A Waitress in Work Experience

-By Belinda Porter
Walking into The Sphere Agency three weeks ago my first thought was that I’d just walked into a Google office, but with the undeniable industrial Melbourne feel that we all know and love. The big, bright office with its open interior caught me by surprise and I found myself already falling in the love with the industry. But despite the table tennis table and relaxed atmosphere, it didn’t take long to grasp just how hard Sphere’s staff members work.
A little background: I’m an ex-student of Deakin University lacking direction and have happily gone wherever the wind has taken me over the last few years. From working in the Great Barrier Reef to travelling Canada, I am now back in Melbourne juggling a couple of jobs in the ol’ hospitality industry. But a worrier like me can only be a leaf on the wind for so long before another over-exaggerated and premature mid-life crisis hits. Luckily, and just in time, my aunty, Virginia Scully, gave me the opportunity to do some work experience here at Sphere. A chance at some life direction? Yes please!
First day in, I was set up on the spare desk with the spare computer, a slightly dated Mac that was so noisy I was convinced the poor thing would combust on start up each morning, and was thrown into the (reasonably) deep end by being asked to practice writing a brief for a client. While silently wondering whether anyone knew that I had next to no experience in advertising I began sifting through word and excel documents on my struggling Mac.
I dusted off and switched on the analytical part of my brain and dived into what I’d been assigned. To my relief, I loved it! I found it fascinating to tap into the research and thought processes behind it all. Utilising my analytical way of thinking to assess and create was not even a skill I was aware that I’d gained until putting it into practice here. Whether it was researching target audiences or analysing the social media of a client’s competitors, every client brings new and exciting things to learn.
At the conclusion of my work experience, I am overflowing with gratitude for this experience. I walked in, a confused waitress wanting to go back to uni but having no idea what course to do. Now, I’m walking out of here not only with experience under my belt and confident that this is the career path for me, but I also have a newfound patience and understanding of slow, old Macs.
Thanks for having me, Sphere!

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