If you expect this internship to be full of boring fax machines and bosses in stuffy business suits breathing down your neck, where every day is a copy and paste of the last, you are very much mistaken.
The internship definitely exceeded my expectations.
Each day is really different, whether you’re in the office or working remotely. When you are in the office, suits and ties are rarely ever the dress code, nor is the corporate character the decorum. You are greeted with lively, warm chat by vibrant creatives in bright colours and t-shirts. (Along with the fluffy friend they decide to bring in since the office is very pet-friendly!) Even on the days you work remotely, there will be people wanting to catch up on Slack or Outlook. In terms of my work, being a copywriting intern meant drafting a script for a radio ad on one day and working on brand manifestos the next.
For those of you who are absolutely new to the creative ad world (like I was), prepare yourself for the possibility of seeing your work, and that of your colleagues, on tube stations, billboards and on the TV. Chances are, with the kind of clients RY work with, you probably have already seen your colleagues’ work somewhere in London or around the world. You might have even been personally impacted by RY’s work at some point in your life. The most exciting prospect is seeing your work make that same impact.
This doesn’t mean the internship won’t have its challenges. As a night owl by nature, my biggest challenge was getting up in the morning, even if I was coming in or working remotely!
On a more serious note, the most exciting challenge has been adjusting my brain to suit the demands of whatever task I am working on for that day. But don’t fret: the people here at RY will give you the support and the knowledge to do well. You will be ok with whatever challenge is thrown at you.
If you are now looking at your LinkedIn account comparing yourself to others thinking that you are nowhere near what they’re doing, know that everyone at RY really brings in their own unique set of experiences. And you never know how or when your own experiences, whatever they may be, will come in handy.
When I applied, I genuinely knew nothing about copywriting or the business side of being a creative. I did not anticipate that my pre-existing skill set would be so well-suited to the projects I was assigned to. It was like tuning an instrument or adjusting a set of cogs — all I needed to complete my tasks was there, it just took a bit of adjusting on my part to bring them out!
So, when you apply, what you should bring to the table are the ideas that are uniquely yours — ideas that have been shaped by the experiences that are only yours. Because those will be heard. And for a creative agency like RY, there isn’t a better place to take the first step in finding your voice.
Best of luck,
Regina (Next Gen Intern, summer 2022)