Bridging a gap between local communities and our offices around the world
Agent3 is strongly committed to supporting its local communities and providing its employees with an opportunity to make a difference. As well as a volunteer time off program we have created partnerships with local organizations to help drive change. In London, for example, we have an ongoing partnership with a nearby secondary school called ‘Bridging The Gap’ which offers students a glimpse into the wonderful world of digital marketing – a field of work they may not otherwise have had any exposure to, let alone get to experience first hand.
In the US, we’re excited to continue our work with a non-profit organisation called COOP (“ko-op”), which aims to overcome underemployment of low-income and first-generation college graduates by developing their digital skills and peer connections. Operating in New York City, the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles Metro Areas, and Chicago, COOP Careers offers project-based learning through partnerships with organizations and local businesses, such as Agent3, to provide COOPers (their students) with the key skills required to enhance their employment prospects and set them up for success in the digital marketing, analytics, tech sales and social media work arenas.
It was a pleasure and a privilege to support this great work by providing practical advice for COOPers coming to the end of their training and about to embark on the daunting prospect of applying for jobs.
Although it felt like a small initial step, kicking off by hosting mock interviews for the students enabled us to connect with COOPers on a personal level and provide them with guidance as to what employers are looking for, how they could better structure their responses for interview success and, ultimately, bring themselves and their personality to the process, without the fear of needing to appear overly corporate and polished.
Running throughout the Summer, this semester wrapped up with a workshop we held on the job application process; everything from resume building and writing a cover letter, through to the interview itself. Again, what felt like a small contribution was hugely rewarding as we were able to address some of the COOPers’ queries and concerns about applying for jobs in the next phase of their development.
A real highpoint of the process came when we were able to offer one student an internship with our New York Customer Strategy and Success team. Bousso Diouf joined us for the summer, providing her with the opportunity to put the knowledge and skills she learned through COOP into practice, as she worked with account teams in a client-facing role.
“Through COOP, I was able to learn many different skills that are critical to the Digital Marketing industry. Through the program, I was able to participate in professional development workshops and interact with corporate professionals to enhance specific skills such as time management, public speaking, communication, and networking. I also developed practical digital marketing skills; including SEO, Google AdWords, Facebook Ads, Excel, PowerPoint, and Google Analytics, through 200+ hours of hands-on workshops”
-Bousso Diouf, Agent3 Summer Intern, 2021
Looking to the year ahead, we’re set to continue, and build on, the work we’re doing with COOP, including more workshops and training to help students develop key skills – from interview practise to working with data, to digital marketing – that will ultimately enhance their employability and ease their journey into the workplace. In addition, we now have two of our Account Directors working as Senior Mentors to a cohort of students, hosting monthly workshops on essential marketing and career development skills, and providing ongoing support as they train and begin applying for roles.
To find out more about COOP and the support you can give, visit their website.
Hear about the work that COOP are doing from Senior Partnerships Manager, Jennifer Matos in the video below: