Virtual internships not denting optimism

Declan is our newest intern here at Pico Play and is our first ever intern joining us virtually! In his final semester at Monash University studying Commerce, Declan Dempsey has had the unique opportunity to tune in from his home in Melbourne to our global headquarters on the sunny Gold Coast.  As part of the business development team, Declan has enjoyed a sharp learning curve in understanding the attractions industry and honing in on his digital marketing skills.

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Describe your virtual internship in 6 words.

Rewarding, engaging, novel, interesting, challenging and FUN!

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What are you enjoying most about your virtual internal experience?

I have enjoyed learning so much about the attractions/leisure industry and finally being able to put all the skills I have learnt at university into practice. I have also enjoyed being able to meet new people, albeit virtually, and get a taste of what it is like working at an established organisation.

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What projects you have been involved in?

Website development project to build, change and add new content to the freshly built website

An SEO project to index and establish the website on Google

Digital marketing campaign to reach out to Zoos across Oceania

A council reach-out project, contacting councils about future opportunities.

Green team member – assisting in developing initiatives surrounding environmental impact and sustainability

Research project surrounding overseas investment companies and the work they’re doing.

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What’s a typical day involve?

Eating a healthy breakfast, sitting down and read some emails and newsletters, then jumping onto some tasks that were unfinished from a previous day. Throughout the day there would be meetings, some spontaneous jobs that arise and a bit of report writing.

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What do you find the most challenging aspect about working virtually?

Perhaps not being able to talk to people face-to-face, especially when first starting and wanting to ask a lot of questions. Working from home can also become a double-edged sword, sometimes not escaping your room for the whole day can be tiresome!

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From a digital marketing aspect, what have you learnt?

I have further expanded my knowledge around Search Engine Optimisation and Search Engine Marketing. By far I have learnt the most about B2B marketing and B2B platforms like LinkedIn. Likewise, for LinkedIn I have learnt the most about the type of content that users want to see from a company page and the type of content that works in paid advertisements.

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