Matthew reflecting on his traineeship work experience placement
Matthew joined our traineeship programme this summer and, after completing his Level 1 in Work Skills, joined the Ixion marketing team to complete his placement and learn more about marketing.
Find out how his second week went below!
My second week
Day 6 – I continued with all the work and skills that I did in week one.
First was to update the calendar and to also make Instagram posts ready to be posted online from a social media scheduling website called Hootsuite.
Emma and David taught me the basics of Hootsuite, showing me how it looks before being posted to online social media channels. I found this to be a cool little way to post to all social media accounts very quickly and it saves a lot of time in the process.
Day 7 – I prepared and conducted another interview.
I interviewed Evie from Shaw Trust’s Covid-19 Recovery Academy. She was very kind and just a pure soul.
She works as a wellbeing officer and since it was someone new, I did get nervous, but I’ve learned on this traineeship to be more confident and to relax more.
I asked what she did, what her favourite animal was and why, what music represented her time with Shaw Trust, what she did in her spare time and why she joined Shaw Trust.
After that interview, I had to do the transcript for that interview, but since I knew what I had to do, I got straight into getting that transcript finished for that day and I felt great doing this type of work as it’s also helping me with my anxiety.
After I sent off the transcript, I then had to make a quote and get a picture from Evie so then when we made a meet the team Thursday post for social media.
I really enjoyed interviewing Evie, as she was polite and just nice to have that talk with her and see what she does for the organisation.
Day 8 – I started to schedule posts on Instagram to try to promote what we do at Shaw Trust and Ixion.
So, I made the posts for Instagram a day before and then I got taught to upload them on Hootsuite.
David showed me how to put them in the dates and showed me what time I could place them. I’ve made around 8-9 posts for Hootsuite and made sure I put two on each day to make sure the audience managed to see them if they missed the first one and I made sure it was about the same topic as it would’ve been too confusing.
Day 9 – I started my article for my second week with the traineeship programme.
I explain what I did and what’ve learned throughout my time with the marketing team.
While I do my article, I try to think of some ideas to post to social media and explained my ideas to David later in the day. I suggested a post about teenagers leaving school but don’t know what to do so, I’m going to make a Instagram story and try to promote teenagers to do a traineeship or apprenticeship for next week.
Day 10 – My final day for week two and I’m going to get my article done for today and make a start and try and post a story for school leavers as that’s the best time to try and get them to join one of our programme courses.
What skills I learnt at the end of week two
What I have leaned on this traineeship is to be more open to ideas and try to promote my ideas. I’ve also learned to manage posting social media posts at certain times and be in more control when the post goes up and how many socials media accounts it can be put up on.
I was more on my own this week as the team trusted me to do individual work and to get the work done on time if possible. They always encouraged me to ask for help if needed and know that if the work went a bit wrong, that it’s ok to make mistakes as making mistakes is also another skill to learn on as it happens.
So, as I’ve done these with both interviews, it’s now my turn to tell you what my favourite animal and why, and to also present a song that represented my time with Ixion so far.
My favourite animal and why
My favourite animal is a Wolf. They are very caring for others in the pack and that’s what I feel like and act like to people that are close to me.
They are determined and I feel like that’s also me as I’ve been determined in getting work done, trying my best at things that come my way and to fulfil my goals in life.
They are also strong and enduring, I feel like I’ve been through tough spots but endured it, stayed strong and committed to my life goals, even if it takes a long time.
A song to represent my traineeship experience
The song that represents my time with Ixion would be ‘People Get Up And Drive Your Funky Soul’ by James Brown as it just makes you feel like you are in the rhythm of work.
It makes you feel more cheerful, relax, be happy and just feel like you are not doing work but a hobby instead as it’s fun.
How I feel at the end of week two
I have enjoyed my second week on the traineeship and I am excited to learn more and progress more through the traineeship. I can’t wait to learn new things and improve on existing skills as this whole experience has made me feel like I’ve pushed my boundaries and I want to continue passing them.
“What I have leaned on this traineeship is to be more open to ideas and try to promote my ideas.”
David Robson, Marketing Officer at Ixion, part of Shaw Trust.
Feedback from David
“It has been a pleasure to get to know Matthew and work with him over the course of his two-week traineeship placement.
“Matthew has brought genuine enthusiasm to each day of his placement, and the quality of the work he has produced in such a short space of time has been very impressive.
“We have been keeping Matthew busy with a variety of work, and he has tackled each task extremely well. Matthew has asked questions and shown a desire to work hard and learn. These are qualities which I am sure will stand him in good stead throughout his career.
“We have seen Matthew’s confidence grow throughout the two weeks as he’s taken on new tasks and learnt new skills. He has produced some great content and has put forward some excellent ideas. He should be very proud of himself. Well done Matthew!”