Hello! My name is Denise Kaufmann, and I am the marketing intern for ten weeks during the summer.
First, I will tell you a bit about myself and then move on to explaining what my tasks at Contract Scotland are. I am from Vienna, Austria but always had a personal connection to Scotland because my Grandma is from Glasgow; one of the reasons I decided to apply to go to university in Scotland. I have just completed my second year at the University of Stirling where I study Marketing and Accounting.
I first came across Contract Scotland in October 2016 where I met Alan Shave, Associate Director, at the Stirling Symposium; an event organised by students. Contract Scotland was one of the companies participating in this event where different types of discussions and workshops are held. During one of the discussions, I asked the question why not more companies offer internships to students in their first two years as I have found it very frustrating in the past being told that I must be in my penultimate year of university. Alan answered my question and said that to him it would not matter, for him the person and their skills count. We had a talk about this topic further after the discussion and decided to exchange details so we could follow up on the idea of me being an intern for Contract Scotland as they had never had one before. My initiative worked, and I secured an internship in their marketing department for ten weeks.
The tasks I have been given so far have been very varied. While I am here, I am in charge of the company Instagram account, and I can decide on the content. Also, I assist my colleagues with the other social media accounts, and we are just in the process of launching their Facebook page. My focus is developing a marketing strategy to attract graduates to work for Contract Scotland and raise their brand awareness.
I particularly enjoy the creative freedom I have been given. If I need assistance, my team is always here to help me. Being an intern is not just about making coffee! I have been given responsibility, and I am hoping to make a noticeable change for Contract Scotland.
