Where it all began
When I was told that I would be starting my placement at bbd, I built this idea in my head of how it would be from the office space, the work culture, all the way down to how I could spend my lunch break. And then, lockdown part 3 happened.
I moved into my first ever flat on the 27th December, less than a couple weeks before my placement was due to start. Living alone was always something that I wanted to try once, purely to see how I could handle total isolation and relying on only yourself for survival. Okay, maybe it’s not quite as dramatic as that, but it definitely has its challenges!
The first zoom
Then came my first day. Not only was it my first day, it was also the first day of lockdown meaning that my dreams of working in an office at the agency were effectively put on hold. I did get to see the office when I collected my laptop, so there is a bright side! The next day, I had my first zoom call with the team. Everyone on the team was so welcoming and friendly. It only took that one call to understand the dynamic that everyone had with each other.
Within the first two weeks, I had already worked with some huge clients which made me feel massively out of my depth, but the bbd team reassured me and showed me how normal this process is. Whether you’re the client or agency worker, we’re all just people working towards a common goal.
Not long after that, I got my first real independent job: to brainstorm and create a title for the top 50 employees in their sector. This gave me my first look into how things run within bbd, and also how fast things can move in the agency – those deadlines won’t wait for you!
I quickly became familiar with all the things that go on behind the scenes when working on client jobs, from QA work, to the rigorous amounts of amends – and of course the many, many emails – So. Many. Emails.
The next chapter at bbd
Those first two weeks working here was all I needed to understand the culture and bonds that people have with each other here at bbd. Everyone seems so in sync with each other – even when they’re spread so far apart! Since then, I’ve been working on jobs independently, managing different client jobs and overseeing jobs that I didn’t think I would be doing this early on in my bbd experience. It’s been great.
Although I may be halfway through my bbd experience, I know there’s still so much more to come (maybe even a few bbd trips to the pub?) and I can’t wait!
Placement Student