My Marketing Work Experience at Quorum

Last November, I decided to undertake a work experience placement with IT company, Quorum, to learn more about marketing and the world of work. Working in an office environment allowed me to gain insights into how companies like Quorum operate, including their values, community, and culture. I found it insightful to learn about the various career branches within the company, as many young people, like myself, are unaware of the opportunities available.

Working with the marketing department, comprised of Pamela Mundt and Darren Phillips, was both an invaluable and humbling experience. It allowed me to appreciate the talent, creativity, and hard work that goes into excellent marketing.

The first task Pam and Darren assigned to me was to speak with a few Quorum employees to get a feel for the company. I first talked to Jackie Begbie, Head of Recruitment, as knowing what companies look for in young employees was valuable to me. I then wrote an article on my interview with Jackie, designed graphics for the article using Adobe Creative Cloud, including a social media banner, and used WordPress to publish the article to Quorum’s website. Finally, I promoted the article on LinkedIn. Pam and Darren provided significant help with this, highlighting the challenges of the creative process that the marketing team handles effortlessly. You can read the article I wrote here.

Darren also kindly provided me with training on the Adobe Creative Suite, which Quorum uses to create various forms of media or content, including Adobe Photoshop, Lightroom, After Effects, Illustrator, and Premiere Pro. It was fascinating to see how the different software could be applied to marketing in various ways.

After my initial conversation with Jackie, I had the opportunity to speak with several other Quorum employees from different departments. These conversations provided me with a deeper understanding of the various roles and responsibilities within the company.

One of the key people I spoke with was Douglas Frame, a member of the sales team. Doug provided me with a comprehensive overview of what the sales team do and the daily tasks involved in their work.

I would describe our conversation as Doug ‘selling me sales’ – he was able to explain complex concepts in a simple and captivating way, highlighting the importance of the sales team in generating new business for the company.

Another person I spoke with was Tegan Gladstone-Wallace, a Sales Administrator who provided me with a different perspective on working at Quorum.

Tegan’s experience proved to be especially valuable as she was a younger employee who, like myself, had previously worked in retail, thereby making her more relatable to me. When asked about her experience at Quorum since joining the company, she praised her colleagues for being respectful, helpful, and approachable.

Additionally, she spoke about the company’s positive culture and the supportive environment.

Finally, I had the opportunity to speak with Sharon McCormack, an employee who works in the Project Management team. Sharon provided me with insight into her role, which involves keeping projects on track and within budget.

Sharon was no exception to the helpful and approachable employees I encountered during my conversations with Quorum staff. She was very open to chatting and didn’t hesitate to answer even what may have seemed like “stupid questions” about her job.

If there is one message I took away from my experience at Quorum, it is exactly that – there are no stupid questions. Many young people when put in a new environment, whether it’s a new job or some work experience, are afraid to ask for help or admit when they don’t understand something. I was surprised by the number of simple office terms and common phrases I had never heard before. However, I quickly realised that there was no reason not to ask what anything meant, and every time I asked a question, I received a kind, simple response, without any judgment.

This is, in my opinion, undeniably the best part of Quorum. Although filled to the brim with talented employees in all fields, it is the community and culture that sets it apart from other companies. The organisation’s core values centre around their people and they place importance in promoting mental health, and there is a great deal of support available to all employees.

The marketing team, in particular, continuously emphasises the importance of taking care of one’s mental well-being in various ways and encourages engagement among their colleagues. They devise creative and enjoyable activities to keep people fit and active, as well as simple things such as weekly quizzes. Quorum’s dedication to employees’ well-being is further exemplified through their nine mental health first aiders who are equipped to offer support and comfort to those in need.

Marketing Team : Darren Phillips, Pamela Mundt, Sophie Frost

In conclusion, my work experience with Quorum was an invaluable opportunity that allowed me to gain insight into the world of work and marketing. Through conversations with various employees, I learned about the different roles and responsibilities within the company and appreciated the talent and hard work that goes into marketing. The company’s values, community, and culture, especially its dedication to promoting mental health, set it apart from others. I also learned that asking questions is an essential part of the learning process and that there is always support available at Quorum. I am grateful to Pam and Darren for their help and patience throughout my experience. Overall, my time at Quorum was a valuable and enjoyable learning experience, which instilled in me the confidence that there can be plenty of fun to be had, even in impressive corporate IT companies.

I am grateful for this experience and highly recommend Quorum to anyone seeking a fulfilling and enriching work experience.