Why I undertook a placement and how my first two weeks have gone

By Amy Gallagher

I’m Amy, a student at Nottingham Trent University [NTU] studying Business Management and Marketing. Currently, I’m on placement at Audere Communications as a Social Media Assistant. After completing my second year at NTU and coming out with a First, I was very excited to be given the opportunity to apply all relevant knowledge that I have learnt so far on my course and implement this within Audere. I really want to make an impact on the company and support the team in every way possible.

A year’s placement has always been something which I wanted to do even before I went to Nottingham. It was a way that I felt I could get relevant industry experience and to explore potential career paths. With valuable work experience comes the development of transferable skills which I will take into my final year as well as when I graduate. Being given real responsibilities and challenges will set me up for the working world before I have even graduated. I also hope to improve my academic performance as my business and marketing knowledge grows from my placement and can be applied to my university work.

When being selected for the role at Audere, the process really put me at ease. I felt comfortable speaking to Russ, Graham and Romy and felt I could ask them any questions or concerns I had. There was an immediate connection between us all and I could really see myself working with the whole team. I was also fortunate to be asked to attend the PRCA Digital awards with Audere before I had even started which I felt demonstrated the company culture from the outset.

And this culture, the feeling of ‘belonging’ and team spirit has only been reinforced since I have started work with them.

I am now coming to the end of my second week at Audere and have already gained valuable experience through attending a podcast recording at SAP’s offices in ‘the Scalpel’ in London.  Going behind the scenes of the production of the podcast allowed me to first hand listen to the recording from SAPs own Brooke Speight and Paula Warmer- both inspiring women with a drive for success which I admire.

Paula Warmer (left) chats to Brooke Speight on the SAP REGEN Podcast

Paula spoke about her experiences juggling a career and family whilst trying to achieve that much sought-after work life balance. As well as having the pleasure to meet Amy Jelinek, SAP current placement student, and hear all about her first weeks at SAP! I also got to develop my business knowledge through Matt Guiver’s podcast episode – Matt is an executive coach, and he talked about how he’s going to help the senior team at SAP and his tactics for successful leadership.

I created behind-the-scenes content for Audere’s socials and was also able to even think back to my A-Level photography skills to get some good visuals. The content I had recorded was then posted as the first exposure to the new Audere Instagram and Tiktok! My written communication skills have been tested by the means of writing blog posts and transcripts, something which I enjoy doing as I get to expand my language skills and educate myself around topics which I wouldn’t usually be exposed to which again only helps me to grow as an individual and future business-woman. These can be seen through topics like crypto, embedded finance, leadership and mental health – all in my first 10 days.

I remain excited at the prospect of challenging myself in the coming year and getting a deeper understanding of how Audere run their business. I feel so at home and now want to venture forward with them and see what I can do to draw in new clients, grow new phases of work with our current and valued clients and help the company grow from strength to strength!