By Jade Kong
Hi, I’m Jade, and I spent the last 4 months interning as a Digital and Social Media intern here at
LOKi. Here are all the findings I’ve gleaned from my time here (and some advice too, if you’re
considering applying for my current position!). There’s been so much to learn here for me that
I’m extremely grateful for, and I’m sure you’ll feel the same way.
So, without further ado, here are five things that they don’t tell you about interning at a digital
marketing boutique agency. If you’re fresh out of school like I was, it’s definitely going to be a
whole new ride, so hold on tight!
Agency work is a lot. Like, a lot.
When it comes to working at a digital marketing agency, I think of an octopus juggling jobs with
all 8 of its tentacles occupied. It’s all about versatility and code-switching, because the team is
always and constantly managing a ton of different brands with wildly different scopes in
completely diverse industries.
That means the workload is definitely on the high side, and the pace of work is very rapid and
oftentimes erratic, as it depends on when the clients release their feedback as well. Prepare for
intensity.
The network of people you work with is immense.
From in-house designers based in another country, to colourful clients, to outsourced
copywriters, you work much more with people outside your team than you would expect.
Throughout these interactions, communication and accountability are pivotal to achieve clarity.
Different clients have entirely different objectives and work schedules (for example, some
require weekly WIPs), so there’s a clear need to align to their expectations.
Honestly, I’m always shocked when designers are able to translate visual copies and
instructions into a cohesive and beautiful final product. One of the most rewarding parts of
interning was seeing this – ideation turned into fruition through the interactions with people in the
professional network.
Size matters – shorter, shorter, and shorter.
As someone who just finished her A-Levels, I’m used to writing long form essays where you
cram information into foolscap paper. It’s almost always the longer the better, and there’s even
a streak of competitive fear whenever you see someone ask for more paper in the exam when
you’ve barely worked your way through half of the stack you’re given.
However, when I started doing copywriting, I realised something – in the real world, no one is
going to bother reading. Modern attention spans are comparable to that of goldfish, especially
on platforms as whimsical as social media, where one scroll can bring you to a totally different
hemisphere of information.
And hence, it’s always about writing in the most concise, eye-catching way that still dispenses
enough information to get your point across.
You have to kiss a bunch of frogs before you find your prince.
This advice was dispensed to me by my colleagues, albeit in a more romantic context.
Essentially, it entails that working on tasks (and definitely relationships!) that you are not
necessarily a good fit for is an essential part of the process.
Without puckering up for a few amphibians here and there, you’ll never develop into a person
that can actually find the right prince. Similarly, it’s very hard to grow (professionally or
personally), especially in an industry as fast-paced and trend-reliant as digital marketing, without
trying out all the different job roles, scopes, and brands available to you in a boutique agency.
As an intern, I had the fortunate ability to try many of the roles available in a digital agency out:
making reports, content ideation, copywriting, community management, and much more. As
much as I wasn’t accustomed to most of these roles, I found that working through them, as
difficult as it was, tangibly added to my skill sets, which would definitely assist me in my
endeavours as I enter university this fall and try to forge my way through life.
Agency life is a bowl of tomato soup.
Warm, spicy, and always better with bread.
On warmth, my colleagues at LOKi were exceedingly welcoming and sweet. In spite of this
being my first internship ever, I did not feel like a fish out of water, and I did not flounder as
much as I thought I would. Since I’m significantly younger than even the associates that joined
the company after me, everyone has taken on the role of helping me out and giving me advice, –
both personally and professionally – which I’m very grateful for.
I had no spice tolerance, but working at LOKi has changed that, just a little. (I can eat tom yum
now!) I describe working here as spicy, because of the range of different experiences I had that
made me grow as a person (and as a non-spice-eating individual). Oftentimes, I felt pushed out
of my comfort zone, or stretched in a completely different way than I had previously been in
school. Everyone’s guidance definitely helped, but I still feel challenged and changed – much
more than I had expected myself to be.
Regarding the bread thing, it’s important to get breakfast in the morning. It gets the brain juices
going, and with everyone’s workload, lunch often times ends up being closer to dinner.
p.s. The Starbucks bagel is amazing.
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