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Over the past couple of weeks, we’ve had the lovely Tayla completing her work experience. Over the course of the two weeks, she’s been round all the various departments. Learning about each team in Celestra and getting stuck into the day-to-day running of the business. As her work experience comes to an end we sat down with her to see how she found it!
So Tayla, how have you found your first taste of working life? Not too scary, I hope!
Being here for the last two weeks have been very interesting! It’s been very eye-opening and allowed me to understand how much work goes into a business. People work hard, at school you’re able to do lessons, come home and relax, whereas with work some people don’t switch off. Now I know why my mum and dad are always in a mood when they finish work!
I know now how much effort and dedication people put into their careers. Being in a work environment for two weeks has made me realise how different the ‘real’ world is. But I’ve also recognised various ways to how what we learn at school you’re able to transfer into a career. For me it’s been with my Business Studies GCSE, I’ve noticed how it strongly links to not just the business as a whole but in particular the Marketing Department. Being around all the departments has given me an insight into careers I didn’t know existed. There’s always work to do, everyone is busy and there’s never a dull moment!
what were the expectations of your work experience prior to coming to Celestra?
When I was first told I was doing my work experience at Celestra I was unsure whether I’d find it interesting. At school, IT isn’t my favourite subject, but working here has been amazing. It’s opened my eyes and made me realise that so much work goes into creating a successful outcome. It’s not the stereotypical ‘boring’ environment, that you think of when talking about IT. There are so many different factors that go into providing an end result and so many different departments that work together. It’s taught me for the future not to judge a book by its cover. All skills are transferable and I’m glad I’ve learnt this while I’m young so I can accept more opportunities that come my way and not let first impressions put me off.
What’s been the most interesting thing you’ve learnt while here?
What’s interested me the most about being here is not only the external relationships with customers but the internal relationships between colleagues. It’s more of a relaxed environment and gives the impression that people are working with their friends. At school, I’m constantly surrounded by friends so coming into the workplace at my age seemed a bit daunting. However, being at Celestra has made me realise that those close-knit relationships continue. You’re able to still have fun while putting it to good use to get the job done.
What’s impressed you the most about Celestra?
I’d never heard of Celestra so I was surprised by how huge it is and the number of brands they work with. I now walk around Shopping Centres and think ‘oh Celestra did that!’. It’s made me understand how hard people work every day and how all the departments work together to complete a project. I used to use a kiosk and take it for granted, not realising the amount of work that goes into just taking my order! At Celestra the quality standards are very high to ensure they give the client the best experience, people put 100% effort into everything they do.
Has it given you any inspiration as to what you want to do for a future career?
With Marketing, yes! I did it briefly at school as part of my Business Studies. Whereas at Celestra there are so many more aspects I didn’t even know went into Marketing. I like the fact you’re able to use trends and opinions to create ideas and put them into practice. The Social Media aspect interests me as you’re able to reach a huge amount of people, getting instant gratification. You know instantly if something is successful. Having relationships with people first hand can be beneficial to the business as it allows more interaction with the brand. For me, I now know how much work goes into the business. My experience has been positive so it’s made me want to tell more people about it! This is what marketing for any company wants to achieve.
In school, it’s very restricted and you don’t know how to interact with the outside world. Having this experience has allowed me to grow my confidence. At school, I’m typically quite shy. Being here, building relationships and talking to people outside of school hasn’t been intimidating as I originally thought.
I’m thankful to everyone here as they’ve given me this opportunity and made me feel so welcome.