In this exclusive interview, we sit down with Erika Evan, a bright and driven marketing intern who has spent the summer working closely with the Marketing Team here at epipole.
Erika shares her journey, detailing the invaluable experiences and insights she has gained during her time with the company:
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From learning the intricacies of marketing in a highly regulated industry, to developing a keen understanding of social media engagement strategies, outbound marketing, data collection and analysis, Erika’s story provides a fascinating look into the world of medical devices marketing, and the pivotal role interns can play in shaping a company.
epipole Marketing (eM) talking with Erika (EE):
eM: Hello! Welcome to the interview Erika – how are you doing!
EE: I’m good! Little nervous about being interviewed, but good.
eM: Don’t worry, we’ll try to make this all as painless as physically possible!
EE: (laughs) Ok, sounds good! Let’s do it.
eM: Excellent! OK, let’s start off with an easy one: Who are you?
EE: OK, so my name is Erika Evans, I’m from Philadelphia Pennsylvania, I go to school at the University of Georgia, where I Major in Management and Information systems.
eM: And welcome to the team Erika!
EE: Thank you! Good to be here!
eM: So, can you describe a typical day in the life of a retinal imaging marketing intern at epipole?
EE: I start my day with a coffee; always the first step. Then, I dive into my tasks on the laptop, focusing on getting things done before my daily catch-up meeting with my boss. In those meetings we review what I’ve accomplished, discuss feedback, and plan the next steps for upcoming projects. The rest of the morning is dedicated to more focused work, followed by a caffeine top-up at lunch. The afternoon is spent with music on, working through my task list and preparing deliverables.
eM: Sounds like a busy day! So, in terms of what you say when people ask, how often are you having to explain what retinal imaging is to your friends and family since starting here?
EE:: (Laughs) Quite often actually! Many people don’t know what a retina is or why you’d want to take a picture of it. I explain that the retina is at the back of the eye, and our company makes portable cameras that capture high-definition images of it. These images help eyecare and medical professionals around the world look after people’s vision.
eM: So, on a scale from one to ten, how confident were you going into your first week of training about your market and marketing knowledge related to retinal imaging and medical devices?
EE: For the market itself, I was close to a one – I knew nothing about the details or complexities of retinal imaging. But on the marketing side, I was more confident, around a seven or eight, thanks to my previous experience with social media and knowledge from classes at school. Applying this to a real-life company has been incredibly rewarding actually.
eM: Now, after a few weeks with us, how would you describe the industry we work in, and our place in it?
EE: In one sentence? OK… Well, I’d say retinal imaging technology is a highly competitive market, with various cameras and companies available, but that the technology and the portability of the epiCam gives epipole a real edge over anything else out there.
eM: Excellent answer – very proud! OK, so what’s the most interesting thing you’ve learned about the market?
EE: I was surprised by how extensive the retinal imaging space is actually. Having never had an eye exam myself, discovering this entire industry is out there that I’d never heard of has been fascinating.
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COFFEE BREAK
eM: Now, our Marketing Lead is famed for the amount of coffee consumed on a daily basis – How have you affected the average coffee consumption for the marketing team at the company?
EE: Ha, well, I’m a huge caffeine fan. So I like to think I’ve held my own and kept the team’s coffee consumption at suitably impressive levels!
eM: And you’ve done the team proud! Speaking of the team itself actually – If you had to create a training module for the next batch of interns, what crucial piece of advice would you include?
EE: Ensure you have good Wi-Fi and be ready to ask questions. Being adaptable and thinking on your feet is key.
eM: Can you recall a moment during your training when you thought, “I’m never going to get this,” but now it’s second nature?
EE: Definitely with things like pulling together competitor social media analysis and writing out the overview. I wasn’t the best writer, but I really feel like I‘ve improved significantly since starting here. The feedback has been invaluable and I’ve learned a lot.
eM: Any specific challenges you’ve faced during your training, and how did you fix them?
EE: I underestimated the ‘challenges’ of Microsoft SharePoint and Teams. It took some trial and error with a few things – things like files not opening for no reason, being unable to share documents properly and having to save things in different formats – but I eventually got the hang of it.
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PROJECTS and PLANNING
eM: What projects have you enjoyed working on the most during your internship?
EE: I loved working on the social media side of things – from the research to the outreach and the post creation themselves, designing them on Canva and things like that. Seeing my work go up on the company feed was incredibly satisfying too actually, I really enjoyed that.
eM: How has your training/internship impacted your skills?
EE: It’s been my first experience of a full time real job, so that was a bit of a learning curve in itself, but it’s been interesting and cool. My analytical and writing skills have improved, and I’ve developed a much more formal/business writing style as well. Finding out all the different sites and tools that companies use for things has been really interesting as well.
eM: How do you plan to use the skills you’ve learned here in your future career?
EE: My major isn’t in marketing, so this experience was a little outside my comfort zone, but it’s been fascinating and I can see how a lot of the things I’ve learned, especially about communication, working with different teams and writing different content for different audiences, and how that can be directly applicable and valuable in the future whatever I do.
eM: If you could take one aspect of your internship into every future job, what would it be?
EE: The emphasis of making sure you are saying what is relevant and specifically interesting to who you are saying it to – whether that’s a paper for a professor at school, or a social post promoting something to students, what your saying has to be tailored and relevant for the specific audiences.
eM: If you had to describe your internship experience using only a meme, which one would it be?
EE: (Laughs) Well, just seeing how much marketers have to juggle in any given day, I feel something like this is appropriate:
eM: What’s your go-to song to get pumped up for a big presentation or project?
EE: It changes daily, but I’m really into EDM. John Summit’s “Shiver” always gets me pumped up.
eM: If you could swap places with anyone in the company for a day, who would it be and why?
EE: I’d swap with Sarah. She oversees everything and has the best seat to see what everyone does. It’s a lot of responsibility, but it would be really cool.
eM: What would you say to someone considering working here?
EE: Definitely do it! The team is very personable and genuinely cares about each other. The friendly atmosphere makes a huge difference, and everyone is very supportive. It’s been really nice to see how people from such a wide range of backgrounds and specialities all come together and work so closely to get things done.
eM: What’s one question you wish we’d asked you about your experience, and how would you answer it?
EE: “What’s been the most rewarding part of your internship?” I’d say seeing my work make an impact, and be used to actively help grow the company, and being part of such an innovative company itself has been incredibly rewarding.
eM: And finally, what would you say are the key secrets to success?
EE: Coffee and good Wi-Fi!
(RT Edit: I couldn’t have put it better myself!! ☕)
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Erika Evans has been the summer intern for epipole during 2024, supporting the marketing and commercial teams with everything from competitor analysis, market research, content design and marketing executive level support.
The whole team have been very impressed with her and wish her all the best for the future, and would gladly continue to work with her.
Interview conducted by epipole Marketing, July 2024, written up and edited by Robert Turner, Marketing Lead for epipole.
If you are a potential intern considering a role within our company, get in touch via the [Contact Us] page to tell us all about yourself!