Hi everyone! My name is Tom. I’m a 19-year old Doxa Cadet. Some of you may recognise me from my vlog series on Doxa’s YouTube channel. For those who don’t, I’m in my first year studying a Bachelor of Arts at the University of Melbourne. As one of my key focuses in my degree is media and communications, I was placed within the Partnerships & Corporate Affairs team at Doxa for my Cadetship work placement.  In just a few months, I’ve grown my professional skills, learnt new technical skills and made some great connections in the process. Here are some of the highlights from my year as a Doxa Cadet…

Starting as a Cadet

Entering the workplace for the first time was a pretty daunting experience. Having come fresh out of high school and being in my first week at University, I found that working in an office was very different from anything that I had experienced previously. My new role was to assist the Partnerships & Corporate Affairs team at Doxa, working in communications, stakeholder management, media and social media.

When I’m nervous I try to treat the situation like an ice-cold pool – sometimes you just have to jump in without hesitating

I was nervous as the beginning of my placement drew closer, and even more so on my first day! But it didn’t take long until I began to feel more a part of the Doxa team, and became more used to working in an office. After nearly a year now at Doxa, I’ve learned so much about office dynamics and the various tasks I work on, and now it’s nearly second nature.

 

Learning, learning and more learning!

The beginning of my placement proved to be a significant learning curve, in which I developed a whole range of new communication and technical skills, and gained a bunch of new experiences in a short period of time. I found myself working with programs such as WordPress when managing the Doxa website, (Salesforce when managing stakeholder communications and database tasks) and a variety of social media platforms (make sure you like/follow Doxa on Facebook, Twitter and Insta!). My practical experience with tasks such as social media analytics also helped to give me a practical background when we covered similar topics at university, which was super helpful!

 

Project management at PwC

As part of my time in the PCA team, I was fortunate enough to get the opportunity to complete a Project Management training course at PwC, which was a unique and helpful opportunity. We’ve all seen the looming corporate buildings on Southbank in the CBD, but I’d never really been in one before, and it was an eye-opening experience.

The two-part course was very high quality and thorough, introducing me in particular to strategies and processes to undertake new projects in new and helpful ways. I definitely took a lot of tips away from this course, and still implement some of them regularly into everyday life. One is an app called Trello, which I use to organize my study and assignments – check it out!

Learning about PR, Media & Comms

Through Doxa, I also attended a workshop for media students hosted by Flourish PR (a media and communications company which Doxa works with to promote our brand). The workshop provided me with a valuable insight into the world of PR and Media. We had the opportunity to hear from all of the people who work at Flourish PR, including our stellar PR liaison Jackie Smiles and their CEO, Angela Ceberano.

Some of the main things that I took away from the workshop were the importance of going the extra mile in your work, tips on how to work best with clients, as well as some inspiring and funny stories about how each of them got to where they are today in their careers.

The wisdom of “starting slow to go fast” applies to a lot of things, from planning projects to personal well-being. One of the most important things that I’ve learned is the importance of balance and seeking to love what you do, even if you need to take a step back to figure out how you might achieve that.

Conclusion

I’m really thankful for the opportunity that I’ve had to be a Cadet at Doxa. Through it I’ve gained a whole range of new skills and experiences, and I truly believe that I’ve matured and grown as a person through it. I’m excited to see what lies ahead, both personally and professionally, and I’m sure that I’ll continue to draw from what I’ve learned here for years to come. Thanks Doxa!