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.
Stepping into the digital scene
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 delve into the realms 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 agency
Once I began at Croud, my main focus quickly became familiarizing myself with all the different teams and channels, whilst navigating through remote working. 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 few 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 any given time is one of the most invigorating feelings. I began to deeply enjoy having my hands on several varying areas at once, whether that be a website rebrand, conducting competitor analysis, writing award entries or researching external event opportunities.
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. I am still looking forward to meeting all of my colleagues in person, as I’d love to be immersed in the Croud environment, where hard work and innovative thinking thrives. But fortunately, since the first day I’ve been with Croud, I have been able to feel this energy, even within 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 one another, 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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