happily ever after, the end.

Read Sophie’s other blog post on how she has gone from apprentice to everyone’s favourite… https://www.espressoweb.co.uk/news/apprentice-to-everyones-favourite/

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Sophie Morgan .