The Reality of Graduating University: A RAW Recount
By Andrew Barazza
In one’s life there are a few major transition periods that most of us go through. One of the more important would have to be the adjustment period that accompanies completing a University degree and transitioning to full time employment. This time period can be challenging dealing with both the highs and lows that accompany such a large transition.
I myself have freshly turned 21 and just recently graduated from the University of Queensland with a Bachelor of Business Management majoring in Marketing. After graduating I was fortunate enough to receive a fantastic opportunity to take up a graduate position at RAW Marketing.
As a graduate at RAW, my role entails a myriad of different tasks and responsibilities. I predominately shadow the more experienced staff, learning the ins and outs of the agency and all the different elements of outbound marketing, digital marketing, content production and client account management.
From my brief experience working full time, the main take away I’ve learnt is that it’s definitely a challenge you need to want to do. You can’t go into it if you’re not ready or wholeheartedly interested because full time work requires a lot of hard work and motivation to successfully complete what is required.
Looking back already, it’s quite funny how simple the tasks I was assigned were, but during those two weeks it felt like a lot. Predominately because I was trying to absorb everything that goes with starting in a new workplace. Just one example, I can remember the first meeting I sat in on, I was struggling to understand more than half of the marketing lingo and acronyms that were being thrown around.
What have I learned?
Whilst only being in my third week of full time work I can honestly say I feel as though I’ve already learnt more practical knowledge about my chosen career and industry than I did throughout my entire university degree. I found that being surrounded by the talented outbound call centre team (so important to learn the business through direct contact with the target audience) for most of my first two weeks rapidly developed my ability to talk to business professionals, which is a must-have skill when working full-time in a Business-to-Business (B2B) industry.
I have not only learnt key information in regards to the agency but I’ve also learned valuable insights about myself. The most important discovery that I made was realising my desire to succeed in my chosen career path, and the drive to want to do whatever is needed in pursuit of achieving this goal.
What are people in full time work like?
Coming into my first office job I had already established perceptions of what the people would be like based off pop-culture shows like “Suits”. I expected to be the new kid on the block for at least a month, which meant not creating strong connections with anyone for a while because people would already have pre-set “cliques”. Safe to say, by the end of my first day I was pleasantly surprised to find that everyone was genuinely nice and very welcoming, and since that first day I have continued to develop genuine connections with my colleagues.
I was honestly surprised to find that when dealing with potential customers for our clients on the outbound call lines – which I imagined would be quite rough – most encounters were pleasant even when the contact wasn’t interested in taking the call. Turns out the real world isn’t as scary as it was perceived to be.
What has been my biggest hurdles?
There’s numerous hurdles that need overcoming when starting a new job but there’s been a few specific ones that have stood out for me personally. I found I needed to actively work hard on how I conducted myself on the on the phone as my own personal style is far more casual than typical in a B2B environment. I have a big highlighted note in my note book reinforcing “DO NOT SAY MATE ON CALLS”, I actively had to focus on keeping my personal slang out of conversations. Lucky me.
What am I liking so far?
One thing I’ve enjoyed discovering is the fact that being successful in my chosen career is of the highest importance for me and my personal life goals. Because of this realisation I can honestly say that I am loving the transition from student life to full time employee. I’ve found that having the desire to work towards a life goal is more than enough motivation for me to enjoy every day of work. I’m also enjoying the 9-5 schedule which has given me back my weekends, because while studying I worked in hospitality which accounted for most of my weekends. Perhaps the final benefit I am enjoying has been uncovering a whole new world in the form of IT marketing. Having the ability to work with huge vendors and their comprehensive network of re-sellers all whilst contributing to the success of RAW as an agency through assisting in the delivery of strategic, integrated marketing campaigns for a portfolio of amazing clients.
