Following on from our previous Year of Young People blog post, we’ve decided to make a part two to meet two more members of the fab team here at mtc.
In case you missed part one, we met Lennox & Ryan, two younger members of the team, and they talked about how their job role at mtc has influenced them so far in their careers.
This week we’ve been catching up with James & Alix, who are both part of the marketing team here at mtc.
James and Alix inside one of the pod meeting areas at our Dundee office.
James Phillip
Age: 27 – 26 at the time of writing this.
Job Title: Head of Marketing
Education: Web Design & Development from Abertay University
Favourite Ice Cream Flavour: honeycomb
We asked James a few questions about his job here at mtc, and how he thinks the working environment has impacted his career so far.
Q. Could you give us a brief outline of your career so far?
A. I joined the small team at mtc in 2014, where there was only one other member of staff within the marketing team, our Senior Paid Specialist Rick. Within three months I completed my apprenticeship ahead of schedule and was offered a full-time role within the company as an SEO Specialist.
Within three years I worked my way from SEO Specialist to Lead Specialist, to Head of Marketing. mtc allowed me the freedom to make changes and introduce new ideas, which as a result have led to growth & increased retention.
While I did progress within mtc quickly, I have 11 years’ experience in working on marketing campaigns as I started my own business in 2007, and have worked at Abertay University helping to develop their online exam system for web students at the time.
Q. What do you think is the best advantage of being a young person in 2018?
A. I believe the main advantage of being a young person in this generation is how many opportunities there are. A few years ago it proved to be difficult to get in to a work placement directly with no experience as opposed to going to university. Today, there’s websites dedicated to finding young people apprenticeships and work experience placements.
Q. What has been the highlight of your time so far at mtc?
A. It’s been very rewarding watching the marketing department go from 2 people in 2014, to a team of 15 today – and knowing that this has happened as a direct impact from my work.
Q. How does the working environment at mtc allow you to contribute to businesses, brands & marketing campaigns?
A. More recently I’ve been less and less involved in managing campaigns and more involved with the leadership of the marketing department and the team within it. I do miss working with clients, especially when I used to manage big clients such as brewdog. Now I focus on getting results and contributing to businesses & brands by leading the next generation of mtc marketing specialists to be better than ever before.
Alix Foreman
Age: 23
Job Title: SEO Specialist
Education: HNC Advertising and PR at Dundee and Angus College
Favourite Ice Cream Flavour: Chocolate & Black Cherry
Q. Could you give us a brief outline of your career so far?
A. My career has taken a slightly different route than I’d first anticipated whilst in High School. My aspirations were to go to university to study English, with hopes of becoming a journalist. After my exam results fell just short of the entry requirements, I took on my first full time role as a sales consultant – which is where my initial interest for marketing began! After working in sales for two years I decided to go back into education and studied an HNC in Advertising and PR at Dundee and Angus College. Upon graduating I was offered a Digital Marketing Apprenticeship within the Colleges marketing department. Here I discovered my passion for digital marketing and gained invaluable skills and experience in graphic design, social media marketing and content writing. It was whilst studying for a module in SEO that I decided to apply for mtc – and the rest is history!
Q. What do you think is the biggest struggle for the young people in this generation in relation to careers and education?
A. There is incredible pressure when you’re in High School to get a degree. Whilst I was undergoing my apprenticeship I became an “apprenticeship ambassador” with Developing the Young Workforce to enlighten school pupils of the options outside of University. I’m really happy to see that so many employers are offering apprenticeships in a variety of subjects – including mtc!
Q. What do you think is the best advantage of being a young person in 2018?
A. I think the digital knowledge gap between generations has opened up a lot of opportunities for young people.
Whilst I was studying I found that a lot of businesses were delighted when I approached them about doing their online marketing for a small fee, these sorts of opportunities may not have been around 10 years ago.
Q. What has been the highlight of your time so far at mtc?
A. The biggest highlight has to be the people! Everyone I’ve met at mtc. have been so lovely and supportive. I really enjoy my role in itself as well, I get to work on a variety of clients from different sectors and regularly get to write content – which is an important aspect of my job satisfaction.
Q. How does the working environment at mtc allow you to contribute to businesses, brands & marketing campaigns?
A. One of my favourite aspects of the environment within the marketing team is the openness for new suggestions. We regularly share ideas for client campaigns, upcoming blog posts or new incentives. It’s great working in an environment where your ideas are valued.
Keep your eyes peeled for our third & final part in our Year of Young People mini-series!