Casey’s Work Experience at Futuretheory

Contributed by Casey Baker

Over the course of the last three days, I completed some work experience at Futuretheory. As a Year 12 student at Lake Ginninderra College, I aspired like many others to undertake a work experience that allows me to learn and grow.

The task of finding the right work experience host was long and didn’t seem within reach until I came upon Futuretheory’s website. The end goal of completing a short work experience was to see if the marketing field was the right fit for me and my future career. Before starting work experience, I had no prior experience in an office environment and had little idea of what to expect. Despite this, I was excited to experience something new and different from school and my usual day to day life.

On 1 July, my first day, I worked on a task that involved identifying target markets for a group called the ‘Future Tribe’. Prior knowledge from business studies classes helped me to complete the task and I also learned about the target markets needs, motivations and how to reach them. After completing this task, I worked on researching the world of podcasts. This research included finding out the most popular podcasting platforms and identifying podcasts that Futuretheory could partner with. I enjoyed these tasks as I found them interesting and I also learned about how a business in a similar space to Futuretheory would go about identifying and executing on opportunities.

On my second day of work experience I worked with Jasmine, an intern at Futuretheory. I started off this day by completing a solo task about social media and advertising which involved researching into local Canberra Instagram accounts. During the second half of the day, I worked alongside Jasmine to complete tasks involving writing and researching for a blurb about the new photography/videography studio located in the office.

After that Jasmine gave me a crash course on Adobe Illustrator, which I found difficult but interesting as I had never used the application before.

The third and final day of my time working with Futuretheory involved investigating further into the business itself. I completed a SWOT analysis which involved looking at the strength, weaknesses, opportunities and threats concerning the business. To finish off my last few hours of the day, I wrote this post detailing my experience of working at Futuretheory.

Overall my experience at Futuretheory has taught what it means to work within a 9-5 office environment – from the type of work you do to what day to day operations look like. The most enjoyable part of work experience was being able to implement what I have learned over the years in real life business tasks. Overall, I’m glad and thankful for this opportunity to work with the team and space at Futuretheory. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time and wish the best for the future of the business as they continue to grow and expand.

Q and A

What is the highlight of your work experience?
The highlight of my work experience at Futuretheory would be the opportunity to work with a business that works in the social and marketing space. I found it engaging to work with new people, in a new environment and learn from knowledgeable individuals.

What has been the most important thing you learned?
The most valuable lesson I have taken away from my time at Futuretheory would be living in the day to day life of an average person within a workplace. It was valuable as a young student on the verge of adulthood to see what the world looks like outside of school. I learned how different a usual school day is from a usual work day. All of which is valuable experience to bring into early adulthood and my time at university in the coming years.

Has anything surprised you during your work experience?
With Futuretheory being the first office/business environment I have engaged in, I had preconceived ideas of what to expect which where far from the truth. I imagined a large room filled with busy hustlers ready to start the day, which would be true for other office environments but Futuretheory is more of a digital space where work happens in the digital world rather than running around in person.

What are you thinking of doing/studying after school?
After graduating Year 12, I hope to study at the University of Canberra. I am yet to commit to a degree but the most likely outcome will be a Bachelor of Health Science with a Major in Marketing.

Do you have any advice for people looking at doing work experience themselves?
My advice towards others wishing to complete work experience would be to put your worries or negative thoughts aside and just give it a go! Work experience isn’t a hard chore like some think and instead is a valuable learning experience. Even if the work experience you choose doesn’t go as you expect, you can at least go on your way knowing that the specific field is not for you and explore other avenues.

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