The first destination we visited today was Microsoft. Upon arrival, I was very impressed with the architecture and format of the office building. I enjoyed visiting the tranquality room, food court, and wellness services. This was alot more digestable compared to Google headquarters. There was more of an actual “working culture” with the seperation of work and outside life. The guides, Linda and Victor, were so passionate about the company and their particular roles. During the Q/A session Victor was very passionate about AI and excited about the new opportunities it will give the world. One other characteristic of their culture was the importance of soft skills.

The second place visited today was Thinkhouse, an independent iin-house marketing agency. This excited me as an aspiring marketing major. The office format and energy of the building was very fun and optimistic. The employees seemed very close and expressed themselves through their apparell and attitude. Upon examing their work I got excited for their targeted products. They have a very youthful perspective and while showing us “Hype” videos I found myself sitting on the edge of my chair. After speaking with employees it was prominent the amount of passion and freedom of creativity there was in the workplace culture. In terms of AI, Thinkhouse had a very different perspective. Being a creative firm, AI can be seen as a threat. As Dave explained, “AI will not take your job but people who know how to use AI will”. I found this very interesting and proactive of the company. In addition this proactivity was shown through their pre-established AI specialist team.

Of the 5 companies so far Thinkhouse was BY FAR my favorite. The enviroment made me feel welcome and the employees helped to make me feel important. Their info session was very personal and inspired me to look into marketing agencies with similar cultures.