The year has turned everything upside down for employees and we may have forgotten that many students over the vacation holidays have also missed out on solid work experiences. We are pleased to partner with our Group of companies on our first remote internship program focused on social media and marketing. Meet Rachel Trotman who contributed to the program under our recruitment brand, Professional Resourcing Solutions (PRSL)
Can you tell us a bit about yourself?
My name is Rachel Trotman and I am entering my final year at the University of Manchester. I’m passionate about Marketing specifically digital promotions especially using social media. I enjoy volunteering, occasionally running and finding new artisanal coffee shops to try.
What are you studying and why?
I’m currently pursuing a BSc Management with Marketing. My first introduction into the marketing world was managing social media for my family’s chocolate company. In the years since my passion has really grown through a combination of academic pursuits and practical implications and I’m now co-leading a pro-bono Marketing agency at university. It’s been an interesting journey so far.
Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
In 10 years, I’d like to have started a marketing agency specialising in helping small to medium-sized businesses make the most out of their promotion budget. Small and medium-sized businesses usually don’t have big budgets for promotions or marketing as a whole and so every decision makes a big difference. I want to be able to help these businesses make decisions that go a long way towards promoting their products or services.
Have you started taking steps towards this goal?
Yes, in a way. I have started trying to build the skills I would need to achieve this goal. My degree for one. There’s also the marketing agency I’ve started on campus with one of my friends. And of course taking part in this internship where I have been able to learn from marketing professionals and work on marketing a brand remotely.
Speaking of your internship with PRSL, what would you say is your biggest take away from your time with us?
I’ve learned quite a bit in these two months – both in terms of applying marketing skills but also soft skills. My biggest takeaway though would have to be from the talk we had with Dr. Diane Francis. She spoke about how she didn’t have everything figured out at the beginning of her career but she set a far off goal and then pursued things she was passionate about. This really resonated with me as that has been and continues to be my approach but I feel a lot of pressure from university and my peers to have all the steps sorted out. It was reassuring to hear that having all the steps planned isn’t the only way to a good career in a field you’re passionate about.
What was your favourite element of the internship?
I kind of hinted at it with my last reply but I really enjoyed the chats with professionals. It was extremely insightful to hear about their fields but more so their journey in getting there.
