Who am I?
I have been working for a Virtual Events company as an apprentice for nearly 6 months now, and it was definitely a different career path to what I thought I would be doing when I left school. I never really thought this was even a thing, it’s crazy how much the pandemic has changed everything! I originally wanted to be a hairdresser, but after completing the course in college, I decided it just wasn’t the career path I wanted to take.
Where did I find the apprenticeship?
I found the apprenticeship on the gov.uk website. I was trying to figure out where I wanted to go with my career so i was just scrolling for ideas. Most seemed to be dental practices, and although the money was good, I just couldn’t see myself doing that for work. It was not something I was passionate about, nor could i feel like i would enjoy it. I had nearly given up when i came across and Events and Operations role at TBE. I immediately applied and waiting for the interview date to come in… my first interview! How nerve-racking! I joined the Zoom link and the meeting with my future managers begun. Before I knew it, the meeting was over, and there was nothing I could do, except wait.
Eventually, I received a call back from the college. I got the apprenticeship! My first job in my whole life, my first application, and my first interview. And I got it… ME!
My first day… and onwards!
I arrived here and I remember think to myself “It looks daunting… what if they dont like me. What if i make a mistake, what if im not dressed correctly!?” I had no clue how anything worked especially as the Virtual Events world was so new at the time but the team arrived and welcomed me with loving arms and I was introduced to everyone: Who I would go to and who would teach me the bulk of everything.
Over the first couple of months, they taught me where I would find the information I needed, the uses of databases and other systems, such as their CRM system. I have to admit, it was all very different to college and school, but change can be good! Whenever meetings were held, they would always listen to me and took onboard what I was saying and how I would learn things best. My way was to have little help sheets so I could work independently if my manager was unavailable. It was great, I very quickly found myself part of the team.
It did originally take a lot of getting used to but now I find it so much easier! There are, of course, days where it may be a bit more challenging than usual. Sometimes, we can’t get hold of the host, or we get a customer who asks us a question we’ve never been asked before so we can’t give them an answer. But its okay, we always pull through and still deliver the best service possible!
How does everything work?
We work with many different systems but our bespoke database is the main one. How do you think we find out who is speaking with which customer? That’s a secret i’ll never tell. We thank the brains of our trusty computers for that one! Each member of our team is part of a big puzzle, which makes up your entire virtual event! We have hosts, a production team, a sales team, marketers, directors, big bosses. There is so much more to each individual virtual event than anyone could realise!
What do I do?
Working for a Virtual Events company is great! We get to attend demos of each experience and receive things for them sometimes! If anything, we get the chance to be a very close team, because we do all sorts of activities together. It’s great to know you can be yourself around the people you spend your weekdays with.
We also talk to so many people in a day, you experience so many personalities but its great speaking to so many people! You are always learning new things about each event all the time. Each quote, invoice, email and phone call has to come from somewhere… as well as all the behind the scenes planning!
What’s so good about it?
The most rewarding part is when you have been working on making a virtual event exactly as the customer has asked, and then you receive a fantastic review from them and you just think to yourself, “Wow, I did that. I made that happen!”, knowing you helped them have such a great time with their team.
The most important thing to me in this role is: everyone I work with being friendly. You can always talk to someone if you’re unsure what to do, or if you need a hand, they’re always happy to help. I really enjoy coming to work, and that’s something I never imagined myself saying! I was always told work was boring, and that I would miss school. But in all honesty, this is great, and I couldn’t imagine myself doing anything different now.
I would definitely recommend working for a Virtual Events company to anyone, especially Team Building Experiences!