My first day at Wagada: starting a new job in lockdown
Ellie Wilbraham - 22 April 2021
Like many University graduates, my plans for starting a career were put on hold because of Coronavirus, so when the opportunity to become a Social Media Marketing Assistant at Wagada came up, I couldn’t have felt luckier. This is my first job, so I was unsurprisingly nervous for the first day and wasn’t sure what to expect. Meeting new people can be nerve-wracking, however, with the added awkwardness of being introduced over a video call, I wondered if I would struggle to get to know the team. It turned out that I had nothing to worry about as everyone took the time out of their busy schedules to ring me and personally introduce themselves. The team at Wagada has adapted to the pandemic so well that video calls are now a natural way of communication, so I know I can call anyone for support or with any questions.
I was pleasantly surprised to be given my own tasks and responsibilities from the very first day, despite having had little social media marketing experience in the past. However, being thrown in the deep end was the best possible thing as I have now gained more experience and knowledge of various tools and applications than I would have, had I simply shadowed someone for the week. My line manager and other team members have been great at explaining briefs, answering my many questions and checking over the work with me. I have since seen some of my work go live which already feels like a huge accomplishment for me. I have had a great amount of support from the team and the managers, who are keen to ensure I am comfortable and confident and help me whenever possible. I have been offered some online training courses to develop my skills and understanding of digital marketing, something that makes me even more excited about working for Wagada, as their dedication to individual progression is unique for a company, and will really help me to grow.
Looking to the future; I am excited to develop my skills in this agency and learn more about the different aspects of digital marketing within Wagada. I am looking forward to being given more responsibility over the coming months and really getting stuck into a busy schedule, working for a range of clients… although I have been told to be careful what I wish for since I will miss the quieter days when they are gone. Having met about half the team through a hot desk process, I am excited for everyone to be back in the office to truly experience the busy day to day of agency life and put a non-virtual face to everyone’s names.
