My Placement – by George Crabtree

I decided to choose a Sandwich course for my degree at the University of Surrey. This meant that for my third of four years studying Economics & Finance, I would work for a year in industry.

I wasn’t really sure what line of work I wanted to go into so doing a years experience sounded like a great idea. SEO isn’t a widely known industry and as such I hadn’t heard of it before, however the more I looked into it and it was explained to me, the more I found it interesting and something I would happily work towards for my placement year.

Given Cressive is located near the university, it allowed me to stay in contact with friends and live within walking distance which was great. As a fast growing company, this enabled me to join in with larger projects and get real hands-on experience with clients. I felt I was a valued member of the team and I could actually see my impact within the company through helping with tasks and projects.

My job role was SEO Consultant Apprentice so I had the challenge of learning SEO in one year. Considering I had no knowledge of the subject when I started, I have learned a substantial amount. I didn’t only learn about Google, the Internet and digital marketing however – in a more simple way I was given office experience in a professional environment which is transferable to any future job.

In my economics course I learned how to interpret and manipulate data so when it came to my job at Cressive I had some experience in that area. Being able to apply this to real, live data for clients was great and showed me a useful application from my course.

I was trained in all aspects related to digital marketing to give an all round knowledge of the industry, including full SEO site audits, social marketing and digital reporting. Although not perfectly applicable, if I were to choose a different career path I believe these skills have a broader benefit and can be transferred to whatever line of work I go into.

Overall it has been an immensely positive experience and I have learned much more than I thought I would in just one year, about digital marketing and general working life. If there’s one thing I’ve learned from this year, it’s that the more effort you put in, the more you get out of it. I now feel ready for my final year at university and subsequently to get a full time job.

George Crabtree, University of Surrey, Economics 2020