I’m Alex and I am currently in year 10, studying towards my GCSE’s next year. I came to Eleven for work experience to give me an insight of what a job in a creative agency might look like.
Prior to my first day, I did not know what to expect as I had never really been drawn to a desk job before. But being here has shown me that this office has character, and everyone was genuinely happy to be there. It made me realise that working in an office doesn’t necessarily mean sitting in silence at a desk all day!
Throughout the week, I was able to learn about various aspects of the agency. I had the opportunity to work one-on-one with various people from different fields. I chatted with people from the marketing, sales and client services teams and the creative studio. I was expecting to mostly be shadowing these people, however, I was given many tasks of my own, such as pulling together a press list for their various sectors, looking through higher education leaflets and sharing my opinions, and planning social media content with Sarah, the Marketing Manager.
Wednesday was a very busy day, where everyone was in the office, and I was able to sit in on three meetings! Firstly, a client services meeting to discuss everyone’s upcoming projects and deadlines. Then, an “AI Champions” meeting, where we were able to sit outside (thanks to the heatwave) and discuss how Eleven can use AI to further enhance their work. For example, this might be something like creating plans and a concept of a photo before using professional photography to save money and give the client more freedom to choose direction. Later, I was able to chat with Joe, the Junior Graphic Designer, where he showed me the designing aspect of the agency, and how to use the AI tool Midjourney. After this, I joined Mel in a new business pitch with a potential client. Leo had given me some handy tips on taking meeting notes, so I was well prepared. I found this meeting very interesting, because they discussed potential next steps and timescales for the project. I was quite surprised by just how many people work on each project, and the effort that they all put in as a team.
I have thoroughly enjoyed my time working at Eleven. I can confidently say I am interested in a career in marketing and being here has inspired me to consider my post-16 options. My favourite things about Eleven have been how welcoming the environment is and the style of the office, with such a mix of different workspaces. The whole team made me feel comfortable right away and you can immediately feel the respect that everyone has for each other. I have had such a great time at Eleven, and I really hope I can re-visit sometime in the future.
