Friday again…     and it’s sunny outside! (kind of…) hurah!  lets hope it stays that way.  If you’re lucky enough to have gotten hold of a Glastonbury ticket,  what are you doing reading this?  go pitch a tent. For the rest of you, welcome to Friday5! the weekly mini-blog that’s perfect reading for the last few working hours of your week.

Up this week, is fellow blurrie Andreas Bruder.  Social Media Intern at blur Group.

Graduate from: University of Corporate Education, Ravensburg, Germany.

ONE:  You plan on returning to university to further your education this Autumn.  Do you think it’s necessary to gather practical work experience before applying for a masters?

While working after my bachelors degree, I realised that it’s better to have a broad knowledge to see the bigger picture.  And I want to extend it. I think it’s very important to have good background knowledge before starting the working life. So I decided to return. To have work experience is of course an important skill if you want to apply for a job.  In my case I had a huge amount of practical work while I was studying.  Most universities in Germany provide a semester in a company for practical work in order to ensure this.

TWO:  Your degree is in business economics, why did you choose to intern in a social media role?

My bachelor had a huge amount of media and communication lectures.  So I wanted to get work experience in that area. Before I started this internship, I interned with a big confectioner and marketer. This company focused mainly on above-the-line marketing. Now I’m getting experience in the below-the-line media. It’s a great supplement.

THREE:  You studied English at home, what’s the main difference between textbook English and …  ‘English English’…?   Is your phone language still in German?

That’s one of the reasons why I’m here. The textbook English in Germany isn’t bad. But there is a huge difference between learning English two hours a week and learning it in daily life. And to admit… my phone language is still in German. But I avoid speaking German as much as possible.

FOUR: Interning in London often means ‘barista.’  Are you a ‘blur barista’ or are you picking up genuine skills along the way?

I had absolutely no work experience in the area of social media and blur Group has focused its marketing on social media marketing.  So it offers me a great opportunity to learn this kind of marketing. It’s great to work in a company that “thinks out of the box”. This is, moreover, a reason I want to study again.  A wide knowledge helps to think out of the box. And I’m a ‘barista’ but just at home.

FIVE:  Do you find social engagement easy/difficult, are you getting your desired results?

I had already suspected that the effort to run Social Media Marketing would be huge. But two things quickly became clear to me: 1. It’s all about the content. 2. It’s very difficult to standardise processes.

BONUS:  Something you’re finding difficult to adjust to in England?

Definitely the weather!

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To take part in next weeks Friday5 send an email to: alan@blurgroup.com