Working For Salmon Arm Savings And Credit Union

Gaining work experience as a student isn't always easy. I spent the first month and a half of summer still trying to find a job. When I was offered a Marketing Summer Student position with Salmon Arm Savings and Credit Union, SASCU, I was overwhelmed with excitement. I want to share with you the process I had of finding a job, what I did for my job and encourage you to gain work experience at any time during your education. Thanks for visiting my blog and let's dive into it!

Not everyone that is in college or university knows what they want to learn about, major in, or in other words... do with their lives. However, once you discover something you like and think you would enjoy a career in it, it is a good idea to gain work experience. As a communication major, most of my classes are in communications. However, because of my interest in marketing, my electives are all in marketing. From taking courses such as brand management, consumer behaviour, and professional selling, I can say 100% with confidence that learning in the classroom does not equal knowing how to work in the workplace. Even job titles that are the exact same will always come with different responsibilities. My work experience last summer at Community Futures Thompson Country as a Marketing Coordinator and at Salmon Arm Savings and Credit Union (SASCU) as a Marketing Summer Student have shown me how an organization and department functions, which school can never teach you.

As I mentioned in the beginning of the post, getting a job, especially one that is specialized, is hard. I like to believe I had an advantage having two months of experience already, but you never know what jobs will be available and how hard competition will be. Before I earned the position at SASCU, I was convinced that I wouldn't gain experience this summer. Since the middle of January, I was sending emails to organizations and businesses and applying to jobs back home, in Kelowna, and in Salmon Arm. When I was offered an interview at SASCU I was relieved that I had a shot, but also nervous because I knew it would be my last shot. Before my interview, I prepared, as most interviewees do, and tried my best to answer difficult questions. I couldn't help but feel nervous from start to finish, but also excited. I was happy that I stuck by all the time and effort I put into trying to gain experience and excited that I was possibly going to work in a marketing department. Working towards your dream is difficult, and that's why I will always be appreciative towards SASCU for helping me learn and work towards mine.

For those of you interested in marketing or are just curious as to what I did for my job, then keep reading! My Marketing Summer Student position was temporary from June 17, 2019 to August 2, 2019 with full-time hours. The purpose of my position was to support SASCU membership engagement, retention and growth through social media and community events. I created edits for SASCU's services brochure and sent them to graphic designers to finalize. I communicated externally with event coordinators and graphic designers and internally with staff. I gave my suggestions for their social media policy and created, posted, and tracked content for their Facebook and Instagram. Near the end of my position, I created a powerpoint of my content suggestions and findings and presented it to staff. My position allowed me to be creative on social media and practice communicating with various people, working to deadlines, and always having a strong attention to detail. Most of what I learned to do in my position are not skills that I have been taught in classes or can see myself being taught for the rest of my degree. They are skills that are important in order to work efficiently in a workplace and can only be developed in the workplace.

As you can probably tell by now, I feel strongly about seeking work experience during education. However, when you are getting work experience pay attention to not only how well you are doing your job, but if you are enjoying it. Learning about a subject in school and enjoying it is one thing, but enjoying it in the workplace is the most important.

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Email: kimzavera28@gmail.com