What I’ve Learned in 2 Years at Embryo

I recently celebrated my two-year anniversary at Embryo, and over that time I’ve seen so much change around here! That officially makes me feel about four million years old, but it’s been such a pleasure to see the team grow, and the things I’ve learned over the past two years have helped me grow too. My role as a Content Exec at Embryo was my first “big girl” job out of uni, and since then I’ve learned so much about what’s important to me in a job, my capabilities, my boundaries, my passions and how to improve myself professionally.

It’s Easy to Learn Much More Than You Think You Can

When I arrived fresh out of uni (and a period of classic post-grad unemployment), there was one thing I knew I’d be okay at, and that was writing (not to toot my own horn too much)! My starting role at Embryo was a great fit for me for this reason, but instantly I found there was much more to the job than just being a good writer. Being able to incorporate creativity and technical SEO know-how into one lovely content package isn’t always easy, but as I’ve gone on, I’ve seen our processes improve, our team learn and grow and the service we offer just get better and better!

Simply by being around such a talented team all day every day, you pick up a crazy amount of knowledge about things you didn’t know you didn’t know! As well as all the obscure technical knowledge you pick up as a content writer (I can talk for hours about lip fillers, horoscopes, vaping and mortgages, to name just a few), you also pick up so much wider knowledge about the digital marketing sphere as a whole, and it’s helped to make me a more well-rounded marketer and a better content writer too! Whether it’s through formal training sessions or just chatting to someone from another desk over the kettle (back in the days when we had desks, and people to chat to, and a communal kettle…), the amount of knowledge that’s flying around team Embryo is honestly really impressive, and while it felt a bit intimidating at first, it’s actually pretty easy to pick a lot up by osmosis!

I Love the Office

As a pre-professional, I never really thought about whether an office environment would be right for me – I knew it would be very likely since I wanted to work in marketing in some shape or form, but the actual idea of “office life” was one I was pretty neutral on.

Now, after 11 months(!!!!) of working from home, I’m missing the office more than I could have ever imagined! It helps that the people in the Embryo office are people I genuinely enjoy spending time with and that I’m missing a beautiful city-centre office building, but the collaborative element of work in an office is something I never expected enjoying so much. While more and more workplaces start switching to a work-from-home-forever model, Embryo has taught me that’s just not my cup of tea, and that I’d rather have my cup with my colleagues, in a real live office.

Support Breeds Support (The Difference a Positive Culture Can Have)

Agency life can be absolutely crazy (there could be a full post of its own on that point!), so having a culture around you the understands that and gives you the support you need to manage it is so important. In the past two years, there have been good days and bad days for both me and the team as a whole, but we’ve always been able to get back up and shake off the dust when things go wrong, which is something I attribute to the genuinely supportive environment we’ve created over time. 

We’ve made spaces to praise one another when we do a good job or a favour for someone else, good client feedback is splashed all over Slack before you can say “oh that’s nice” and I feel strongly that if I have a question about pretty much anything, there’s someone who’ll be happy to take the time to answer it. But it doesn’t just happen – it’s a conscious effort from everyone to support each other, which means everyone feels supported, so we want to support each other, and there goes the snowball!

There is so much more I could wax poetic about, but as we all know, agency life is busy and I have other things to get on with! So I’ll sign off my Embryo love letter with a thank you to the whole team and a “fingers crossed we’ll all be back in the office soon!”. Ily 💙