For the second episode of the VGen Wall of Talents column, we introduce you to Anastasia Safronova, who participated in the Digital Marketing Virtual Internship launched by YOUniversal between October and November 2020.
YOUniversal Media is a technology company in the Media & Communication sector born in Rome in 2010 and specialized in the acquisition and monetization of internet traffic and content marketing. In 2016, the company expanded to Dublin and is now an international digital company working with companies such as Yahoo!, Google and Microsoft.
The objective of the Virtual Internship was to simulate an advertisement campaign worth € 50,000, giving participants the opportunity to learn how the main advertisement platforms work and to deepen their knowledge and skills in Digital Marketing.
Specifically, the Virtual Internship involved the performance of 4 tasks:
- the creation of the Media Mix by dividing the budget of €50,000;
- the creation of the campaign, identifying the target audience and creating the ads;
- the realization of a landing page;
- the estimation and communication of the campaign results to the client.
At the end of the experience, all participants received a certificate of completion of the Virtual Internship and the best ones were called for an interview with YOUniversal for the position of Junior Digital Marketer.
Among them there is Anastasia, who scored one of the highest scores and then joined the YOUniversal team as a Digital Marketing Specialist. We interviewed her to learn more about her Virtual Internship and internship experience at YOUniversal.
1) Why did you decide to do the Digital Marketing Virtual Internship?
"I've always been interested in Digital Marketing and I wanted to get some hands-on experience because in college you do a lot of theory but once you finish your studies, you don't really know how it works. Also, marketing today is 80% digital, but what you learn in college is more traditional marketing, so I thought it was important to get some hands-on experience to understand what it's all about and prepare me for my future professional career."
2) What did you benefit from doing the Virtual Internship? Did you gain any new skills or practice the ones you already had?
"Yes, I gained new skills through Facebook's BluePrint and many online Digital Marketing courses that helped me a lot and thanks to the task on landing page creation, I gained some web building basics. Overall, the Virtual Internship allowed me to both practice, and improve, the skills I already had, as well as acquire new ones."
3) What do you think is the extra value, for a young student like yourself, that a digital experience like this can provide?
"It's a wonderful opportunity for all students to have a first approach to the job market, from which unfortunately the university is still a bit distant and to which the transition is not always easy. If a second or third year student already begins to have experiences like this to understand what it really means to work, especially in the field they have chosen for their career, they will definitely be more ready when they start their first job. Also, you learn practical things that are useful for both studying and awareness of your skills, so you can already improve them."
4) Tell us a little bit about your subsequent experience within YOUniversal.
“Il primo mese di lavoro in YOUniversal ho continuato il periodo di formazione, durante il quale il team mi ha supportata, seguita ed insegnato molto su ogni aspetto. È stata un’esperienza molto formativa e positiva, ho avuto l’occasione di approfondire diverse tematiche, migliorando le mie skills e mettendo in pratica ciò che avevo studiato all’università e fatto durante la Virtual Internship.”
5) In your work, did you also happen to do things that you had done for the Virtual Internship?
"For my current job, I find myself doing a lot of Facebook Ads, which I had learned just during the Virtual Internship, as well as the data analytics part. Overall, the Virtual Internship allows you to learn the things you'll need to do for your job, before you start working."
Every student, however, needs to remember that opportunities such as virtual internships and internships are for themselves first rather than to get something or earn a salary. All of these experiences serve to gain skills first and foremost personally, and then professionally, giving you the chance to test yourself, figure out what path you really want to take and prepare yourself to do so. It's an investment you make in yourself that will allow you to better yourself and find the right job for you."
We thank Anastasia for her work and for sharing her experience with us and wish her the best of luck in her future in Digital Marketing.
Do you also want to get involved and get digital work experience? Join our virtual internships!
