Fun People and Fascinating Work: My Placement at Parallax

We’ve partnered with a local technical college to offer students the opportunity to join the Parallax team, jump into some work that they enjoy or are keen to learn more about, and gain valuable experience in the industry. Recently, we had the pleasure of welcoming Ellen to the marketing department for a week.

After deep-diving into the depths of marketing (it’s a weird and wonderful place), she’s kindly given us a rundown of her experience at Parallax…

If I had to summarise my work environment at Parallax in one word, it would be “welcoming”. Usually, I’m not the person to say, “You know what, I’m going to go work with people I don’t know, in a big city, for five days straight.” However, interning at Parallax this week has changed my view on that. Apart from the unlimited snacks and drinks in the kitchen (!), one of my favourite things about working here this week is the people I’ve been working with and finding out about the fascinating things they do.

I have previously had work experience in graphic design. However, this time I decided to work with Parallax—a digital consultancy which appealed to me for its reputation for innovation. The departments I was most interested in working with were Marketing, where I spent most of the week, and Design, where I spent a day.

Monday

On Monday, I worked with Jack, a witty person, proud of his music taste. With Jack, I learnt how essential competitor research is; how using a range of influencers can help spread a company’s product, and how a company plans its social media to reach its target audience. By the end of the day, I had absorbed a whole new vocabulary, to which my brother’s response was, “Fancy.”

Tuesday

The next day, I worked with Katie—a bubbly, kind human whose obsession with plant pots slowly became more and more concerning. Katie taught me the significance of content marketing and how she has helped companies create their identity through social media (Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, etc.). I learned the correlation between views and likes on posts and reels, and their significance, and planned what the launch of a new product would look like over two weeks on social media.

Wednesday

My time in Content Marketing continued on Wednesday with Joe, someone whose relaxed, chilled energy spreads to everyone in the best way possible. On that day, I learnt about distinct types of SEO, ranking factors, various forms of blogs that companies request and the role of keywords for a business while being searched on a web browser (such as Google). For my task that day, I had to write a company summary within 100 words—something that was harder than I had expected but rewarding to do.

Thursday

On Thursday, I did the paid side of Content Marketing with Keira and Matthew—two relatable people who were immediately friendly. We discussed the importance of ads and how they correlate with specific statistics. I was allowed to see the background planning and how much revenue was produced per ad (from clicks etc.). I was then asked to critique numerous ads from different companies (including a client’s) and what I would do differently.

Friday

After four days in the Marketing Department, I spent a day with Andy, a key member of the Design Department, who was very funny and taught me the ins and outs of Web Design. We focused on the beginning of the design process, and how his department works on suggestions to improve the initial piece of work. Andy also talked me through the rest of the process and showed me examples of different sites, introducing me to a multitude of procedures that the team goes through and the programmes they use.

I would like to thank Phil, Head of Marketing, who, despite being incredibly busy, made the time to brief me on my week and then check in with me every day on how things were going. I would also like to thank Nicky, the office manager, for believing in me and offering me the work experience in the first place – and for organising an incredible placement.
My placement exceeded my expectations, and I was especially surprised – as someone who knew so little – by the amount of respect and interest shown in my contributions. I have found my experience here so inspiring and insightful and would love to work at a company like Parallax in the future.

A note from founder and director, Andy Fitch:

“It’s a widely known problem in the tech and digital industry that there is a talent shortage and lack of diversity in the workplace. There is a lack of awareness for school- and college-age students of what careers exist within digital. Some may also feel it’s too geeky, or that they don’t ‘fit in’ in digital.

At Parallax, we are proud that 31% of our employees are female, and 43% of those hold senior positions. Both of these figures are also on the rise. We are building relationships with schools to spread the word about our industry. We have partnered up with a local technical college, UTC, to provide an opportunity for three students each year to gain invaluable experience in the industry, with the possibility of a job at the end of it. We are also working with UTC to adapt the syllabus to provide the most relevant and up-to-date skills for employability.

We’re really excited about the opportunities this will give young students over the coming years, watching them become the digital leaders of tomorrow.”

- Andy Fitch, People Director