In 2019, we partnered with Swinburne University in Melbourne to take on an intern for a full year — we’re into long-term relationships here at Hotglue. We were excited to bring Sophie Evans on board, a third year student who was the Editor of the student-run magazine, Swine. A year later, we’ve been thrilled to see Sophie take a deep dive into the world of social media and production.

We sat down to get the goss on her first 12 months with us!

How did you feel when your first heard that you’d landed an internship with us?

I was so excited and also relieved! Trying to find somewhere to undertake my Professional Placement was quite an arduous process so getting that call from Nick Smith made me so happy and felt like a huge weight off my shoulders! I was really keen to start working somewhere I could consolidate my skills in writing and editing, as well as my inner creative side. (I was also finally able to leave my supermarket job too, yay!)

What have been some of the highlights of your internship?

Just to name a few:

• We did an off-location shoot with Adore Beauty and MUA Ross Andrewartha a month or so into my placement which was a great insight into a day-long production shoot and just how much effort goes into planning, producing and editing.

• I was able to do some independent content shooting and learning manual camera settings, which led to the below image that we created for Kiehl’s Australia being regrammed by the global account (which is the ultimate compliment, I’ve come to learn!).

• And of course, the HG mid-year and Christmas parties are so much fun!

Have you experienced challenges in the role?

I think being a “millennial”, we have grown up with social media so tend to think we know all about it. Coming to HG, seeing the back-end work and how it’s all managed was definitely an eye-opener and something to get my head around. Otherwise, everyone has been really helpful when I haven’t been sure of what to do or what something means.

How have the last few months of your placement been while working from home?

I think the #WFH experience has been a really valuable lesson in self-reliance and despite feeling a bit low about it all at the start, I’ve relished taking more responsibility and taking on more. To be honest, I have found the last few months to be the most enjoyable of my whole placement because of the collaborative nature of having to be in touch a bit more often, and I like being busy! (That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy office time!)

Twelve months on, was the placement as you expected or were there some surprises along the way?

Thanks to the way HG operate and how they’ve made a role for me, I’ve very rarely felt like an intern! I think that was the most “surprising” thing. My opinion has always been appreciated and valued even when I think I should just be observing and learning, or I think “What the hell do I know!”. I’ve learnt to let my creative opinion come out a lot more along the way when there could be a new, fresh take on the shoot or strategy being worked on.

What are your top tips to future students looking to do internships in the social media / production spaces?

I would say to do everything that you can while at uni to bolster your experience and CV, because I have a feeling that some of the experience I had got me to where I am now. Things like starting a club at uni, volunteering, tutoring younger students or writing a blog may seem lame or uncool to some, but it’s the effort and proactivity to learn that will be most beneficial to you. I contributed content and became editor of Swinburne’s student-run magazine which was invaluable for me in terms of experience and confidence, not just because I love writing and editing!

I think it’s also worth being realistic about who you ask for experience too. It can get quite draining trying to reach big name national or international companies who don’t often respond, so refine your searches and you might be surprised!

What’s next for your career?

I’m definitely keen to concentrate on the rest of my degree which I anticipate graduating from midway through 2021. HG have been super supportive of balancing my remaining study so I’m just going to continue working and doing uni in the background. I have started projects on a magazine, as well as a book, so would love to get those published in the future. My dream job would be the editor-in-chief of British Vogue so am absolutely considering a move once I’ve graduated, had more experience here at HG, and once the borders are open providing it’s safe to do so in the future!

Click here for more info on Swinburne’s Professional degrees:

https://www.swinburne.edu.au/current-students/work-integrated-learning/professional-degrees/