From home to HiringHub.com...My journey so far

Monday 16th March 2015 - The beginning

After a weekend of working late shifts at my local music bar, applying for a new job was pretty high up on my to-do list for Monday morning. So sure enough, at about 11am I started my application for The Juice Academy social media apprenticeship programme, with no confidence I’d even make it to boot camp. But I had nothing to lose, and nothing better to do.

I read the application form on the Juice Academy website and one question stood out to me: “What brand do you most admire and why?” Brilliant. I can do this. Straight away it had to be Dr Martens (I have a relatively large obsession with them). So I carried on with the application, my confidence slowly growing as I typed away. Within minutes it was done. My application submitted, all I could do was wait…

Wednesday 18th March 2015 - Two days later

I woke up at lunchtime, after a fairly late night, to a missed call from Amy and the team at The Juice Academy. She’d left a voicemail saying that they loved my application and invited me to a “boot camp” on Wednesday 8th April.

I ran downstairs to tell my mum the good news. Clearly she was very proud, saying how quickly her “little boy is growing up.” All I wanted was for her to stop hugging me so I could get back to my other teenage duties: playing Xbox, eating, and generally being indifferent.

Wednesday 8th April 2015 - Boot Camp

One thing I did do between finding out I had got a place and the boot camp itself (which I highly recommend if you are planning to apply), is fully research the businesses that would be attending. Trust me, this helps.

Normally, I’m a very shy person when I meet new people but, on the day of reckoning, I suddenly got a surge of confidence. I mean, I just wanted to talk to EVERYONE.

The day started with all of us boot-campers being allocated a number. We then met the employers - I had gone into boot camp with no clear idea about which company I wanted to work for so this was important. Each employer had to stand up and give a two-minute presentation about their company. Two people stood out to me: Simon and Laura from Hiring-Hub.com.

It was then our turn to try to impress the employers. There were approximately 25 candidates who had been successful in their Juice Academy application, but there was only a handful of jobs available with the employers, so the pressure was on.

We were split into small groups and had to do a self-portrait to describe ourselves to the employers.

Next, we had to create a Vine (a short online video) to promote The Juice Academy. I hadn’t used Vine in a long time, but we were put into groups and, again, it was ridiculously good fun. We used the song Popcorn by Hot Butter, and I think our Vine went down really well, but we also got to see everyone else’s and the standard was very high.

After lunch things got more serious. Some candidates got sent home, which served as a wake-up call for the rest of us.

The group was split in two. My half had to follow a live brief from a client, and compose a blog and series of tweets to promote them to their target demographic.

Next up, speed dating. How on earth do you speed date with a potential employer? Well, surprisingly, it’s quite easy! IF you’ve done your research.

Again Hiring-Hub.com really stood out here - they were so friendly yet professional, and it felt like I was just talking to two of my friends, it actually was that easy and natural. That’s not to say it wasn’t like that for the other businesses, but Hiring-Hub.com just really stuck in my mind.

‘Speed-dating’ over, and I had to put the employers in order of those I’d most like to work for. I put Hiring-Hub.com as my number one choice (I’m not sucking up, I promise) and then I waited…

Next thing I knew, my name was called and I was taken upstairs. My mind was racing, what if I get offered a job I don’t want? Will it be awkward to say no? I was led into a room, and sat there (to my delight), was Simon and Laura from Hiring-Hub.com. I was over the moon, which was evident by the big cheesy grin plastered on my face. They offered me the job and, without a thought, I said yes – it was never going to be a no.

Monday 13th April 2015 - My first day at Hiring-Hub.com

Okay, so fast-forward a week and I’m sat here writing this on Tuesday 14th April - it’s my second day here at Hiring Hub and I have been given the task to give you some insight into my first day as an apprentice.

First things first, I am NOT usually a morning person. However, I think I’ve been cured. My alarm went off on Monday morning and I shot out of bed, I was so excited to get to work and get stuck in.

I was more nervous than I was on the day of boot camp, but I bit the bullet and went through to be greeted by Laura and briefed by Simon about what he had in store for me.

The basic structure of my day was to sit between Laura (Account Manager at Hiring Hub) and Joe (Sales Consultant) until lunch time, so I could understand their roles, and a bit more about Hiring Hub’s customers and how it works. For the second half of the day, I sat with Cassius, who gave me a crash course on social media. I never imagined that watching people work would be as interesting as it was. By lunchtime on my first day I felt like I had learnt a year's worth of information about Hiring Hub in one go. It was also nice to see what other roles people play within the office, and it brought me closer to people that I perhaps wouldn’t otherwise have spoken to on my first day.

At half past five, I packed up my stuff with a head full of newfound knowledge and social media hacks, and began my journey home. When I got there, I gave my family a detailed run through of everything I had seen and learnt. Overall, it was a really enjoyable day and I couldn’t wait to get started on day two.

But a small part of me still hates mornings.