Sophie’s Work Experience at TMC

It is widely understood that our career pathways are influenced by our experiences from a young age – positive, negative and often subliminal. One way to nurture enthusiasm for a particular sector or industry is by providing insight into achievable career goals, planting the seed of possibility.

To support growing talent, TMC welcomes students from the local community into the #FutureVision work experience programme – a bespoke itinerary and experience, focusing attention on helping students identify their own passions and sharing advice on how to make that happen.

During June 2023, Sophie and April joined the TMC team for a week-long internship, aiming to understand the day-to-day life of a strategic communications agency. Through departmental discussions, activities across multiple disciplines, and presentation opportunities, TMC provided a range of opportunities to pinpoint where their current skills could flourish.

Continue reading below to discover more about Sophie’s experience working within TMC.

#FutureVision Experience

“My name is Sophie, and I am currently a year 12 student at Eaton Bank Academy Sixth Form studying Art and Design, Media Studies and English Language. I have also just finished one week of work experience here at TMC thanks to the ‘share your #FutureVision’ competition!

I had first heard about this competition during one of my media study lessons – immediately, I decided that winning this competition would be the perfect opportunity for me to gain some insight into the marketing and design departments.

It was such a relief when I was told by my Media Studies teacher that I had won the competition! I knew this experience would be highly beneficial to me, not just in my life now, but in my future endeavours too.”

What did my time at TMC consist of?

“Going into this work experience I wasn’t entirely sure what it was I was going to be doing but as I entered the building on the first day I was greeted with warm welcomes, my own laptop and a schedule depicting what my week would be like. I immediately knew that this was going to be a week full of new and fun experiences.

The beginning of the week was mostly focused on careers. During this I was taught skills that would be highly beneficial to my future, such as: creating a LinkedIn account, learning how to draft professional e-mails, and how to write a well-worded and convincing CV that potential employers would see and be interested in.

During the middle of the week, most of my time was spent doing film and video workshops. This was my favourite part of the week as I was shown how to use a camera properly, how to change and correct colour in videos and was even able to record my own footage that I could later edit! This day also consisted of learning how to edit using CapCut and TikTok, an animation sit-down and creating a social media strategy for a fictional company called ‘refresh’. Overall, this was my favourite day!

The rest of the week consisted of more practical, hands-on activities such as editing workshops and an introduction to 3D design. This gave me the ability to get an insight into these departments in more depth.”

How would this benefit me in the future?

“I think the week of work experience at TMC will really benefit me in the future as it proves to potential employers that I truly am passionate about the design and marketing discipline.

It has also given me the opportunity to witness and be a part of a professional environment by attending and observing meetings with different departments, which is experience that will put me ahead of most other students my age.

Furthermore, the advice the members of the team provided me with, regarding CV’s, LinkedIn accounts, e-mails and future career options will also heavily benefit me further into the future, when I must use those skills when applying for jobs.

Finally, the skills I have learned from workshops like videography will also benefit me with school if I need to use these skills for future projects, like creating a music video for my media studies coursework.”

Final Overview

“Overall, my experience working at TMC has been a very fulfilling and insightful opportunity that I am very grateful to have been awarded. This experience has really benefited me now and will benefit me even more when deciding on my future career path.

The main lessons that I have learned coming out of this experience are to “always say yes to every opportunity”, “failure shapes us” and that “there isn’t just one way to get where you want to be”. These lessons will be something that I take away with me and remember throughout my future academic and personal life.

The advice given to me during my week of work experience has increased my interest in a career in design and marketing and I would encourage people who aren’t sure about their future to try work experience as it is a very insightful and fulfilling experience.”

Want to find out more about #FutureVision work experience at TMC? Read April’s experience here.