Fran joined The Market as a Paid Social and PPC Account Executive after graduating from our 2019 January Academy.

There are two types of university graduates: the devilishly lucky ones that know what they’re doing next, and the rest that don’t.

Life as a fresh-faced graduate of the later type has its pros and cons. With such an incredible myriad of potential opportunities, the world is your oyster, it is an exciting time. Having said that, it can be massively overwhelming and hard to know where to begin on the quest of finding the right career. You may be certain of the sector you would like to embark upon but navigating all the different areas of work and finding your ideal role can be a daunting challenge. The digital media agency business is a prime example, with so many different disciplines, from Paid Search to Strategy and Website Development, it can be hard to know where to start. Many job descriptions are extremely vague making it far from easy to really know what the job will entail. Getting a feel for the company culture and the people you’ll be spending your days with definitely doesn’t seem on the cards. How are you meant to make what seems like such an important decision based on so little information?

This is where the Tipi Academy saved me.

The Academy takes place in the TIPi Group’s central London offices and consists of two weeks of free interactive digital training. Specific tutorials delivered by company specialists take you through over twenty different digital disciplines and the team of executives explain their daily routines and general responsibilities, giving you an honest idea of what a junior role involves. During the second week you put what you have learnt into action by completing a series of tasks, rotating through all the different departments, and by delivering a pitch to a panel of professionals. The course also covers interview and presentation training with extensive feedback so that you are not only clearer on the best role for you, but you are also more likely to be successful in securing it.

Through taking part in the academy, I came to the realisation that PPC would be the best place for me to start my career within the industry. Having become equipped with data handling skills, through studying Physiological Sciences at university, I was keen to begin in a role that would use them. I was highly drawn towards the exciting prospect of managing money as well as the fast-paced nature of PPC. I thought it would be incredibly satisfying to be able to see the results of your work within hours and to improve business for clients. After the Academy, I was lucky enough to be offered a position as a PPC Account Executive. The Academy enabled me to find where I would fit best and gave me the chance to get to know the people and the role before joining. It is a rare and invaluable opportunity to experience digital agency life before committing to work and I could not recommend it more to anyone on the hunt for their first job in the industry.