About me

Hi, and thanks for visiting my blog :)

I'm Jos Canavan. I graduated in 2011 with a BSc Honours degree in Human Sciences from University College London, and I want to work in marketing. I have been employed in marketing roles ever since I was 17, and since graduating I have been busy pursuing my goal of building a successful career in this field.

My marketing career began when I was 17, when I started work as a Marketing Coordinator for a chiropractors. I managed events and also focused on developing the marketing strategy for the clinic on a part-time basis during my A-levels. I thoroughly enjoyed the challenge of devising innovative means to further the success of the business, and witnessing the brand grow within the local community. I had discovered a passion that would go on to shape my future.

At the end of my first year at university I applied to be a 'Nokia Connector', a brand ambassador programme devised by the agency Work Club, which was made up of students from universities all over the country. We worked in university/city teams to interact with students and youth consumers from our cities to alter perceptions of the Nokia brand, using techniques such as direct and guerilla marketing, social media, and viral videos.

Loving life as a Nokia Connector,
in my branded trackies, t-shirt and coat,
chilling on a Nokia deckchair

We were given the opportunity to respond to brief and to work with a budget to devise and implement our own campaigns that were tailored to the particular audience of our university and city. As well as proving to be invaluable experience terms of developing my skill set, I was also introduced to the agency side of marketing. Having already had a go at marketing in-house, I was keen to try my hand at working on accounts for multiple brands, so began to research the industry with a view to pursuing an agency role following graduation.

Looking ravishing in my JP Morgan
anorak as a Student Marketer

Following my year-long stint as a Connector, I decided to buckle down to my third year of study. However I still continued to work my marketing magic(!) as a Student Marketer with Graduate Promotions, where I worked on an ad hoc basis on campuses around London to promote graduate recruiters to students, through poster and leaflet campaigns, events and social media.

Ketchum Pleon: I loved the agency,
particularly all the mags I had to
read - but PR wasn't really for me.

After exams at the end of my final year, I was invited to carry out a two week placement at creative communications agency. I was so excited to get the chance to experience agency life! It was a fantastic experience that provided me with exposure to the sort of work carried out by agencies and their place in the marketing mix. I was next invited to carry out work experience at global PR company, Ketchum Pleon, as a result of my application to the DAS Accelerate Scheme. The two weeks I spent there gave me an excellent insight into the world of PR and its importance in communications, although wasn't really enough to convince me that it was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.

With the overdraft running out by then, I turned to paid work and actually managed to luck out with a position as Junior Project Manager for a graduate recruitment firm. Here I was to focus on marketing graduate programmes on behalf of global clients. I spent three months on a fixed term contract, marketing to students via liason with universities across the UK and Europe. Although not precisely the sort of role I was after, it offered me a great set of challenges with which to get to grips. It also made a nice change not to be 'the intern'!

As we all know, times are tough and after my FTC ran out I returned to interning and carried out month-long placement at a small ad agency that specialises in digital and print advertising for a range of clients, from consumer to financial services. It was the smallest agency I've worked for (around 8 employees), which gave me a great opportunity to witness all the processes first hand. It was also an eye-opener to work on accounts for what you might call more 'challenging' clients, such as financial services - still enjoying working on things I didn't really understand confirmed I am heading for the right industry!

During this placement, I received the news I had been waiting for - the agency I had interned at the past summer were on the look out for an Account Executive to assist during a busy 6 month period. I went back in for a brief catch up, and a few days later I was signing my contract!

It's now a number of months later and I am now working in a permanent position as an Account Exec in an integrated agency. Although I lack the official qualification demanded by so many employers, I feel confident that the interest and enthusiasm I have for my work is the greatest asset I could ever have - greater than the qualification I always knew I could succeed without.


If anyone has any questions they want to ask about my experiences past and present, or if you want some friendly advice about working in agency marketing, head on over to the Contact Me tab and get in touch!