Our ‘5 Question With’ series shares insight into the TMD teams’ experience of agency life. In the third instalment, Digital Delivery Assistant Connor talks about his getting his first job here at TMD.

For somebody that has never met you, how would you describe what you do?

I’m basically the ‘Jack of All Trades’ at TMD, is what I say to people.

Mainly, I do website development and maintenance, but I’m also on hand for the occasional research project as well as odd jobs around the office — testing out exhibition stands, taking out the bins, running to the shops etc.

I like being that person: there to help out and jump in where people need me.

Is there anything you particularly enjoy about the processes of building websites?

I like seeing the evolution websites go through as I build them.

I’ll start with an idea, and as I explore that idea and issues present themselves, that idea will become more fleshed out. It’s a constant problem solving process — of tweaking and changing things all the time. The website becomes a living thing almost.

In terms of platforms, I mostly work on Squarespace, but I’ve also been doing a bit on HubSpot recently — which I’ve really been enjoying, there’s a lot you have to do to make things work as they should but it has a lot more variety compared to Squarespace. Definitely worth the effort required of it.

What have been your highlights of working at TMD?

In general terms, I like how nice the team is — very open and understanding, and I can trust them to have my back. It’s just a nice place to be.

The work is also varied and interesting. One day I’ll be building a website and the next I’ll be doing something I’ve never done before, like using my drawing skills to create a mascot for AUScot. It’s a lot of learning, but I’m surrounded by great teachers.

In terms of projects, I loved working on the website for Govan HELP. It wasn’t just the creation of the website — it was getting to know what the charity does to support people, and having a stake in that. Our regular client meetings also really helped shed light on the organisation’s vision and ethos, which was key to building a website that truly spoke to them.

What has been the path that led you to your current position?

I went straight from school to working at TMD, so I’ve not had much work experience other than this.

School didn’t exactly teach me much and I didn’t always pay attention — I hated school to be honest. I’ve learned a lot more working for [CEO] Chris and [Creative Director] James, and they’ve helped me out a lot in the last two years.

In fact, I worked at TMD during the summer holidays, before I left school. This was sort of a trial run, during which I got a good idea of what working at a busy marketing agency is like. After finishing school, Chris invited me back to TMD, and it was just like flipping a switch — I had the experience, and what I had to learn I picked up relatively quickly.

I did think about going to college or uni, but I struggled in school so I’m not sure that’s the right path for me. I’m happier here than I would be doing something else.

What are your interests outside of work, and do these factor into your work life at all?

I spend a lot of time playing Xbox, and building miniature models.

I think there probably are transferable skills with both of those. Namely, the problem solving aspect — there are always problems at work which need solving. This week, for example, we had a display stand we didn’t know how to fix lights onto. I just messed around and tinkered until I got the lights in place, and that’s a skill I’ve learnt from playing games.

As an aside, I’d be interested in getting into coding, as another outlet for that creative problem solving. Plus, being a competent coder is super important for building websites from scratch.

My other big hobby is drawing, which I definitely use in my work — both tangentially in getting the creative juices flowing, and directly in drawing stuff for clients. I like drawing monsters and creatures, because you’re limited by nothing but your imagination. Which is, incidentally, why the AUScot mascot project was such a good fit for me — their new mascot is a dragon!