Marketing Assistant Review

As my first experience of the commercial world, and even though I had no prior knowledge or experience in Digital Marketing, I feel I couldn't have had a better placement year.

The word 'student' disappeared from the lips of my colleagues within the first few weeks, and I really felt a valued member of the team and department and was made to feel that the work I did really contributed to the vision and work of the team and the department.

My manager was phenomenal at guiding and supporting me both in my personal development and in my job development. She supported me by providing valuable feedback, being someone I could chat to on a personal level and allowing me to experience other areas of the business that weren't related to my role but were of interest to me.

My first few weeks in the job consisted of both busy and very quiet periods. However, after bedding into the team, my role and the business not only did people hand me more jobs to do as I became more competent and able, I became more independent and sought out areas where I thought I could help and make improvements. By the time my placement came to its head, I could have easily stayed late most nights with work I wanted to and could do!

As time went on and I became more competent in my role, I felt that I earned more responsibility and this showed with the types of jobs that people gave me. By the very end of my placement, I was given masses amounts of responsibility both with the importance of work that I undertook and the nature in which the work was to be undertaken.

I believe that many of the skills I developed and training I received will certainly assist me with my life and career beyond my studies, but will not assist me in my final year of study to the same extent. A large proportion of the skills I have developed are transferable and will assist me in my career whatever, but also some of the skills I have developed are specific to the organisation and would certainly assist me should an opportunity arise for me to go back upon completion of my degree studies.

The general atmosphere within the office was one of hard work, commitment and desire to undertake your job to the best of your ability. However, there was always room for personal conversation and for jokes to be had. Overall there was an atmosphere of 'there is a time for working, and there is a time relaxing' and both were clearly evident within the office, which had a well-struck balance between the two.

The work placement was very well organised right from the moment I found out I had been offered the job. The interaction from Volkswagen was always very helpful and information forthcoming and this continued into the year itself, with those responsible for all of the Undergraduates organising the whole year for us very well.

Volkswagen's personal training and development opportunities are numerous and were open to all different people, so from an opportunity perspective it was brilliant. My manager was very supportive of me attending any personal training and development courses that interested me and I thought would develop both my job developement and my personal development. This made me feel as though they really wanted to invest in me, both at a company level and at a managerial level.

Future employment prospects within the organisation are exceptionally appealing. I was actually employed by Volkswagen over the summer following my placement year working in the same team, but undertaking different tasks and this has made future employment prospects within Volkswagen even more appealing. There is no graduate scheme, which would have definitely been something I would have looked into doing, so to work for Volkswagen I would have to apply for a job outright. This said, Volkswagen will definitely be the first place I look when searching for jobs beyond my degree studies!

Generally there was a good social scene amongst colleagues, and one section of this I got fully involved in was the football side. There was also a sports and socials club that organised formal sports and social activities for Volkswagen employees. The quality of the events and parties that Volkswagen put on also emphasised the good social scene side of the company.

I'm not ultimately sure of the cost of living in Milton Keynes as I lived at home and commuted every day. However, from what the other placement students have said, you can easily get by in terms of rent with the salary we were on. With regards to the cost of socialising, I can say that it was cheaper than where I live, it's all relative to what you are used to normally! Generally, you can certainly live and socialise comfortably in Milton Keynes on the salary that placement students get.

The nightlife in the area we worked was pretty much non-existent as it's in the middle of an industrial estate. However, central Milton Keynes which is less than 10 minutes away, has everything you need for socialising, eating and going out at night.

With regards to opportunities to get involved in activities outside of work, most of these came from talking to the right people about your interests and they would suggest people to speak to about getting involved in that activity with others from work. As well as this, there were also the formally organised events by the sports and social clubs which provided opportunities for some people to get involved in their interests.