Stepping into a real digital agency at 16 is daunting, to say the least. As someone getting ready to start my A-Levels in Media and Business this year, the prospect of taking on a paid placement with the team at Made in Media (MiM) brought a mix of genuine excitement and a healthy dose of nerves.

I’ve always known I wanted to lean into the creative and commercial world, but seeing how modern online businesses operate from the inside out is entirely different from reading about it in a textbook. From internal communications and workload management to handling live social media accounts, I was thrown straight into the deep end—and I loved every minute of it.

Meeting the team was an immediate highlight. Everyone was incredibly welcoming, but stepping into a professional room as the youngest person there meant I had to overcome a few initial mental hurdles. Sharing my work, asking for feedback, and speaking up felt intimidating at first. Building our official MiM process presentation deck was a massive turning point for me. I spent hours ensuring the design aligned with MiM’s brand guidelines, colors, and imagery style. When the time came to present the finished deck directly to the team, my heart was racing. But pushing through that moment—and receiving positive feedback—gave me a genuine boost of workplace confidence that I didn't have before.

Most of my daily tasks felt intuitive and straightforward. Designing Instagram graphics for a dental practice using Canva let me experiment with visual hierarchy, text placement, and target audience engagement—skills that will directly feed into my upcoming Media A-Level. I also got to dive into behind-the-scenes business planning, learning how agency workflows rely on central calendars, task assignments, and constant feedback loops.

That isn't to say everything went completely smoothly. There were moments where I hit a wall, and learning to ask for help was a huge part of the experience. The biggest obstacle I faced was during a market and industry research task, where I was asked to gather media contacts, track down upcoming podcast outreach events, and compare different datasets across spreadsheets.

I got completely stuck trying to work out how to cleanly compare and cross-reference multiple spreadsheets. I spent far longer on it than I care to admit, quietly trying to solve it on my own so I wouldn't look out of my depth. Eventually, I swallowed my pride and asked a colleague for guidance. They walked me through it step-by-step, showing me how to streamline the data. What felt like a frustrating roadblock turned into a great learning moment: asking questions isn't a sign that you don't belong; it's just how you grow.

I also got to experiment with AI as a practical daily tool, learning how it can dramatically speed up research while discovering just how vital it is to critically check, verify, and correct its outputs.

Looking back on the summer, this placement did far more than just give me a great introduction to the industry and some extra money in my pocket. Connecting real-world business practices to media strategies gave me a solid foundation for my upcoming A-Levels, but more importantly, it proved to me that I can step out of my comfort zone, tackle unfamiliar challenges, and hold my own in a professional environment.