Hello! I’m Libby and I’m 18 years old. As the new Online Marketing Executive, my role will be to write blogs for some of our clients, schedule posts and create content! I will be doing a marketing apprenticeship at Sokada, which will teach me all the things I need to know about marketing so I can develop my career.
A Bit About Me
My main hobby is drawing and painting…and all things arty. I find that art calms my mind and I see it as a sort of meditation as my brain goes blank for a while.
When I’m not drawing, I am a huge nerd and love to watch YouTube videos about linguistics, dinosaurs, and archaeology (I promise it’s more interesting than it sounds). I am a cat person to my core and I have three beautiful cats at home (plus a dog who I love, but she’s an exception). At A-level, I studied politics, philosophy and psychology, which all combined together to help me develop research skills, critical thinking skills, time management and essay writing.
I originally started out my career in marketing wanting to become a journalist, and I even considered going to university to study broadcasting. I have always been a lover of politics and current affairs, so aiming for a job dealing with this sounded perfect for me! Then, everything changed when I got a part time job helping a company with their social media, and I quickly fell in love with it. For me, it felt like journalism, just with more interesting topics.
I enjoyed that no day was the same and that I would have to create short snippets of information to advertise a product. So, when I heard about this apprenticeship and the role at Sokada, I knew this was something I needed to do!
Previous Jobs
Before finding my love for marketing, I had a few part-time jobs here and there which taught me a lot. Firstly, I was a swim teaching assistant, which taught me how to communicate with people of all ages in a professional and friendly manner. As it was my first job, it also gave me a bit of responsibility and a taste of the working world.
After that, I was a waitress on and off at different places for a few years. Again, this job helped me develop my communication skills even further, as well as teaching me the importance of customer service roles, and I really think that being in a customer-facing position is something that everyone should experience, as it totally changes your perspective on how difficult those jobs actually are.
I am really thankful for all of my part time jobs, as they have all taught me so much, and I have developed a love for public speaking, instead of shying away from it, because of these jobs.
Working at Sokada
When I heard about this opportunity, I was instantly very excited, but also extremely nervous. I had never had a full time job before, and having experienced anxiety in the past, I wasn’t sure how I would cope with it.
Preparing for the interview was unlike anything I’ve ever done. I was asked by the apprenticeship agency I was with to put together a portfolio, and with very little experience in marketing, I had no idea what I was doing. After about six hours of editing, I finally had my first ever portfolio, and I was so proud of it, drawing experience from previous jobs, school, and other events, instead of just focusing on my job in marketing.
When I was asked to come for the interview I started researching Sokada until I felt I knew everything that was possible to know about them, and I felt calm all of a sudden. They seemed like a really friendly bunch, and my suspicions were confirmed when I met them in person. Not only were Jude and Julian interviewing me, but so were Charlie and Stephen, so I was initially taken off guard, but again, they were so lovely and I knew we would be a fantastic team! Julian and I also bonded over our shared love for Ancient Egypt, which was nice to know I wasn’t the only nerd in the office.
I am really excited to properly begin my journey at Sokada, and I am hoping to develop my skills within digital marketing, for example, using Canva and writing blogs more often.