Excitement, anticipation and bewilderment were common feelings I experienced here at CWA for my year 10 work experience week.
During my five days here I have been met with more memorable experiences and practical skills then I could have experienced in any classroom. I truly had a blast meeting the witty and talented team in the office, who really made me feel as If I were part of the team, giving me insights into their daily working lives, whilst also setting me a variety of tasks.
This enabled me to truly get a feel of not only general agency life but also made me discover that not all offices are “Drop-Dead boring”. Here’s a look into my work experience week : what I did, what I learnt and how it shaped my view of the working world.
On Monday I rocked up to the office, all suited and booted (as CWA HR & Office Manager, Leigh would put it), clearly having missed the memo saying that the office attire was purely casual…
We set off with some onboarding, getting to earn the fruitful past of CWA 60 years of experience and then I got the chance to sit in a staff meeting on the security of AI on business confidentiality. I then got a tour of the office and met the team. It was really interesting to see the workplace dynamics on show, how everyone was almost an equal and working together to really offer the best for the clients. Auditing was my next mission, allowing me to get an insight into how CWA performs on their website and social vs their competitors, (let’s just say that the others need to step up their game…).
Tuesday came along and I was feeling more confident to get hands on. Started the day off with a mock design brief on a clients seasonal campaign and worked with the design team and using a generative AI programme software to make my ideas come alive. They complimented my work, but I’m still unsure whether that was genuine or genuine pity.
Then, Account Director, Dan Holdsworth, tasked me to research the design behind one of our clients stores and how they could be remodelled to accommodate the youth. To say I was tired by the end would be an understatement. As soon as I got home, I just lay there, limp, like a vegetable.
By Walkies Wednesday, I was starting to understand the rhythm of the agency. Today was about all aspects of a campaign, I got to design some drafts for an anniversary logo, provided some useful and budget merchandise ideas as well as researching trends in their market.
On top of that, I had a meeting with Media & Comms Account Executive, Mariam, where she discussed her role in PR and suggested I should write this blog. This day was even more jam packed than the last because I had the absolute privilege and honour to do some filing and bubble wrapping. Buster (Chris’s dog) also made an appearance that day, bringing a joyful and enthusiastic buzz around the office.
Thursday came and went lightning fast. I focused my day around my campaigning task and Developer, Brad Pickering showed me his role in the business, where I helped him improve the website, leaving my mark on CWA history. However, the best was yet to come, it was time for filing round 2, ( 2 file 2 furious). By Friday everything was up to date.
The week was eye opening and genuinely enjoyable. I’ve gotten to know so many new and interesting people who all took time out of their busy schedules to accommodate me and I cannot be more thankful for that.
I am incredibly appreciative of the skills they’ve allowed me to develop and hope they can now sleep soundly knowing that someone from outside the office knows what they do for work…
