Wow, where has that time gone? I can’t quite believe a month has passed already! It feels like yesterday I was jumping on my first Monday morning team meeting and getting my first feel for being a Purple person. However at the same time, that also feels like a distant memory as I’ve been up to so much during these last four weeks.
What I’ve been up to
As part of my role, just like Jess and George, I will be taking a course alongside working at Purple. The course is run by the apprenticeship provider, Apprentify, who you might be familiar with from Jess’ apprenticeship diary. I am due to start my course with them next week. That being said, it hasn’t stopped me from learning a great deal already. It’s been a whirlwind to say the least. There’s just so much I’ve been learning and observing, that I’m not sure where to even begin. From getting to grips with the system and software, to liaising with clients on Zoom meetings and creating website content. I’m constantly being amazed by all of the different aspects of my role, to the point where I’m in awe of the future me, when all of this will be second nature.
Within my first week here at Purple, and in fact I believe it was my second day, I was jumping on a zoom meeting with Scarlett and Phil, getting my first glimpse of project management for a website. I’ll admit, I came away from the meeting more confused, but that was to be expected. It felt like a new language, all of these words and phrases that were unfamiliar. But by the time Friday came and I came away from observing my third client meeting that week, I already felt more confident, following the flow of the meeting and even having a little input of my own here and there, when I felt comfortable and confident to do so.
Keen to simply delve into learning and get up to speed with all things websites and digital marketing, I have been embracing all of the reading and resources that the team suggests to me. Google Digital Garage was among the suggestions- an online learning resource which taught me masses about digital marketing and to make it even more rewarding, I gained a certificate too!
I am of course learning on the job too, with the help from everyone in the team, in some way shape or form. However, it is Scarlett who is doing such an amazing job as my mentor, keeping me busy with jobs and having faith in me, believing I’m ready for new challenges. With just a few being: helping host our webinar workshops, creating website content for clients, writing design briefs and trying my hand at helping with the behind the scenes of website development. Believe me, it’s all go here!
As I’m sure you’re all familiar, it’s never all work and no play at Purple! A social gathering was well overdue for obvious reasons, therefore as lockdown measures were lifting, we took the opportunity to arrange a socially distanced picnic! We all brought our deck chairs to the grounds at The Aske Estate, popped on some music, enjoyed burgers and a drink or two and of course each other's company! It was 5 months worth of catch up for the team and I felt lucky to be part of it, having only been there two weeks. Laughing at funny anecdotes that were being shared and all of our interesting attempts at being the artist in Pictionary- the pressure of that game would make any professional artist crumble, I’m sure! We also celebrated recent accomplishments within the team, newbies, new homes and promotions. All in all, it was a great first gathering for me, seeing everyone face to face instead of through our webcams too, was a breath of fresh air.
It’s safe to say my first month has been busy busy, and this is only the beginning, I know there is so much more to come and I can’t wait. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed getting to know some of our lovely clients, they all warmly welcomed me into their project journey which I’m very grateful for. I am so looking forward to building relationships with more of them really soon. I know this next month will be equally as eventful as the last, especially with adding my apprenticeship course to the mix. So make sure you keep an eye out for my next blog, as I keep you up to date on my Purple apprenticeship journey.