At Wavelength we’re passionate about helping young people start their careers. This is why we were more then happy to let Priya Dhaliwal join the team as part of her work experience. Priya is currently working towards her A-levels at Wednesfield High School, Wolverhampton.
Here’s what Priya had to say:
1. How did you land the placement with Wavelength?
I got in touch with Wavelength through my uncle Gurpreet Jagpal (Deputy Director of UCL Advances). “Gups” has worked with Darren Coleman on branding projects before. Therefore having contacts is essential and gave me the opportunity to work at Wavelength.
2. What did you do during your work experience at Wavelength?
During my experience it was like an induction to branding and running a brand agency. Darren told me more about Wavelength and what they do. He went through a major project he is currently doing for the Lithuanian Government which was really interesting. On the second day Darren did a workshop with University College London students which I sat in on. It was all about personal branding which developed my skills of showing my personality more and helped me feel more confident in terms of speaking to different ethnic groups. I also sat in a video conference call with Darren and Martyna Milkevičiūtė from Enterprise Lithuania for the current project which was interesting. I also learned about Infographics and blogging whilst I was at Wavelength.
3. What did you like about working at Wavelength?
I loved everything about working at Wavelength. It was really exciting. I liked how I was always occupied with something and I enjoyed everything Darren gave me to do. At Wavelength I learned about branding but also about gaining personal confidence and making sure my personality shines. I liked how Darren scheduled different things for me to do, not just all about branding but also personal branding and the insight of it.
4. What didn’t you like about working at Wavelength?
There is nothing really I can say I did not like a Wavelength, I would definitely recommend everyone to do it, if you want to go into branding, it is a great place to work.
5. Did anything surprise you about working at a branding agency?
I was surprised by how many aspects there are to branding and that it is not only about logos. It’s much deeper than that. This was made clear when I looked at some of the very scientific insight Wavelength has delivered for clients in a number of markets. It was also interesting to see how many things you can do with branding once you understand the principles. It was good to see how many contacts Darren works with, not only in Birmingham but internationally as well .
6. What advice would you give your friends thinking about work experience?
I would advise everyone who wants to go University or wants a bit of insight in his or her career to obtain some work experience. If you want to go into marketing or business, then Wavelength is just the place! It will show you if you want to follow a branding particular career or not. Going to work is what everyone will eventually do, so having an experience of how working life will be is a great factor to contribute to yourself in the future.
7. What are your future plans?
I have wanted to go into International Business and Marketing for some time as I consider myself to be a strong willed and minded businesswoman. I was not sure if I wanted to go into marketing but Wavelength has showed met how exciting it is to work in branding. I hopefully would take the skills I took from Darren into University and will definitely come back again to work with Wavelength and one day, I would want to be where Darren is now. For me he is an inspiration to everyone who wants to pursue a career in this sector.
Darren Coleman, who oversaw Priya’s placement notes:
“I’d like to think Priya learned some valuable business before and during her time at Wavelength. Firstly that contacts are a key business asset. I’ve known Gupreet Jagpal for many years. His introduction facilitated Priya’s placement. Priya also now realises that branding is far more than logo design but rather a creative art underpinned by robust science and statistical methods. This will already put her a step or two ahead of her peers in understanding what branding is all about. I was really impressed with Priya whilst she was with us. Nothing was a problem. She just got on with things. No fuss. Just hard working and productive. I look forward to staying in touch with Priya and have no doubt she’ll do well in life.”