Multi-award winning digital marketing agency, Reflect Digital, have been supporting the University of Kent’s Employability Points Scheme in recent year through providing exclusive internships in digital marketing, account management and web development.
The EP team recently caught-up with Becky Simms (Founder and CEO) and her current EP interns; Lily Dedman (School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research), George Knight (School of History), Swapnil Shah (School of Computing) and Dhritiya Shashitkanth (School of English).
Both George and Dhritiya have been working in digital marketing, whereas Lily has been interning in account management and Swapnil in website development.
George reflected that he originally applied for the Reflect Digital internship as he had a real passion and interest in marketing, but wanted to find out more regarding specific areas such as Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), Pay Per Click (PPC) and content writing. As a result, throughout the internship, George has been tasked with content creation, website migration, auditing and key word research. This provided George with a real insight into the world of digital marketing and as a result, he now knows what specific areas he hopes to specialise in the future. In particular, George most enjoyed undertaking outreach work, where he was assisting clients in reaching new target audiences. Here, he was given full ownership of the project and real responsibility.
Reflecting on this and the EP Scheme in general, George commented:
“EP has highlighted what areas of work I want to go into and what areas I don’t. It is the most important scheme in the University to gain experience and recognition of co-curricular activity. My time at Reflect has been a fundamental learning experience, which I have benefited from immensely.”
Dhritiya has also been working with George in digital marketing, which she developed a passion for whilst working in social media for the University of Kent. Here, Dhritiya gained the chance to apply creative writing skills – developed in English degree – to write content for client’s websites. Beyond this, Dhritiya has also gained a solid understanding of different aspects of digital marketing, such as SEO, and is now considering a career in this field:
“The EP Scheme is fantastic in the sense I really enjoyed undertaking University activities and it is nice to be rewarded for it. The EP Scheme is great for offering a range of rewards based on how much you engage. As a result of the activities I have done at University, I am potentially set up for a job straight from graduation.”
Lily meanwhile has been working in Account Management, where she has been undertaking research in relation to client’s websites. She has been reviewing websites and assessing ways these can be enhanced. As a result, she has been able to generate new ideas, which are pitched directly to the clients!
As a result, of this internship, Lily reflected that it ‘has ignited a passion for account management’ and accordingly, she has secured a post as a Junior Account Manager with an integrated digital marketing agency in Kent!
Swapnil’s internship in website development has been characterised by ‘lots of coding’ – something he loves to do. During the internship, he has gained knowledge of using new technologies, created a new website and developed new tools for a client. The internship has not only provided him with further skills and experience, but more so, confidence to now apply for graduate level roles.
Becky Simms – Founder and CEO – also commented:
“The quality of the students from the University of Kent is always high, this year it has been phenomenal, we are so pleased and will be sad to see the students leave! The students have fitted in perfectly to our team, getting stuck in with client work and understanding how a digital agency operates.”
For more information on Reflect Digital, see here.
