The Intern Diaries: Marketing Intern Sophie 🌻
By the end of every internship, we ask Clay’s interns to look back and write down their thoughts on their time at Clay. This time our very own marketing intern Sophie will tell you all about how she landed her internship at Clay, what her best and worst day was (simultaneously!) and she gives some great tips for future interns.
What is your role at Clay? Can you tell us a bit about yourself?
Hey! I'm Sophie. I've been the marketing and design intern at Clay for the past six months. I grew up in the South West of Ireland in County Kerry. Once I graduated high school, I moved to England to study history and English at the University of Exeter. I had a part-time marketing job throughout my undergraduate degree, which led to my decision to pursue marketing professionally. Upon completing my studies at Exeter, I undertook a Master's degree in Digital Marketing Strategy at Trinity College Dublin.
How did you end up at Clay?
I completed my Master's degree in Autumn 2021. While I gained extensive marketing and digital marketing knowledge from this year of study, I wanted to gain more practical experience, increase my confidence in a professional environment, and ensure that marketing was the right career path for me. Undertaking an internship in the field seemed like the next best step to achieving these goals. Additionally, I was keen to spend some time in Amsterdam. My 'Oma' (grandmother) was Dutch, meaning I have some Dutch relatives living in the city. As well as this, the role at Clay included a design element. I knew this aspect would allow me to explore my creative side and give me the chance to learn more about design and design principles.
The application process itself was super smooth. I had one interview with Pauline, a recruiter at Clay, submitted my test case, and then was interviewed by Kris, Clay's Marketing Manager, and Anya, Clay's Marketing Communications Specialist. My interview with Kris and Anya went really well and it felt more like a marketing-orientated conversation rather than an interview. We clicked straight away, so I was super excited once I received the offer - I think I responded yes almost immediately!
How would you describe the company culture?
The company culture at Clay is honestly fantastic. It totally exceeded my (high!) expectations. From the very beginning, all of the Bricks were so welcoming. The office always had such a lovely vibe, too; relaxed and fun but still conducive to working productively. From the very beginning, I not only felt part of the marketing team but the company overall. On one of my first days, Kalin, Embedded Software Lead, reached out to me and invited me to an event with his team. I really appreciated it, as moving to a new city during a pandemic certainly wasn't easy. Still, within a week, I'd met some new people and felt really settled at work. I also got to try some bouldering with the team, which was so fun!
As the pandemic was still ongoing during most of my internship, I worked remotely for a lot of my time at Clay. Despite this, I still very much felt connected with the team. Having the Clay Culture Club set up during my time really helped as I felt supported and knew that many others were in the same position.
What were your first days at Clay like?
I promised myself that I would give these 6 months 100%, so I was ready to hit the ground running from the very beginning of my internship. Despite this attitude, I definitely felt some first-day nerves. However, my nerves quickly disappeared once I arrived at the office and was welcomed by so many friendly faces. Like the application process, the onboarding process was really smooth. By the end of my first day, I had my own tasks to manage and already felt like a valued team member. I remember reading Clay's previous marketing intern, Arna's, intern diaries. She stated that she felt like a fully integrated marketing professional after a few weeks at Clay. I couldn't agree more.
What is your favorite project to work on at Clay, and how did you approach it?
One of the best parts about being a part of the marketing team at Clay was that no two days were the same. As a result, I had the opportunity to work on a massive variety of projects - it's honestly hard to pick a favorite. One at the top of my list is designing the Clay Culture page on the website. Through this project, I was given total creative freedom and responsibility to create and write the page content and copy, choose the visuals, and ensure the page allowed for a user-friendly experience. In addition to this, I re-designed several of the website's pages, using my own photo content. This project allowed me to practice what I'd learned through my user experience and design module in my Master's studies. Furthermore, it helped me discover my love for website design and aesthetics.
While not strictly professional, another of my favorite projects was Clay's Gingerbread House competition. This idea came about when the Netherlands reinforced strict COVID regulations over the holiday period, and we couldn't participate in Clay's usual pre-holiday festivities. However, I wanted to make sure the Bricks could still enjoy some holiday fun and stay connected with each other when working from home. So, together with Wilma, Clay's Office Manager, we sent out Gingerbread House kits to everyone in the company and a festive-themed Clay shirt to get everyone in the holiday spirit. The challenge was a great success and helped keep everyone connected through another lockdown. I really value it when a company emphasizes on employee well-being and non-work-related activities. Therefore, it was gratifying to initiate this project and see so many Bricks involved.
What was living in Amsterdam like?
Amsterdam is a beautiful city and I will remember it fondly. My time there started off pretty great when I placed 9th out of over 3000 runners in the Amsterdam half-marathon, which also happened to be my first ever road race. This success certainly set the tone for the rest of my time in the city!
I spent most of my time in Amsterdam during the winter, so it rained a lot, but I still loved it. The culture is brilliant, as are the Dutch people. I was even briefly involved with the Phanos Athletic's Club, and I got to train in the Olympic Stadium, which was a little surreal. I particularly loved being able to bike everywhere and spent most of my weekends in Amsterdam Bos. One of my favorite nights in Amsterdam was Museumnacht, which happens every year in November. It was a special night for me as Kris and Anya had gifted me tickets as a surprise graduation present. I felt super lucky to experience the event and the great atmosphere surrounding it.
What advice would you give the next intern at Clay?
Be prepared to take the initiative, and don't be afraid to make suggestions or offer your ideas for new projects. I started several projects on my own during my time, which was a little intimidating at first as it felt like a lot of responsibility. Ultimately, this freedom allowed me to develop so much confidence in myself. In addition, it was an excellent experience for me to take the lead on projects while having the support and expertise of the marketing team behind me.
I would also say to use the opportunity to develop skills you've always wanted to improve and don't run from your weaknesses. For example, while I was excited about the design aspect of the position when I applied, I found myself really nervous about actually implementing my design ideas. Luckily both Kris and Anya have a natural flair for design and great attention to detail, so I've definitely seen an improvement in my design capabilities.
Finally, be patient. It takes a while to get to know how things work in a new company. I settled in very quickly because everyone was so welcoming. Still, it took me a few months to truly find my feet and understand how everything works at Clay. Once it all clicked with me, though, I felt like I excelled and achieved a lot towards the end of my time at Clay.
What is the best part of being an Intern at Clay?
I might be a little biased, but definitely the marketing team. While it is a small team, I was always excited to open my laptop every day, chat with the team, attend meetings and get my tasks done. Both Kris and Anya consistently provided me with detailed feedback and advice on my work and were there for me if I needed help with anything.
Aside from the marketing team being amazing, other benefits I experienced during my internship at Clay include:
My confidence, both personally and professionally, increased, as did my ability to effectively manage tasks and responsibilities independently.
I learned to not be afraid to take the initiative and offer up my ideas. There were many times when I would suggest an idea to Kris and Anya and we would put our heads together in a brainstorming session, which led to the creation of some great things!
I got to put the skills I’d learned through my Master’s studies into practice. I also learned so many new skills, both marketing and non-marketing related. My communication skills and my ability to express myself professionally, in particular, improved throughout my internship.
I really enjoyed the creative freedom I had during my time at Clay, while also having the knowledge of a highly experienced team behind me. This combination gave me the opportunity to truly find my feet and let my creative flair develop.
Over the past six months, I often had to work outside of my comfort zone. While this was difficult at times, it taught me how to be more adaptable and how to apply my current knowledge and skills in areas that felt less familiar to me.
What was your best or worst day on the job?
The Clay Hackathon was one of my worst days; my camera malfunctioned and all of the photos I'd taken on the first day of the event were wiped. I was still very new to Clay and was so worried that I would let the team down. However, Anya stepped in and totally reassured me that I would still be able to make up for the lost content. In the end, I managed to take lots of new photos and videos and ended up with more than enough content. I think the Hackathon days were also some of my favorite days at Clay as I met loads of new faces, and there was a great atmosphere in the office. We all shared a lovely lunch together and it was cool to see how talented and creative the whole team is. As well as this, I got to produce a video of the event, which was exciting.
What's next for you?
Outside of my internship, I have been studying part-time to become a Health Coach and Functional Nutritionist. Alongside this, I recently got selected to represent Ireland in mountain and trail running at an international event. Over the summer months, I will focus on completing my studies, training, and racing. In Autumn, I hope to acquire a full-time digital marketing or related position. I am confident that the experience I have gained through my internship at Clay will give me a significant edge in future jobs.
Thank you, Sophie! You’ve been a great addition to the team and we will miss you (and Nina)! Don’t be a stranger and come by the office whenever you can!
Looking for an internship? Keep an eye on our careers page and our Instagram and LinkedIn to stay up to date with the most recent job openings!
Clay Solutions - A SALTO Group company is the daughter company of SALTO Systems. A lock hardware manufacturer based in Oiartzun Spain. While Clay builds the cloud-based software that allows users to tap their locks open with their phone, SALTO provides the hardware, the locks that are enabled to communicate with the software. This website functions as a platform to showcase our company culture in our office in Amsterdam, the way we build our software, and why and who the Bricks are. Feel free to browse around, head over to SALTO to find more about the hardware, or apply if you see a job you think you are just perfect for.