First Week at a Creative Agency

Hi, I’m Emma, a Junior Designer at Cygnus. This is my first “real job” and I’ve been here for just over a month. I graduated uni last summer and have spent the last 10 months gaining experience and learning about the industry. I completed 6 internships at various design agencies before getting a job, experiences which I am very grateful for. I’d strongly recommend to any graduate to try to get as many varied experiences as you can before going into a permanent role. I am someone who likes to be as prepared as possible for everything, but you can never be 100% prepared for the first week of any new job, even after 6 internships, and it’s fair to say I was very nervous in the week leading up to my start date. A permanent role seemed so much bigger than an internship.

I had no idea what to expect, but luckily I had nothing to worry about. On my first day I bumped into Caitlin outside the gate before I even went in and even though she is in the client services team and not part of the design team I would be joining, she already knew my name and that it was my first day; she was really friendly and helped to ease my nerves massively.?

After I had met everyone, been told a lot of names and had a tour of the buildings, I sat down to familiarise myself with my new laptop and discovered the company-wide group on Google Chat. I had already received some welcome messages and GIFs from the team. Conversation soon turned to whether I had any nicknames; Emma, Em or Ems, Emmo, Emster, Smiffy? Smudger? We soon settled on Smithy and Toby said that I was already his favourite Emma in the business, which I took as a positive start (sorry Em).?

I was also presented with a branded water bottle and hoodie which was unexpected but very welcome. Often people wear their hoodies when they work from home and everyone brings their matching water bottles into the office which I think is really nice and made me feel like I was part of the team already!

My first week was populated with lots of inductions with the head of each department which was really useful for me to get an understanding of how the business is run and how the team works together collaboratively to produce the best work possible for every client. My induction with Marcus, the Managing Partner, was especially memorable as he took me through the history of the business and the recent developments to the brand strategy. Learning about the values that the company lives by made sense as I saw how they have shaped the culture and day-to-day working environment. I got started on some client work, working closely with other designers, who supported me as I got to grips with the server and the brands I was working with. I have since worked on lots more brands; it has been great to have a variety of projects to work on.?

I was surprised by how collaborative the effort is for every project that comes through the agency. Every single member of the team is willing to help and offer assistance. I’ve learnt so much already just from others helping me out, from keyboard shortcuts to copywriting hacks.

At lunch we played Mario Kart, which is something that, believe it or not, I was asked about in my interview (Mario Kart is taken very seriously at Cygnus) and by some miracle I won the first race, beginner’s luck I think, because I haven’t won one since. There’s usually something fun going on at lunch, whether it's a Lunch and Learn presentation, pottery painting or a pub quiz, it often gets quite competitive!

So, although I had no idea what to expect, it’s safe to say that my first week at Cygnus surprised me in the best way possible. I was nervous to start a new job. Not just a temporary internship this time. A real, full-time, permanent job. But I soon realised that it’s not something to be scared of at all, it’s something to be excited about. People don’t want to see you fail, they want to see you succeed. Cygnus is here to support me and help me to grow and I’m excited to carry on learning, developing my skills and having lots of fun.