Meet The Team – Lilly Dodds – Marketing Intern

To carry on with our Meet The Team series, this week we caught up with Lilly Dodds, our Marketing Intern. Lilly started with us in August 2022 and is here for a year to gain marketing experience as part of her university degree. 🎓

What’s your role at Millers Oils?

I’m doing my placement year at Millers Oils as a Marketing Intern. This means I’m still a student studying Marketing at Newcastle University. I’ve done two years there, I’m here for a year to gain valuable experience, and then I will return to Uni this September to do my final year. 📚

My role includes working with the Marketing Team to run our website, email campaigns, sponsorships, working with distributors, event planning, social media – which is probably my favourite part – and more! I love thinking up fun ideas to do for our social platforms 🤩 . We’ve recently started on TikTok which has been a great challenge for me to learn about as it’s such a popular app at the moment.

What’s your favourite hot drink to have when you are working?

I always have a coffee when I get in and if I have time in the morning there’s a Starbucks nearby where I’ll treat myself! My go-to drink is a vanilla iced latte in summer or a gingerbread latte in winter. I also have a stash of herbal teas in my drawer – jasmine green tea is my favourite. Occasionally, it will be a cuppa but I’m not addicted like some people in the office!!  😂 

What would we most likely find you doing on the weekend?

A lot of my friends are still studying in Newcastle so I often go up there on weekends. We go out in the city 🥂 , watch Newcastle United ⚽️, have a day at the beach 🏖 , or visit the gorgeous Northumberland countryside 🏕 – to name a few! If not, I might go home to Rutland to see my family and dogs Finley and Blue – both Labradors. 🐶

What is your go-to productivity trick?

Definitely my notepad and to-do lists! 📝  I write down absolutely everything to never forget a thing and do a to-do list every few days. It keeps me organised and it’s very satisfying ticking ✅ off tasks you’ve done knowing every little task contributes to “the bigger picture” in helping the company move forward, whether it be getting quotes for pens or writing a blog! It’s great to have something visual in front of you to track your progress.

Another trick I use is to make the space you work in your own. On my desk, I have pictures of friends and family 🖼 , a plant 🌱 (which I’m doing my best not to kill!), my favourite mug ☕ , and my colourful pencil case and pens 🖍 . There are so many studies about how your surroundings affect your productivity and I believe these little things do make a difference to me.

Who has influenced you most when it comes to how you approach your work?

Jody Blair, my manager! I couldn’t have asked for a better mentor for my placement year. She’s taught me so much already but equally has asked for my ideas to be inputted too. She gave me my own responsibilities in the first week of starting and her having that trust in me gave me so much confidence in myself that I’ve never felt like an intern but as equal as everyone else in the team. Plus, she always does it with a smile 😁, which makes all the difference when you work so closely with someone every day!

There are so many people at Millers Oils that you know will cheer you up if you’re having a bad day. These people influence me to always approach work with a smile and have a bit of fun in everything I do. Steve Dudley and Mark Crossley, for example, in our Technical Team are always so happy to help me which I was so grateful for when I first started and needed their expertise when I was learning about our products. So if you ever have a technical question, don’t be shy in ringing them! 📞

Outside of work, my mum has started her own business, Redwood Ellis, as a well-being strategist. She teaches people how to look after their mental health and avoid burnout at work. She’s massively influenced me and has given me such a positive mindset 🧠 when approaching my work.

Thanks for reading! Find other Meet The Team interviews on our website.

Find current role here – Join The Team – Millers Oils