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Deepend’s internship program is not just something you do because uni says you have to. For Kath Blackham, managing director of Deepend, it’s a really important part of what she does.
So she makes sure that it’s a really important part of what you do.
Benaz Irani, Camillo Hernandez and Connor McLeod are the latest graduates of the annual program, which is run in the Melbourne office.
Benaz Irani told AdNews her story:
“My internship at Deepend was filled with friendly faces, invaluable learning experiences and office ‘bake-offs’. As an introduction to working in an agency, I could not have imagined a better experience. Rather than performing standard intern tasks such as coffee-runs and printing, I was attending educational lunch and learn events and creative brainstorms for amazing clients.
The internship program was structured so that Camilo, Connor and I would spend one day a week shadowing our respective departments (technical development, creative strategy and web design) and another day working as a team on an internal project. This allowed us to observe and learn from experienced professionals, and then practice our skills and collaborate as a team.
Our shared project brief was to revamp the client experience within the Deepend office environment using technology. We decided to design and build a digital news dashboard, that we called DNN, displaying industry updates, news, weather and case studies on a large screen for visitors in reception. We loved bouncing ideas off each other, sharing feedback, prototyping and executing the final product. The Deepend team was extremely supportive and constantly offered advice and input throughout the process with our multiple rounds of user testing. At the end of the program we presented DNN to the entire team. It was extremely rewarding to show off our hard work and receive positive comments on something we’d created.
During the program, I quickly learnt about the fast pace and collaborative nature of agency life. At university I was used to taking my time, but at Deepend I had daily deadlines and tasks. This pushed me to accomplish things I would have never thought I could do within a short time-frame. For example, on my first day I was asked to redesign a pitch deck within two hours - normally I would expect to spend a day on it! While I felt the pressure at first, I soon became used to the speed and began working much more efficiently.
My first and lasting impression of Deepend is the positive culture. I was blown away by the friendly rapport between employees - they are one big family, excited to meet their three new intern siblings. Even at times of stress there would always be smiles and laughter (this may have to do something with the weekly baked goods, yoga and Milo the dog).
To be able to say that I worked on digital projects for leading brands and see my contributions actually come to fruition was extremely fulfilling. I was constantly challenged, learning and having fun. There really was never a dull moment."
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