Marketing Intern Review

A Marketing Placement at L’Oreal is very hands on from the beginning. Unlike many internships, you are valued as a proper member of the team and given a lot of responsibly from the offset. You learn a lot from the experience, and although at times challenging it is also very rewarding. On the whole, I really enjoyed my placement and felt I really made a difference to the brand I worked for.

You are given a lot of responsibility by managers at L’Oreal which makes you feel valued. I felt I was able to contribute to reaching targets and meet business aims. However sometimes I felt my work wasn’t appreciated as much as it could have been, but with the fast pace of business it is hard for Management to give praise all the time. On the whole there is a great team spirit and you are made to feel so welcome.

There is so much to learn as an intern at L’Oreal as you get involved with every aspect of Marketing. My manager was keen for me to learn during the year, helping me improve my work as well as attend events such as SEO training to broaden my learning. Due to the work load it wasn’t always possible for Managers to spend time guiding you, so a lot of the time I taught myself or learnt from experience- but this has made me more independent.

I was very busy every day of my placement doing a variety of tasks. There was not one day where I was sat with nothing to do! My team was very small and therefore everyone had to be hands on in order to reach tight deadlines. I found tasks to often be urgent making me a lot more efficient when it came to time management. The hours are long and the days tiring so if you don’t want a challenge, L’Oréal is not for you!

L’Oreal give interns a lot of responsibility. When my manager was away I had to run the brand- liaise with all parts of the business from Finance to PR to Supply Chain. I was also given responsibility to meet top clients and be customer facing. My role involved creating commercial deals and creating marketing which went directly into salons, so there was a lot of responsibility involved in my role.

I have developed numerous transferrable skills over my year at L’Oréal. From time management, to confidence and leadership, I have learnt how to enhance my own skill set and develop others. The opportunities to present, organise large events and generally keep the brand making profits has been a great experience. Some points were very stressful but I have learnt from this as well and feel I am a lot more prepared for future work. I will be able to manage my time a lot more effectively at University and have confidence in my own ability.

There is a good team spirit in the office making it a fun place to work. However it is also a very challenging environment with a lot of stress at times. The office is split into divisions which means you work with people in the same area as you making it easy to speak to people face to face. On a Friday everyone wears casual clothes and is more relaxed which is nice.

I felt there was not much support before I started my internship and once you arrive you are thrown in at the deep end. There is always an HR contact to speak too and my Management Team were all very approachable when I needed to speak to them about issues. There are a lot of interns so sometimes you feel slightly forgotten but you are always kept informed of things going on- eg. Intern newsletter

I had the opportunity to attend external events, helping with the organisation and running. We also had to complete compulsory modules online which aimed to develop our understanding of the market and legalities of the industry, However, I do feel we could have attended more courses throughout the year to develop us- because the workload is big it is often hard to fit time in to attend training and development sessions, but when I did they were great.

There is a lot of room for progression at L'Oreal. The company pushes people to work hard and develop themselves. It is very competitive to get onto the L'Oreal Grad Scheme, with not very many places, especially compared to the number of interns. Once you are in however, the prospects are great.

We has an intern social secretary who organised social events for the interns monthly. This gave us the opportunity to get to know one another- this is good when there are so many interns. Teams tend to go to the pub as a group after work to unwind after a long week of work. There is a good social scene!

I work in Hammersmith and live 20 minutes away so prices are quite high as it's central London. If you're careful with your money and budget then it is reasonable. The canteen is fairly cheap- it is just drinks prices!

The nightlife in Hammersmith isn't good- there are a few pubs to go to but it is conveniently situated on the Piccadilly line making it easier to get to other areas of London where there is a lot going on. There are so many different things to do, from bars to clubs, to pop-up bars and festivals, all within easy reach.

I had the opportunity to help at Trade Shows and other events promoting our brands. This was really fun and gave me a different experience. Our Sales Meetings also tended to be out of the office so I got to see some nice hotels around London and eat dinner at interesting places! There was a volleyball team for girls and a football team for boys.