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BLOG | February 4 2019

My First Month with SoolNua – Louis Gilmartin

When I first heard about the intern position available at marketing agency, SoolNua, I was instantly interested. After reading about the services they offer (Strategy, Marketing & Training) and types of clients they work with (destinations, hotels, venues, agencies and associations) I felt that this was a company that I could perform well in, so […]

When I first heard about the intern position available at marketing agency, SoolNua, I was instantly interested. After reading about the services they offer (Strategy, Marketing & Training) and types of clients they work with (destinations, hotels, venues, agencies and associations) I felt that this was a company that I could perform well in, so I didn’t hesitate to apply.

When I arrived at the office for my interview, Aoife and Gerard made me feel at home straight away and told me all about SoolNua and the work that they do. The idea of working in a smaller company was a big thing for me – I wanted to feel like I could actually contribute.

So, as you can imagine, I was over the moon when I got offered the position with SoolNua. I was so excited to start working with the team!

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My first day got off to an interesting start… when I walked in the door the first thing I was asked was “what’s your skill set like for fixing a Dyson hoover?”. Sadly, that wasn’t on my CV nor had I any previous experience! I was nervous coming in on my first day but everyone, (including the office dog, Nova), made me feel at ease. I also passed my building and fixing initiation in another way – I may not have been able to fix the hoover but I put together a table and office chair, which proved to be, let’s say, easy.

Security guard Nova
Nova keeping watch

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On my first day, I learned that Aoife, Pat and Pádraic were about to fly off to Bangkok for the SITE Global Conference and that I was about to go on a two-day crash course! I was quickly introduced to all of the online platforms that SoolNua uses and given a rundown on the different projects that I was going to be working on over the next 5 months. I began to use everything I had learned straight away to start talking about SITE’s Global Conference on social media on my new Twitter account (shameless plug while I try to build my following, you can follow me here). I was only around for a couple of days and the whole team was trying to get away from me! But I didn’t take offence and instead started stalking them online by following the #SITEGC hashtag to watch the conference unfold.

It was a bit intimidating having to begin everything so quickly but everyone helped me get used to my duties before they left. I was trusted with certain jobs early into my time here, so I stepped up and pushed myself to try as hard as I could. The office building still being in one piece when the gang arrived home felt like a win for me!

My desk area at SoolNua
SoolNua Headquarters

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During my first few weeks, I attended Skift‘s 2019 Megatrends event at EPIC – The Irish Immigration Museum – which was a great experience for me. I practised my networking skills throughout the event, as well as listening to Rafat Ali‘s speech and other interesting talks that gave me a greater insight into the MICE industry. I also learned a lot by watching Pat and Pádraic’s networking styles and how they work a room.

Rafat Ali talking at EPIC about Skift
Rafat Ali talking at Skift’s event in EPIC

So far my time with SoolNua has been an incredibly interesting experience and also full of laughs. I get the feeling that this past month has only been a mere taste of what I’ll be getting up to with SoolNua in the next few months and I look forward to seeing what comes next!

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Want to find out more about digital marketing, Instagram or just curious about what we do? Send me an email at louis@soolnua.com. I’d be happy to help you!

We also have a very informative website to show you everything we do regarding work and services over at SoolNua.com.

For all things meetings and events related, Padraicino is the man to talk to.