Here’s a transcript of our chat with Stephanie, cleaned up for clarity and ease-of-reading.
While my family is from Taiwan, I didn't actually grow up there; I grew up in China and attended international schools. This laid the foundation for my international perspectives and made me want to study abroad instead of locally.
I moved back to Taiwan during high school and attended a bilingual school. This school had a collaboration with Australian universities, hosting speeches and summer camps with Australian foundation schools. In my last year of high school, I attended a summer camp at the University of Queensland (UQ). Originally, I wanted to go to the United States for university and was even preparing for my SATs.
However, that trip to Australia changed my perspective on pursuing the American dream. As a result, I made a last-minute decision to apply to Australian universities, much to the dismay of my parents. But that's how I ended up in Australia.
You know how in Australia they offer foundation courses? These come between high school and university to give you a brief understanding of what uni life is like, instead of diving straight in.
I actually learned how to write essays, professional ones I would say. I had been away from an English-speaking environment for three to four years, so my English had gotten rusty. I was intimidated by the idea of jumping back into an all-English setting and having to write in a professional manner.
That course caught my eye, and I thought, 'Yes, I want to go somewhere that can support me and help me reach my full potential.' It allowed me to build a strong foundation instead of feeling scared and not being able to fit in. So, basically, that was it.
I'm currently in my third year of a Bachelor of Communication, majoring in Digital Media. I also have a minor in Marketing. So it's both a major and a minor.
I mainly applied for marketing internships and was fortunate to land one. It was a lot of fun, particularly the content creation aspect. I was able to apply what I've learned at university and build upon it in a real-world setting. This gave me a glimpse into what the marketing industry is like in Australia.
So, my boss actually owns three businesses. The marketing agency where I interned is just one of them. Because all her businesses are interconnected, I also had the opportunity to work on another one called Bell Evolution.
This is a membership-based networking community that hosts monthly events for women entrepreneurs. Each event has a specific theme; the one I attended was about bravery. It focussed on how these women have faced challenges in their respective industries. I had the chance to network and socialise with some truly inspiring and motivated women.
I think that was one of the coolest experiences I had during my internship.
A marketing agency is what a business turns to when it doesn't have its own marketing team. So the agency essentially becomes their external marketing team.
In our case, we have 10 or more businesses that we work with, offering services like social media marketing, SEO marketing, and advertising—essentially all the marketing tasks. The event components actually originate from the marketing agency as well.
The funny thing is, I initially wanted to do a double degree in Business Marketing and Communication. But I got overwhelmed, so I dropped the marketing part. However, I'd already taken some more professionally focused, business-based marketing courses, and that was my first step into understanding what marketing is.
On the communication side, it's more about the creative aspects of marketing, like doing all the fancy, pretty stuff. I became the social media coordinator for the Taiwanese Student Association Club, where I did a lot of social media marketing, like content creation, graphic design, making reels and videos.
That was the moment when I thought, 'Oh, I can actually apply my uni studies to real work,' and I was genuinely enjoying blending my creative and business skills. So, most of my internships were marketing-based, and being part of a marketing agency inspired me further to dive into this scary, fast-paced, very stressful industry.
"I feel like going to uni here helped me understand the local industry through my courses. So, there wasn't a big gap in terms of industry knowledge; it was more of a gradual build-up through my bachelor's degree.
However, I would say you need to step out of your comfort zone during your uni years. Start socialising with Aussies and pick up on their small talk.
The one challenge I faced during my internship was the small talk during lunch. I felt I couldn't really adapt to what they were saying or flow smoothly in the conversation, which is crucial for networking. So, don't stay in your comfort zone; try to talk to as many people as you can.
Yeah, I think using university resources is really important. Our school sends us a lot of different opportunities, like clubs. For example, we have a marketing club called Amped, which is very Aussie-based, I would say. So, try attending more of those types of clubs, the Aussie ones and maybe the industry-based ones. We also have social media ambassadors for our university, and I think that's a good way to expand your network in the Australian industry.
I feel like an internship is primarily work; it's very professional. You're just there. You have to be there at 9:30, and you're mainly focused on tasks like content creation. Networking tends to be a secondary or tertiary priority.
On the other hand, clubs offer a more relaxed environment. The Aussies there are friendlier and more eager to connect and network with you, building a strong foundation. So, being in a club is more like taking gradual steps into the industry rather than diving right in.
My internship is a bit far from where I live; it's a one-and-a-half-hour bus journey. So, team days start at 9:30, which means I have to wake up around 6 or 7 in the morning.
Our agency follows a hybrid model, so team days happen every two weeks. On these days, we begin with team bonding, often over brunch. I've even had brunch while looking at cows with my team! We've also spent a day at a jumping castle just having fun.
After the bonding activities, we get down to more serious work. We review all the content we've created and discuss our clients, strategising on how to improve our approach.
The day then shifts to a one-on-one focus with my supervisor. We go over what I've been working on at home and my learning goals for the internship, like understanding ads and data better. Then, it's back to content creation. So, that's essentially how my typical day unfolds.
For the full timers, yeah. As for me, I wanted to go in once a week. My internship requires 10 hours per week, so I spend one day in the office and work from home on the other days.
Australian marketing teams tend to be quite flexible, especially since the pandemic. Many companies have restructured their work models, so people generally come into the office two to three times per week and work from home for the rest of the time.
Content creation (in social media marketing) involves using tools like Canva to articulate the brand voices and values of our clients. Say they have an event coming up this month, we'll create graphics related to that event. It's all about disseminating the key messages the client wants to share with their target audience.
I think for me, what I really want to get into now is actually like email marketing, like EDMs. I think that's a pretty Because I only got to know it during the internship, so it's like a very brief like dip into it, but then yeah, it was really fun making them.
It's like doing a project, I would say you have this very nice layout of everything and it's yeah, it's really fun to work with.
Yeah, so after three to four weeks of mainly doing social media, I was actually a bit sick of it. It felt like I was doing the same thing over and over again—similar voices, similar colours. I talked to my supervisor about it, and she was like, 'Oh, you want to try something new?'
She introduced me to Clavio and Mailchimp—these are the platforms you use for email marketing. She gave me a project to create an email campaign for a client, specifying what the client wanted to showcase. We did the design on Canva and then put everything into Mailchimp and Clavio.
What got me is that it was actually new and a bit different. You're still designing, but it's a whole different thing. You get to make gifs and be a bit more creative than with social media. Social media can be very restricted because of templates and brand colours, but with email marketing, you get to add a bit more of your voice, your colour to it. That's why I found email marketing more interesting.
Well, before my internship, I managed social media for the Taiwanese Student Association (TSA). There, I had the freedom to do what I wanted—if I wanted to make a reel, I made a reel; if I wanted a different design, I could do it.
But in a professional setting, social media is more restricted. You have to align with the client's needs, so you can't pour all your creativity into it.
For example, let's say you want to fire up your reels, make them fancy. If the client doesn't like that, you can't do that. Or let's say you want to make it more engaging. If the client just wants pictures and a few videos, nothing too fancy, then you can't do that. You can do stuff, but it has to align with the client's preferences.
Whereas for email marketing, you still have to go and talk to your clients about what they want. And you still have to follow their brand colors and everything.
But I like being able to incorporate memes and GIFs, and design new layouts for the email. It's more creative and more fun to do, I would say.
No, some of them are the same, but I think email marketing is more personal. It's sent fortnightly and directly to the users. You can be a bit more casual, like a friend, because you're trying to catch the audience's attention and get them to click into the email. So you've got to be more fun and wanting them to click in.
One of the advantages in email marketing is you get to monitor things like click rate. You can look at what people click into, all the links you've set up in the emails. You get to monitor how many times this audience clicked into this and look at how people are interacting with your emails. It's a pretty fun thing; you can't do that in social media but can do that in emails.
Apart from the 1.5-hour bus ride, I'd say the internship was worth it. Even though marketing agencies are usually fast-paced and might not have time for you, they were really supportive. If you express that you want to learn something new, they'll take the time to walk you through it. It felt like I really got hands-on experience in the industry, so yeah, it was really worth it.
I guess my biggest motivation for taking this internship was that I really wanted a full-time job. I'd been applying to places before this internship, which is actually part of a uni course, and it wasn't going well.
As an international student in Australia, my resume and portfolio weren't that strong. So I really valued this opportunity to build up my portfolio and become someone that employers would want to hire for a full-time position. That was one of my major driving forces for taking on this internship.
My boss at the marketing agency didn't care if you were an international or local student. She was focused on finding an intern who aligned with their business values, which is pretty awesome.
They were also one of the few businesses that really took the time to go through all my materials. I had a portfolio, a website, and it was clear they had looked at all the content I'd produced. So yeah, it was a positive experience in that sense.
I found this internship through QUT, my uni. QUT is pretty famous for their internship programs because they have a lot of industry partners. These partners sign contracts agreeing to take in two to three QUT students each semester.
So, basically, by being a QUT student, someone had to hire me somehow. That's one of the reasons I came to QUT, actually. They offer really hands-on courses that let you dive into the industry before you graduate.
Basically, yes. If you make the effort to apply and really build up your resume, you have a very strong chance of landing an internship here.
And it's not just any companies—big names like Brisbane Powerhouse are contracted with QUT. So yeah, if you're at QUT, you should definitely take advantage of all the opportunities available.
So, the setup involves a portal you access once you enrol in the unit. This portal lists all the industry partners you can apply to. You're not just sending off an application and calling it a day; you have to write a proposed plan outlining what you hope to gain from the internship. It's very structured, with multiple touchpoints between the school, the industry partner, and you.
You start with the proposed plan, then you have a midway review with your supervisor to see if you're on track with your initial goals. Once the internship is wrapping up, you're required to write a 500-word reflection and even produce a 10-minute video about your experience. So it's not just about doing the work; it's also about continuously reflecting and communicating throughout the internship.
Best tip, I would say, really make some noise in your university life. Just go out there, be out there and try all the different things. Do content creation if you want, and gain as much hands-on, industry-based experience as you can.
You'll build up a really pretty portfolio, even before you graduate. That portfolio is key, I would say. Your boss can go through everything you've done all at once.
For me, I got a content creation opportunity just by telling a friend about what I did during my internship and showing him all the content creation I'd done before in the industry.
So really, just go out there and try all the different things that the university is offering to you. And remember, save all the work you did, please.
My friend's a talent sourcing and influencer sourcing person, and he's working in a digital marketing agency as well. So, it's like a similar vibe to my internship place.
We had this talk, this pep talk, about going into the industry. I was so scared; I'm not ready for this industry. I talked to him about my interest in marketing and what it's like, what I did, and he kept that in mind.
Now there's this opportunity at this high-end Asian supermarket that wants some content creation stuff going on. He's like, "Oh, hey, there's this opportunity. Do you want to do it?" I'm like, "Yes, I want to do it."
So, I guess, yeah, networking is very important, and being out there and saying, "Give me work to do, please"—that kind of will help you be more desirable, because you're so passionate and wanting a full-time job.
We started talking because we had this industry talk, discussing what we did. That led to the marketing talk. I was like, "I did this during my internship, and in the clubs, I focused a lot on content creation. Oh, by the way, I'm graduating soon. Let me know if there's any opportunities. I'm really keen to try new things and be out there."
And I think, yeah, just be desperate, but low-key desperate. Like, "I want a job. Let me know if there are any opportunities."
My favourite part about working at the marketing agency was how inclusive they were with interns. They didn't treat us like we were just "interns" and didn't need to be a part of everything.
They actually invited us to attend strategy meetings with clients and brainstorming sessions. It was great to observe how they developed their strategies and campaigns, and that's something I really appreciated.
The downside, though, was how busy they were. I went into this internship hoping to learn everything in depth. I wanted to really immerse myself in the industry. However, they were so swamped that they could only meet with me once every two weeks.
Given that my internship hours were from 9:30 am to 3 pm—only about five to six hours—I found that I spent two to three of those hours just waiting for them to be free to teach me things. So that aspect was a bit disappointing.
The first big takeaway was how you talk to clients. The agency sets a tone that's both professional and fun, which helps build a good relationship with the client. I reckon that's key to succeeding in this industry, because you want clients to like what you're doing and to feel close to you so you can better serve them.
The second important takeaway was the SWOT analysis. This is something you do to break down the industry for the client. I actually did some of the background research before these strategy meetings. It's really interesting to be the one breaking everything down for a client. You go through competitors, opportunities, and threats, and that whole process is quite enlightening.
One thing I was really worried about at the start of the internship was talking to Aussies and having to build those connections. I was especially nervous about the small talk and very local conversations.
I was lucky because I had two other interns with me who were Aussies, so I let them do most of the talking initially. While I've gotten better at it, I'd say it's still a work in progress. Networking with Aussies is a skill that takes time to build, so I'm still actively working on that.
Sure, I think one misconception people often have, including some of my friends, is that they equate digital marketing to just content creation. They think I'm mainly using Canva to design things and making videos.
But it's so much more than that. Digital marketing isn't just about designing a post for a client; there's actually a lot of consumer psychology and behaviour psychology behind it.
It's also not just social media marketing, which is what I actually thought before coming into this internship. You need a team for digital marketing. It's not just about managing social media, it involves SEO marketing, email marketing, and data.
Yes, I did have a mentor talk with my supervisor and boss before I left the internship. We had this heart-to-heart talk about the industry and everything. They actually recommended me to start with in-house first.
I found that surprising; I thought they would recommend doing agency work. They said in-house is more focused; you can concentrate on one thing at a time, and it's not as fast-paced. So, you get to learn things in depth without feeling too stressed about it.
Then, maybe after one to two years of in-house experience, they suggested moving on to an agency. My boss mentioned that if you want to have good career progression and aim big in this industry, you should go for agencies. So, start with in-house, but if you want to go big, get involved with agencies when you can.
And by "go big," she probably means if you want to be part of those award-winning campaigns or really make a splash in the industry. You'll get the opportunity to create a deep network and really establish yourself.
When you first start in marketing, agency life can be too fast-paced. A lot of people quit within two to three months because they can't handle the workload and stress. I'm guessing why the advice is to start in-house. It's more adaptable, and you get a chance to build up your skills.
The marketing you study in uni is different from the job; you'll need guidance and mentorship. In-house teams can provide that support, whereas agencies are often too busy for career training.
Even in my internship, it was already challenging to get time for things like ads and email marketing training. So I think it will be even more difficult when it comes to a full time job, since they'll expect you to know everything already, but you don't.
I will be applying for the working visa also known as "the 485" or the "graduate visa," and then I do want to have some working experience here in Australia, as I've built my network and knowledge base here. So I really do want to have some industry experience here.
And then I might go for a higher education in the States, maybe. I'm keen on international opportunities.
I'm hesitant about returning to Taiwan due to its less flexible work culture. It's also daunting to go back home since I've adapted well to life here and don't feel deeply rooted in Taiwan.
Yeah, so long term, I think I will be just flying here and there and trying to experience everything I can while I am young.