My name is Elizabeth, I’m 14 years old and a student of the Gilberd School in Colchester. I recently had the opportunity to complete a week long work experience placement here at Coast Digital.
I had no idea what to expect but my first impression after arriving was that the office was very lively and positive; the friendly and happy atmosphere made me feel welcome from the beginning and I already knew this week was going to be great fun.
Walking through all the different rooms in the building, I was pleasantly surprised to see a very colourful and decorative space, which was far from the typical boring office one would expect. Music was played in the various parts of the office and it was bright and airy. The combination of the vibrant colours and welcoming atmosphere both contributed massively to the brilliant week I had and being able to interact with the extremely enthusiastic employees at Coast Digital was truly awesome.
Meeting the Team
I was guided around the offices and introduced to the: Sales, Design and Marketing teams, everyone was very approachable and greeted me warmly, which helped me feel really comfortable and welcome.
After the tour, I was able to pick which team I’d like to sit with first to learn more about their roles and responsibilities. Because I only had a little experience in Web Design from my Year 8 Computer Science classes, I decided to start with the Design team and improve my knowledge on what is involved in their roles. I got to speak to and work alongside Tom, Michael, Jamil, Sally and Maria, learning all about their jobs and responsibilities. I learned about all aspects of Web Design, from research, to how the website is eventually developed into a live site that the public can use.
After this, I spoke to Ella, one of Coast Digital’s Account Managers, about her role. She is very close to the clients and regularly talks to them about how the company is dealing with their projects and meeting their requirements.
I was able to talk to many different people in Marketing and Sales about their jobs too, many shared their knowledge on PPC and SEO and how the employees at Coast Digital work with these in their day to day jobs.
Learning About the Industry
Throughout the week, I was able to attend meetings and conference calls with clients and learn all about the industry in general. I was invited by Ella to sit in on a conference call with one of Coast Digital’s clients – it was so interesting to hear how Coast work with their clients on a day to day basis.
I also got involved in an exercise using Kernel Cards, which helped me to structure the process of Web Design and the different elements that contribute to effective Digital Marketing. This helped me visualise the process that goes into making a successful and useful website or advertisement.
During the week, I was able to have a meeting with Paul Coffey, Coast Digital’s Production Director, and he talked me through what he does to run his team and different policies that the whole of Coast Digital follow. In also got to join a meeting about a new client’s website and how to make it more efficient to use on a mobile device; since currently using it on mobile was extremely difficult.
This meeting showed me the immense detail that goes into fixing a website and how there are many different aspects that go into perfecting a website.
Getting Involved in Site Mapping
Another highlight of this week was the site mapping activity I got to take part in with Pete and Michael, using a meticulous colour coding system we were able to map out a website into 3 main categories: Page, Functionality and Content. This was a great activity that was very hands on which I had lots of fun doing.
In conclusion, I thoroughly enjoyed my work experience week at Coast Digital and would definitely love to come here again. I learned so much about digital marketing and all the different aspects that make up this brilliant company. Everyone was super welcoming and kind and I had a great time talking to everyone here individually about their own very interesting jobs.