Kickstarting the way to personal & professional growth
For Social Media Day, Becca decided to share her experience of joining KUCO as part of the Government's Kickstarter Scheme. Becca’s personal and professional growth is clear in this piece, and we are incredibly proud of her contribution.
Fresh out of university in the middle of a pandemic, endless hours applying for jobs and preparing for later unsuccessful interviews is bound to knock your confidence a bit. I didn’t want to fall back into a retail position or work in a bar again. Full of determination, I wanted to find something that I knew I was going to be passionate about. After almost a year of uncertainty and wondering what I wanted to do, I eventually found the position perfect for me.
As somebody that’s always enjoyed writing and the wide world of digital marketing, joining a Kickstart Scheme in social media felt like a great starting point. It has helped me to grow as a person, both professionally and personally. I’d never had an office job before, so the concept of being kept in the same building for 5 days a week did seem daunting, but it’s not like that at all.
Becca joined KUCO in March
Taking my first site visit to meet a client was truly terrifying. My nerves were sky-high, and spending a year locked inside my house had definitely had a downwards affect on my social skills. Now, not even 6 months later, I’m visiting clients on my own and developing these professional relationships so that the clients and my colleagues know I’m trusted for the job, something I never thought I would be able to achieve this time last year. In this industry, the social part of ‘social media’ is more literal than you might think.
This scheme wasn’t just important for me to gain some more experience and develop my skills, but more importantly to prepare myself for the future and to have some faith in my own abilities. Social media marketing is all about taking responsibility and doing what you have to do to make sure your content is top-quality, so being trusted to do this is the most rewarding part of this scheme.
The Kickstart Scheme provides Government funding to create jobs for 16-24 year olds. KUCO applied successfully through Gateway Organisation V&C Associates at the beginning of the scheme, and we interviewed candidates in February during lockdown.
Our aim has always been to retain Kickstart trainees after their placements. As they grow in confidence and professionalism, completing training and building key skills, these brilliant young candidates are becoming a vital part of our agency’s future plans.