From Brazil to the US: My Experience Working at a Digital Marketing Agency in San Diego
Hey guys! My name is Jhade Vieira Cunha. I’ve been interning in the Internal Marketing Department at Power Digital Marketing for about one month now and it has been a unique experience. In this post I’ll talk about what it’s like working at PDM, and what I love most here!
As a Brazilian, I was very excited to experience working in a different country. And, I must say that I couldn’t have chosen a better company to experience it. There are many things impressed me here, like, the culture of the company, the management, the way of learning, and the productivity.
Culture
From the first moment that you step into Power Digital, you already realize the relaxed and friendly environment. It’s like the dream company, a ping pong table in the middle of the room, surfboards on the walls, old school game machines, and a pantry full of snacks. Then, you may think that the employees are only here to have fun, but there you deceive yourself.
They don’t place #351 on Inc’s list of “fastest growing companies in the USA” for nothing.
PDM is the definition of “work hard and play hard”. It’s funny to think about it because I just know only a few offices in Brazil that are like that. As “fun” as Brazilians are, we are usually very serious in the corporate environment.
Besides that, the PDM team looks like a big family. All are extremely easy-going and friendly. Everybody here is so nice and polite.
Productivity
Needless to say, this “California dream” environment positively impacts everyone’s productivity here. All departments have their own goals and are measured almost weekly, and I can say, achieved weekly too. It is contagious! You enter into this fast-paced flow without even realizing it.
For example, one month ago, the goal of team blogging was to reach 36 blog posts per month. Now, one month after we’ve hit 67 blog posts! Not only was the goal achieved, but it increased! And I’m sure we will continue in full force.
The balance between the focus oriented in work and the relaxed atmosphere it’s striking.
Another thing that I liked here, and I have never used before, are the tools they use to help with productivity. The first one is Asana. A tool that works like a large online group, where you will add tasks for you or other people to perform, with the due dates. Meaning, you don’t have to keep asking a person to do something, you just “tag” the person in the task, write what she/he needs to do and that’s it. She/he will receive a notification right away. This saves a lot of time and several calls.
Related: 3 Internal Tools to Improve the Efficiency of Your Business
By the way, this is a good point that I had never seen before: there is no internal phone here. Either you go to the person to talk (and we don’t have a lot of walls here), or you chat with the person in Slack.
Oh yeah, Slack, another cool tool. This works as a basic messaging tool, that everyone in the company is in it, so you can ask quick questions or just share something.
Management
Everyone here is equal. They have a horizontal management structure, meaning, everyone is very accessible and collaboration has no limits. This makes a big difference since it brings more agility when it comes to solving problems.
No one is afraid to ask for help or learn new things. And the coolest thing is most people here are millennials, and the managers are too, which makes us feel that the company is growing fast and has room and opportunities for everyone.
Related: The Two Core Pillars to Power Digital’s Success
The CEO, Grayson Lafrenz, gives the team the rhythm, with fast and focused meetings, and an attentiveness to the company’s goals. And the most interesting thing is that he really listens to the team and wants to know everyone’s opinion. This is a great virtue, and it makes everyone feel that they are part of the team.
Learn In Practice
As I said, from the very first day, the content team has already been giving me various tasks. It’s worked like this: quick meeting on the couch (yes, on the couch) and just a “how-to-do-it” conversation and then “now it’s your turn”. It made me feel anxious first, but then, made me feel confident. It’s nice to see the confidence they give you to show your work.
In fact, I believe this is the best way to learn when you immediately get your hands dirty and learn from your mistakes along the way. Surely that’s the idea here.
Wrapping Up
My time here at PDM has been great. I’m learning so much about the seemingly infinite world that is digital marketing. I look forward to learning more, and helping the team achieve the goals so that PDM can continue being a reference in Digital Marketing.
