Irene joined the Croud US team as a Marketing Associate earlier this year. After recently graduating from New York University with a degree in Media, Culture and Communications, Irene found her way to Croud, looking to expand her knowledge in digital marketing.
Walking into a company as a new starter can be a bit daunting for anyone – now consider what it’s like to start a new job in the midst of a global pandemic. With no previous experience working for a digital marketing agency, I didn’t know what to expect at the beginning of my journey at Croud, especially because I didn’t have the opportunity to be in an office setting with my team.
First day anxieties
Prior to my start at Croud, I was working at a small lifestyle brand as a content creator and brand manager, and my understanding of digital marketing was extremely limited. With the world moving so rapidly to digital, I knew I wanted to sink my teeth into the ins and outs of digital marketing.
Months before my first day at Croud, I made sure to do some research on digital marketing, hoping it would help me grow accustomed to all the terms and lingo used by everyone else at the agency. While I knew I wouldn’t be managing client accounts or working on specific channels, it was important that I still understood all the millions of digital marketing terms and acronyms that would come flying my way.
Marketing for a digital marketing agency
Once I began at Croud, I can’t say my weeks of studying helped me too much, as I still struggled to familiarize myself with all the different teams and channels they were working with. But thankfully, the Marketing team and everyone on the US team was extremely patient with me, providing me with all the resources in the world to get settled into agency life.
My first three months at Croud were filled with a plethora of training, online digital marketing courses, and one-on-one sessions, which quickly helped me build my understanding of this industry. I was constantly shadowing different members of the Marketing team to see how they worked with different platforms, created opportunities for Croud and supported other teams to help drive the business forward.
While the work environment at Croud is generally fast-paced, the number of different projects you can work on at once is one of the most invigorating feelings. I began to deeply enjoy having my hands in a number of different areas at once, whether it be a website rebranding and a competitor analysis report, or an SEO award entry and an external event opportunity.
Working through a pandemic
Despite all of the new projects I was learning to take on each week, working from home was surprisingly not as difficult as I thought it’d be – this isn’t to say that I am not excited to head into the office for work in the future. Till this day, I am still looking forward to meeting all of my colleagues in person, as I’d love to be able to feel more immersed in the energy fueled by their hard work and innovative thinking. But fortunately, since the first day I’ve been with Croud, I was able to feel that energy even through virtual means.
Seeing the resilience and passion of everyone at Croud, despite the challenges of working remotely, was inspiring. They’re not only extremely supportive of each other, but have also welcomed me and a handful of other new starters to their teams with open arms. With weekly calls on Google Hangouts to share our learnings and experiences, along with one-on-one catch up sessions here and there, I’ve been able to feel more connected to my team, along with others across the business.
Croud truly fosters an environment for growth and learning, and I’ve definitely been able to reap the benefits of this type of work culture in the short few months I’ve been here. I’m excited to see all the more ways I can challenge myself in the months to come.
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