Assistant Marketing Manager Review

I have enjoyed my internship to a great extent. I am about to complete an internship in Marketing of financial services- which is considerable detached from my degree (International Relations and History). However, I would definitely say that this is one of the reasons why I have enjoyed the internship. I have gathered numerous learning about the world of marketing and have been able to understand why practise and experience is considered equally as, if not more, important than reading into an area of work. I have visited and attended workshops at various media agencies to understand the relationship between them and the group and how the business targets are always kept in mind when creative are being developed whether it be a TV ad, trigger email or a letter. It has been enjoyable to feel the transition between being a recipient of marketing content to considering how best to target a specific audience with various marketing tools.

I would definitely say that I feel valued by my colleagues. When there is a new campaign being launched all team members either send an email round asking for opinions or we have a quick team meeting to discuss it. My opinion is always taken into consideration even though I have very little experience. I have been trusted with conducting competitor research and using it to work on a new report which the team has left me responsible for as well as allowing me to work on some imagery replacement. My work is taken on board by other team members who ensure that I attend all relevant meetings to learn as much as possible in the time that I am here.

My supervisor is extremely supportive and always willing to guide me through any confusion and answer my multiple questions. At the start of my internship, he ensured that I had hour-long discussions with various members of the team to gather an understanding of all the different dimensions of the work being done: the strategy team, the planning team, the content team etc. He has also invited me to conference calls and meetings to establish a solid knowledge base from which to work on when I started working on individual projects. In sum, I have felt comfortable asking questions and seeking guidance throughout my internship.

It varies. There have never been days when I've been too busy nor have there been days where I have been totally bored. During some days I have felt pretty occupied all day whilst during others I have had less to do, especially when waiting on agencies to respond to me with certain pieces of content or creative. On the whole there wasn't a continuity in the amount of daily work, it very much depends on circumstances and project stages.

At the start I was mainly looking at work that other team members were doing and helping out where I could and providing pieces of work or research that would aid them, However, once I had understood and grasped the business goals and the various processes I was given the opportunity to create my own report from start to finish which was related to some content that the team had started working on surrounding investments of passion and collectables. In the process, I learned to write an effective brief, gave feedback and critique when the agency came back with a draft version etc. So, in this case I owned a piece of work that would be used for social posting and I would ensure that it was approved by the risk and legal teams, thus gathering an overall understanding of the regulations and barriers that affect the overall progress of the business. I feel that I was given a decent amount of responsibility during my internship whilst using the process to learn as well.

One of the main skills that I have developed is undoubtedly my communication and people skills. Being sent into a meeting on the first day at work was daunting but also a great start to what would turn out o be a great learning journey. During team meetings and campaign review meetings, I was expected to express a critical view on campaigns as well as be ready to update my team on the progress that I had made during the week and what I was working on. In doing this, I have developed the ability and the confidence to point out weaknesses in other peoples work (pointing out strengths is always easy) and offer constructive criticism to get the best out of your colleagues and yourself. This would help my in the rest of my degree studies as I often have to carry out group projects and offer feedback on my peers' work and figure out the best way to delegate work that compliments different skillsets. Undoubtedly, this will also be useful in the world of work after graduation as the communication and problem solving skills that I have obtained are certainly transferable and valuable assets to any organisation.

The environment in the office was a lot more relaxed and informal than I expected. The atmosphere was informal in the sense that my colleagues tended to have frequent tea breaks or discussions unrelated to work to break up the day and ensure that everyone could keep going. The senior team were very understanding when it came to holidays or days off and the senior team manager also allowed the team to go home earl to enjoy the sunshine on a hot day. Aside from that, the team members in the office were very cooperative when it came to solving team-wide issues and would often do so in an informal manner that would fit around everyone's busy schedule. Something I also liked about the colleague culture at Lloyds was that there were several instances when the wider team would hold inspirational workshops and speaker roadshows to inspire new thinking and innovation in marketing. This evidently kept my colleagues on their toes as the learning were often visible in their creatives they would subsequently discuss or work on.

The internship was very well organised. From when the offer was first sent out to me, I was clear on who I had to contact and what I had to do prior to the start of the internship. I was welcomed by the team with a desk and laptop assigned to me as well as initial intro/training sessions with various colleagues. The work that I would do over the 10 weeks was also thought out well by my supervisor and it acted as clear guidance throughout my time at Lloyds. Furthermore, to ensure that I remained on track, Lloyds have created an intern scorecard, which is also used by all permanent colleagues. to set specific goals that need to be competed by the end of the internship and I have often gone back to it to ensure that I am fulfilling my initial aims and goals. In sum, the internship was pretty well organised and I was able to keep track of my progress weekly.

Aside from the induction day that the company organised for all interns, my team also invested a lot of time in helping me train and develop my skillset. As previously mentioned I was able to communicate with various sectors of the business to understand what work they did. The business also ensured that we went through an annual training programme for all colleagues, which I found very useful, because I was able to learn a lot about the company's position on information sharing and risk awareness which kept the customer at the centre of the business' goals. I also attended several breakfast workshops some of the team members which were aimed at development for marketing employees and key tips for innovative thinking and creative bravery. These were not limited to the initial weeks of the internship but carried on through out and culminating with a 'team away day' which the Marketing Private Banking Team carry out annually to work on personal development and new ideas in a cooperative environment.

Future employment prospects with this organisation are extremely appealing! This is mainly due to the fact that Lloyds made us aware of the possibility of being referred onto a graduate scheme from the start and stayed in contact throughout the internship to make us aware of the different stages in the referral process. I have also received substantial information surrounding the graduate placement: conference calls, presentations, handouts etc, all of which included case studies and reviews from interns who rolled onto the graduate scheme. The fact that there is a clear, organised graduate scheme which aims to place interns in the same programme they worked in during their internship, suggests to me that the graduate placement is well organised and useful for any future career plans. Future employment prospects within the organisation there, therefore, very appealing.

There was a considerably good social scene amongst fellow placement students, especially when involved in events for the Children in Need business challenge for which we were placed into teams. In addition this this, drinks and social nights were often set up at local bars for networking between interns and in some cases would take place in aid of the charity. I would note that the social scene varied from city to city considering that not all interns were in London.

Being in London, meant that living and socialising costs were very high. However, this was taken into account by the company who ensured that there was additional pay for the interns that were working in London by a sufficient amount, The fact that the company considered this made the offer considerate and acceptable on all grounds.

The nightlife in London is amazing. Often met lots of new people and would often hear about a new place or a new activity to get involved in every weekend, Being a university student, I have experienced it before but this varies considerably, in a good way, when you are enjoying the nightlife with a different group of people that you met in the work environment

The charity Business Challenge was definitely one of those activities as it included external bake sales and running around to various businesses to see who would be interested in offering prize donations etc. Being in London, meant that there were always weekly markets to visit to get a taster of different cultures and foods weekly. Various sporting events took place both within and outside of work. In addition to this, you could try out and visit unusual places such as the ice bar and other restaurants that you would not otherwise be exposed to.