apt academy
Imagine... a marketing company that values the contribution young people can make to our industry... imagine... a PR company that actually embraces student ideas... imagine... a firm so willing to give budding brains a chance to shine that it invented its own apprentice scheme...
Imagine... the apt academy.
The apt academy is a prestigious work-experience programme that gives hard-working, motivated and ambitious students the chance to hone their skills in a real-life, hands-on working environment.
With both extended internships and shorter work-experience placements available, the apt academy is a fantastic opportunity for students to add that extra-special something to their CV.
your future success story starts here!
Kimberley:
In the two months that I spent with apt this year, I learnt an unbelievable amount. I arrived at the agency as a University Graduate in search of real experience in a professional environment, and that is exactly what I found. From my very first day as a Marketing Intern, I was exposed to a range of diverse clients and was trusted with multiple and varying tasks. Very quickly I became used to the busy nature of agency life and learnt to manage and prioritise my ever growing workload. I am surprised at quite how much I have been able to accomplish in just a few months with apt. I have now had professional experience in copywriting, proofreading, website development, email marketing, writing trends reports and managing projects, to name but a few areas, and these are real transferable skills that will support me in my next role. Since joining apt I have been offered a permanent position at another company and I am in no doubt that the experience and support I gained as a Marketing Intern at the agency helped me to secure the job. Employers look for experience and the team at apt made sure that I got as much as possible as well as plenty of responsibility.
The apt team live extremely busy working lives but they will always make time for their interns... all you need to do is ask for help or advice on the work you are carrying out, or anything else for that matter, and they will give it to you with pleasure.
I would like to say a huge thank you to everyone at apt for making my internship such a brilliant and worthwhile experience. You all taught me such a lot and made me feel very welcome from day one.
Grace:
Starting my two weeks work experience at apt, I was definitely more excited than nervous. Keen to get stuck in, I was really looking to gain some real life agency experience and develop some vital marketing skills – and boy did apt deliver! I really did not expect the overwhelming and exceptional experience that was to come.
During my first year studying Marketing, Advertising and Communications at University, I had developed a theoretical understanding of the industry, but hadn’t gained any experience of marketing in practice. On my first day at apt, the fantastic team were quick to get me working on real accounts with everything from website development and email marketing to research and copywriting. It was exactly what I was looking for; real work and not just tea making – but I did contribute my share. It’s definitely fair to say apt do love their hot drinks!
My first two weeks at apt, turned in to a month, when I was then very fortunate to be taken on by apt as a Marketing Assistant for a summer contract. I can truly say, I had such a valuable and rewarding summer working with the team. apt really care about giving young people the starting experience they really need. In my first two weeks alone, I took on such a varied amount of work that really allowed me to figure out just what aspects of marketing and PR I liked. Gaining real experience with apt meant that I also figured out the parts of marketing that I found more challenging and wasn’t as keen on. I’ve now got a clearer direction on the career path I want to take, than what I originally thought. Read more...
Jack: Summer 2011
Jack joined us for the summer as a paid intern, helping us out with some specific projects in the marketing departments. After six weeks with us, he moved off to the Big Smoke to join Bell Pottinger for a six week pr internship, before heading back to uni. Here's what he had to say...
...without apt, I would most likely have been just another number in the intern industry machine. The 6 weeks I got to spend with you guys really helped develop my understanding of the office environment and even though I may not have been working on PR accounts I managed to absorb a lot of what was going on around the office. You truly have a fantastic team at apt and you should be very proud that you give young starters such as myself windows of opportunity that are so often closed off on a 'who you know not what you know' basis. I have been following your tweets whenever I get chance and was pleased to hear about the success of Soho as the food business of the year! Success like that is much deserved and I hope that at some point I will get to work with you guys again.
Lily:
"On my first day at apt marketing & pr, I was nervous and really didn’t know what to expect. Even though I did know someone here at the office (Rhian Dark) I was still worried about how I would fit in and really focus on the tasks I was given. Although, I was excited and really looking forward to see how it was and meet everyone. So far I have learnt a lot more than I expected to learn. If im honest I thought I would be just photocopying and making the teas and coffees. But I was mistaken, once I had settled in and met everyone in the office; I was given a little project, which I could do over the 2 weeks I was here. I was really surprised but relived that I really could understand what they did and how they managed the whole office.
I have learned quite a lot of skills on the computer, which really could help me in the near future. If I have learnt anything the most, it would be the fact I have gained a lot of confidence within myself. Its helped me realise I can ask for help when needed, and just do as much as I am capable of doing. I have enjoyed a lot about this placement, I really thought that it helped that I had a project to focus on and it made me think about how I could pace myself through real office based work. I was worried about the skills I would of needed for this placement, but I have realised I have come here to learn and understand the way of working in an office. That is what I enjoyed about it, is that I have always wanted to work in an office, and now I have I would be happy to work in this kind of environment in the future."
Sam:
“I was a little nervous about starting a year long placement in a new town and thought I'd be spending a year phoning journalists and getting coffee, but it was so much more. As well as writing press releases and researching new angles I also got to help on exhibitions, organise a fashion shoot with a group of footballers and explore Second Life! apt gave me a true insight into the world of PR and it's made me more certain than ever that this is the career path I want.
To sum up apt gave me an amazing year, some fantastic additions to my portfolio and loads of practical experience, which has been invaluable while doing my dissertation this year. I never did get the hang of the coffee though..."
