Graduate Diary 

| Kate Hutchinson

My name is Kate Hutchinson. I’m 24 years old and I was born and raised in Dublin. I completed my undergraduate degree in Marketing from TU Dublin in 2021 and a few months after graduating got offered a place in the Entry to Media Programme in dentsu. In my spare time, I love to travel. I have spent many of my summers travelling around Asia, America, and Europe. I love getting to experience different cultures, trying new food, and exploring. My dream destination is Japan, I had planned to go there for a few weeks after finishing college but of course, Covid got in the way, so it never happened, but I plan to take a visit there in the next few years. I also love to see my friends which mainly involves going for food – I am a big foodie!

How did you find out about the entry to media programme opportunity?

I heard about dentsu in college from various people in my course and luckily, I was contacted directly through LinkedIn by a member of the People Team. After this, we set up a call and talked about what the job entails, and soon after I began the interview process.

What did you do to prepare for the interview?

Before starting the interview process, I did my research on the company. I learned about the culture, the current trends in media, and the advertising space and practised organisation and time management skills. I also watched countless YouTube videos on dentsu which was extremely helpful!

I was also in contact with a member of the people team throughout to find out more information about the company and she helped answer any questions or queries I had. One major learning I would take from it would be to get in contact with one of the previous graduates who have been through the interview process and ask for guidance or recommendations on how they prepared.

How did you feel during your first week?

I was nervous but also excited to start my first week in dentsu, we were given a full schedule prior to starting so I knew it was going to be a busy but insightful week. It was great to start with 5 others on the Graduate Programme because it was nice to know everyone was in the same boat. It was great getting to meet everyone in the company and everyone was so welcoming. We got extensive introductions to the various teams within dentsu at a steady pace, so it was never overwhelming, which was great.   

What was it like to join a company remotely?

Joining dentsu remotely had its challenges of course, but overall, I found the experience to be highly enjoyable. Luckily for me, I was used to working remotely as I completed my final year of college completely online, so it did not come as a shock for me. As the Entry to Media Programme schedule was so well organised, there was never a stage where I had no work to do. We had our tasks for the 4 weeks scheduled out which was so helpful. IT and the People Team were extremely helpful and quick at getting back if I ever ran into difficulties which made the process run smoothly. An advantage I found from working remotely was all the meetings and training sessions could be recorded so if you ever were not sure of something you could go back and rewatch the recordings.

What team did you join? Tell us a bit about what you enjoy within the team? Tell us about some of the work you’ve been involved in.

I joined as a Client Leadership Executive for the iProspect team. I have settled into this team extremely well, my manager and teammates have been so patient and helpful, I feel like I have learned so much in the space of 2 months. One bit of advice I would give to anyone coming into a new team would be to ask as many questions as you can, even if you think it is a stupid question, it is most definitely not. I enjoy being client-facing and building relationships with clients. I have been involved in a lot of reporting for clients such as the weekly, monthly, and quarterly reports.

Can you describe your day-to-day role and responsibilities?

On a day-to-day basis, I collaborate with the specialist teams to meet clients’ objectives, I assist in writing the internal client briefs and the weekly, monthly, quarterly, and PCA reports for clients. I assist in updating the composite media plans such as the timelines and budgets. I schedule client calls and meetings and regularly monitor campaign performance to make sure everything is running smoothly throughout. I also respond to any ad hoc queries that are needed from me from my manager, my team, or clients. 

Biggest takeaway so far? 

My biggest takeaway from this experience would be to ask as many questions as you can. I have learned so much in the past 2 months from constantly asking questions, not just to your manager but to all the specialist teams. I find this is the best way to learn! Another takeaway would be to dive in and put yourself in challenging situations, so you learn from them. Put yourself in situations where you will keep learning and growing. I found when joining that the finance systems such as MX and Prisma (the booking systems we use in-house) looked daunting but after using them daily, they become second nature.

Can you share one piece of key advice you would give to someone interested in the programme or starting out in the industry?

I think go for it, dentsu is a great place to work, everyone is so welcoming here and whenever you have a problem someone is always there on your team to help. I have learned so much since joining the iProspect team 2 months ago, I think jumping straight into a challenge has made me learn more. I know for myself that I learn a lot quicker by doing rather than watching. I could watch endless videos on how to do a task, but once I do it, it sticks with me, and I will not forget it. If you are thinking of joining the program, reach out to me and I can give advice on the interview process!