Talking to the Next Generation of Digital Developers
On Wednesday 21st February, eSterling’s Commercial Manager, Wave White and SEO Content Writer, Alice Hindson-Matthews visited Cadbury Sixth Form College in King’s Norton to talk to students there about how a Digital Marketing Agency operates. Here’s how they got on.
Taking a field day from the office, we were invited into the college to talk to students on their Digital Design and Development T-Level course about our work as a Digital Marketing Agency.
Since this sector is a broad spectrum, we gave a brief overview of website design, front-end and back-end development, SEO, PPC, content creation and social media management. The students were engaged and asked thoughtful questions, and it was a pleasure to share some industry knowledge and personal experiences with them.
Highlights included conversations about the barriers that women in the technology sector face, which are slowly but surely being eroded, and about Artificial Intelligence. These young minds were excited to learn about all kinds of algorithms and machine learning,
An LLM Turing Test in Person
To see how familiar the students were with AI Large Language Models such as ChatGPT, we shared some example statements and asked them to identify whether the author was human or AI.
For Example: can you tell the difference?
“Enter the realm of light accessory heroes, your champions against the shadows and missed moments.”
“Discover our extensive range of water bottles designed to keep you hydrated on-the-go while expressing your unique personality. From sleek stainless steel bottles to vibrant and eco-friendly options, we’ve curated a collection that caters to every taste and lifestyle!”
“P355NL steel is a fine-grain, low-alloy steel composed of high carbon and minimal sulphur.”
(Answers: AI, AI, Human.)
The aim of this was to illustrate that while LLMs can write, it’s not necessarily good writing. When the students could tell a statement was written by AI, the reasons they gave were:
- It sounded “distant” from the subject
- It “didn’t make sense”
- It was “too long”
- The tone was “fantastical”
Like many commentators, the students saw that AI content often misses the mark, particularly in sales.
“Painfully Generic”
I wanted to show the students that when a person knows the subject well, it shows through details and depth in their writing. AI-generated text, on the other hand, is painfully generic.
If we can identify the differences, then so can teachers, audiences and potential customers.
Gaining an audience’s trust is a key part of marketing, and can’t be achieved with generic AI copy.
Women in Tech – Understanding the Barriers as Social and Societal
We also had a positive discussion on women in the technology industry. According to TechNation, women held just 26% of positions in the UK technology sector in 2023, and growth since has stalled since 2021.
Despite being heavily involved in early computing and the legwork of programming, women are now in a disastrously unequal position, particularly among back-end developers. College staff shared with us that they were having difficulty getting girls to enrol on the Digital Development course – without proper training, progress will continue to be slow.
It is crystal clear to us, as employers keen to hire a diverse team, that the barriers to entry occur well before the interview stage. In a 2023 report, Women in Tech UK found that 22% of people think the key reasons are early misconceptions and a lack of STEM education for young girls, with male domination, fewer progressions to senior positions also getting more than 15% of the responses.
We celebrate the efforts and achievements of organisations such as GirlsWhoCode and Women in Tech Brum, and we are finding ways to continue contributing to this progress as an organisation.
Supporting T-Levels and Placements
Visiting the college was a good opportunity for us to learn about the new qualification: T-Levels. These are a midpoint between purely academic A Levels and experience-led apprenticeships that meet the needs of industries like ours brilliantly.
While our roles are too complex to teach apprentices everything from scratch, students benefit from industry experience early on, and a degree is also not necessary. T-Level qualifications give students 45 days in industry placements as well as classroom learning and examination.
Building relationships with colleges and sharing industry knowledge is critical to keeping this sector running in Birmingham. As developments continue to accelerate, we are all continually learning and experimenting. Giving talks like this is one way we can share and inspire our future colleagues.
Calling all Web Designers!
eSterling are expanding again. We are on the hunt for an experienced digital designer to join our team at our Birmingham offices.
This is a fantastic opportunity with one of the Midlands most productive agencies. There is a structured career path with an opportunity for the right person to play a part in our creative direction and be at the beginning of an exciting growth phase – and be rewarded for it!
You are a Digital/Web Designer with an exceptional appreciation for graphic design including typography, colour and space with great attention to detail. You’re able to communicate your ideas and have an exceptional digital portfolio. Ideally having worked in a fast-paced agency environment for big brands.
Requirements:
- Excellent eye for design with great attention to detail
- Thorough understanding of and experience in layout, colour theory and typography in digital media.
- Fluent in current graphic design and web design practices using software such as Adobe Photoshop
- Strong design style, including creative design solutions within the constraints of web-based technologies.
- Strong knowledge of HTML and CSS
- Solid understanding of the technical abilities and limitations of web and mobile technologies.
- Ability to effectively manage multiple projects of varying complexities, meet deadlines and work well under pressure
- Proven experience of working well within design and development teams
- A strong digital portfolio
Advantageous:
- Experience of responsive web layouts
- Mobile UI design experience, both for apps and websites
- Experience of brand development and design for print
- Experience using the WordPress framework
You’ll be hungry to win awards, and may well have several already tucked under your belt. You’ll be confident in front of clients and happy to pitch your ideas to the boards of some of the country’s biggest brands.
All candidates wishing to apply for this role should submit their CV and portfolio to careers@esterling.co.uk
STRICTLY NO AGENCIES PLEASE.
Salary range: £16,000-£24,000 p/a
SEO Customer Service Assistant Role
We are a leading Digbeth web design agency and we are seeking a motivated, target-driven individual to join our SEO team as a Customer Service Assistant.
This is a fantastic long-term opportunity for the right candidate, offering a clear career path in our well-established firm. We need an energetic, and highly organised person to assist our Client Relationship Manager in looking after our growing customer base.
You will have:
- Excellent interpersonal skills and a friendly demeanour with confidence in your abilities
- A degree-level education
- Preferably a sales or customer service background with proven results
- A good grasp of what SEO is and the desire and potential to increase your knowledge
- A desire to take on increased responsibility and a can-do attitude
- Strong administrative skills and an excellent level of written and spoken English
Duties will include:
- Being the first point of contact for our SEO customers, dealing with service issues and queries
- Providing a continuity of care to customers
- Departmental administration, use of office databases, spread sheets etc.
- Conducting service reviews with customers over the telephone or face to face and encouraging sales and upgrades
We are looking for a special person to fill this role and would like to find someone who is interested in building a long-term career within the field of SEO and Internet Services.
Full time.
Permanent.
Salary range £13k – £16k (dependent on experience)
Please call Claire Jones on 0121 766 8087 or submit CVs to claire.jones@esterling.co.uk
Telesales Executive Role
We are a leading Digbeth web design agency and we NEED motivated, hard-working and experienced telesales agents with a strong desire for success.
This is an excellent opportunity for the right candidates, offering a strong basic salary with an achievable OTE of £25k or beyond. Join our friendly, growing team for long-term prospects.
You will have:
- Telesales or sales experience and excellent interpersonal skills
- A confident manner and the ability to form relationships with decision makers swiftly
- A working knowledge of internet services, SEO and IT
- The drive and determination to achieve targets day after day
- A can-do attitude and resilience
- Good administrative skills and an excellent level of written and spoken English
Duties will include:
- Daily calling of prospects to book meetings for our sales staff
- Acting as a representative of the company, being the starting point for future relationships with clients
- Working to daily, weekly and monthly targets
- Basic administration; use of office database
We are looking for exceptional candidates to fill this role and would like to find someone who is interested in building a long-term career within the field of Internet Service Sales.
Full time
Permanent
OTE £25k
Please call Claire Jones on 0121 766 8087 or submit CVs to claire.jones@esterling.co.uk
Web Developer Role
eSterling is looking for a self-motivated, focused individual who is passionate about the industry, to join our busy Development Department.
The role would be ideal for someone who has a few years of experience developing content managed websites. We are not hung up on degree-level qualification, preferring a candidate with commercial experience instead. You should show an attention to detail and ability to uphold your work to the highest standards.
You’ll be working directly with clients so being confident in presenting your work and talking with people in a non-technical manner is a must.
If you’re someone who isn’t deterred by a challenge and has a passion for new web technologies you’ll fit right in. The ideal candidate will be able to slipstream into the team with a minimum of training, bringing their experience into the mix and deliver code of a high quality.
We’re looking for someone who has experience and interest in the following:
- Practical experience with PHP
- Experience with Classic ASP would be a bonus
- You should have practical knowledge of OOP principles and techniques
- You should be more than comfortable working with HTML, CSS and Javascript
- MVC web framework experience would be ideal
- Experience of working with version control systems
- Interest in ‘programming the web’ and web services
Full time.
Permanent.
Salary range: £16,000-£24,000pa (dependent on experience)
Web Developer wanted to join our team
eSterling is looking for a self-motivated, focused individual who is passionate about the industry, to join our busy Development Department.
The role would be ideal for someone who has a few years of experience developing content managed websites. We are not hung up on degree-level qualification, preferring a candidate with commercial experience instead. You should show an attention to detail and ability to uphold your work to the highest standards.
You’ll be working directly with clients so being confident in presenting your work and talking with people in a non-technical manner is a must.
If you’re someone who isn’t deterred by a challenge and has a passion for new web technologies you’ll fit right in. The ideal candidate will be able to slipstream into the team with a minimum of training, bringing their experience into the mix and deliver code of a high quality.
We’re looking for someone who has experience and interest in the following:
- Practical experience with PHP
- Experience with Classic ASP would be a bonus
- Practical knowledge of OOP principles and techniques
- More than comfortable working with HTML, CSS and Javascript
- MVC web framework experience would be ideal
- Experience of working with version control systems
- Interest in ‘programming the web’ and web services
Salary range: £16,000-£26,000 pa. Please send a CV to hrservices@esterling.co.uk to apply.
Job Vacancy: eMarketing / SEO Administrator
eSterling have a full-time vacancy for an SEO Administrator to support the provision of service to our large customer base. Based in Digbeth, the company is well-established within the Web Design and Development industry and looking for the right person to join our team.
We are looking for a friendly and motivated person who wants to carve out a career in this fast-paced industry. The right candidate will be ready and willing to learn, with a good aptitude for administration and customer service and will be punctual and smart in appearance.
We welcome applications from those with or without relevant experience, but do require a good standard of written and spoken English and a basic knowledge of HTML.
The role will include:
- Basic HTML work
- Onsite and offsite search engine optimisation
- Customer service and support
- General and technical administration
- Email support
Candidates will attend an initial interview and will be required to undertake a basic HTML test. Second interviews may be required.
Monday to Friday, 37.5 hours per week and flexible working hours.
Salary range: £12,000-£15,000.
To be considered for this role please email your CV to: claire.jones@esterling.co.uk.
Introvert or extrovert?
‘It takes all sorts’ goes the saying, and although the buoyant extroverts amongst us tend to get the most press according to recent reports, the world needs introverts too.
In her recently published book ‘Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can’t Stop Talking’ Susan Cain extols the natural strengths of the introvert in a world built for their noisy, sociable brethren. Her arguments suggests that the world caters to and encourages development towards extroverted natures. The modern highly-stimulating classroom environments seem tailored more towards extroverted children and certainly our celebrity culture fawns on the ‘out there’ among us. Cain argues that society intrinsically rewards those who reach out and grab rather than those who sit back and watch.
But who keeps the world turning while the party people parade up and down blowing their own trumpets? Although Cain’s book is somewhat skewed, it does highlight the important roles that introverts play in our society and our businesses, and that they are often forgotten alongside their rambunctious co-workers.
Take the Guardian quiz to see where you fit along the scale. Perhaps your organisation could benefit from a few more introverts? Or have you got the balance right?
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/quiz/2012/mar/13/quiz-are-you-an-introvert
Getting to know you, getting to know all about you…
How well do you know your colleagues? You sit in a room with the same people day after day, sharing the highs and lows of business life, but how much do you really know about them? Without getting too intimate (because we all know THAT leads to trouble) it is good to find out a little bit about the people we work with. In some way we are defined by the relationships we have with other people. The advocates of ‘team-building experiences’ will tell you that a happy, connected workplace runs more smoothly. I’m inclined to agree.
So, what do you know about your colleagues? Perhaps you know what colour hair Bob has, or how Angela takes her tea (seriously? You don’t even make the tea??), but without looking, do you know what colour eyes the person sitting opposite you has? Shame on you!
I’ve made it my mission this week to find out a little more about each of my colleagues. I now know that one member of our team likes garibaldi biscuits above all other earthly biscuit delights. Seeing as he’s the one who buys the biscuits, I might start bringing my own. I also discovered that one of our Project Managers wanted to be a Ghostbuster when he grew up (we’re still hopeful he will) but as of yet, not one of us has fulfilled our childhood ambitions. We have an even split of green to brown to blue eyed people in our office.
OK so the things I found out aren’t going to fundamentally change the dynamics of our office, but my point is that until we start talking to our colleagues about the little things in their lives, we can’t make connections. In business, as in other areas of life connections are key. Go on, freak your colleagues out – stare deeply into their eyes whilst asking what their favourite biscuit is. Works for me!
Education vs. Experience – the great debate…
As every small business knows, finding the right employees is absolutely key to the success of your operation. Staff recruitment can be an expensive affair, and so knowing what you want before you start is really important. Do you need a graduate? Someone who shows dedication to achieving their goals? Or would you be happier with a candidate who has relevant experience but lacks a formal education? ‘Both!’ I hear you cry!
An article in the Guardian Online today examines a government-commissioned report which suggests that all university students should carry out a summer-long internship before they graduate, priming them for life in the world of business. The report recommends that businesses offering paid internships should receive government assistance in the form of grants, or tax credits. It is hoped that this will encourage businesses to offer more of these sought-after positions.
It is also suggested that where internships are unpaid, funds could be diverted from universities to support students who are financially in need.
This initiative aims to increase the employability of graduates, with real, hands-on experience. For many students still in the process of completing their degree, this could be welcome news. So to for employers looking for something more than theoretical knowledge in their employees.
To read the full article for yourself, visit:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2012/feb/28/students-10-week-summer-internships