Coming out of University, I really had no idea what to expect from ‘the working world’. Despite being a paid intern at Clevercherry for all of summer 2017, nothing really compares to your first full-time graduate job. It started to hit me in early 2018 that student life was coming to an end, and it was time I had to grow up and be an adult.
Whilst most of my University friends spent many hours browsing job websites and looking for graduate schemes during the final year, I was always hopeful that Clevercherry would offer me a permanent role following graduation, so I chose not to search too much, and to do the opposite of what I was advised - actually ‘putting all my eggs in one basket.’ Being an intern at Clevercherry for 3 months gave me enough time to realise that this was where I wanted to work when I finished University.
Luckily, over Easter I received a phone call from Digital Director Josh, who offered me the permanent position as a Digital and Social Executive there and then. During a time of revision for my final Uni exams, this was the ideal news to receive, and helped me focus and power through to finish my degree. Safe to say I jumped at the opportunity, and after graduating with a 2:1 in Marketing and Psychology from Lancaster University in July, I arrived in Birmingham as a fully-fledged Cherry.
Back in the summer of 2017, during my first week as an intern, we were taken out on a ‘company day’. Later that same afternoon, we arrived back at the office and were greeted by the grand reveal of Clevercherry’s own office bar, the Print & Pixel, which is still in high spirits today, and indeed high in spirits! When I experienced this, I realised two things:
- This place would be a nice, easy transition from student life to working life
- I’ve got to work here after graduation
Having said this, it’s not only having their own bar which has impressed me about Clevercherry. The team have not been afraid to challenge me and ‘throw me in at the deep end’, so-to-speak. This has been a massive positive, allowing me to flourish and grow in confidence, both as a person and as a Digital Marketeer. They have handed me responsibility and displayed trust in me, rather than being tentative and micro-managing me (which can be a common tendency when employers deal with a new graduate). I have been lucky enough to work on a huge variety of projects in my 7 months at the Agency, across a wide range of sectors, such as energy, architecture, childcare, property, and so on.
Every day is different here at Cherry HQ, which is the best way for a job to be. I have been allowed to be involved in many areas within the company, and in 7 months I have already experienced a complete company rebrand, raised over £500 for charity, led a donation to help the homeless, and been involved in management of various digital projects and social media channels.
There is a great atmosphere and working environment here at Clevercherry, which helped me settle in to working life straight away and feel at ease. Everyone has been friendly and understanding and there is a real team ethos, which helps drive the company forward. I look forward to getting even more involved in the Agency in the future, getting to know everyone better, and of course many more trips to the Print & Pixel!
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