Marketing Assistant Automotive Aftermarket Division- Western Europe Review

My placement year at 3M has been fantastic. I've been given huge responsibility, had great level of exposure to different markets and business areas and I have developed massively. 3M has a fantastic work culture, great values and it's really fun to come to work! I was never treated as a placement student- I was given the chance to explore areas of my interest whilst working on challenging projects.

I've always been considered a key part of the team. From day 1 they asked me to support them in a wide variety of projects and as I grew in skill and confidence I was given more and more independence to work on my own. My role involves working with different European Product Managers (based around Europe) so it was definitely a great experience to be part of a team that are in contact over Skype and email rather than in the same office and still feel they were work family.

Everyone at 3M is very supportive, helpful and understanding- it's part of the company's culture! My manager has been brilliant. He is always willing to look for opportunities for my development. He frequently asks what my interests are or what skills I would like to develop most and allows me to focus on projects that will help me improve on these. Additionally, he is very encouraging (and so is my team).

At 3M you can make your placement as challenging as you want- all you have to do to be more involved in projects is ask! I've always looked for projects that keep me as busy as possible all the time, to make the most of my time here. However, it is important to have a good work-life balance, something 3M strongly promotes. Therefore, even though I am always very busy at work, I rarely work outside working hours. It is therefore very important to prioritise and manage workload to make sure everything gets done on time!

I've been given a lot of responsibility from my second week onwards (first week was training and handover). 8 months into my placement one of my managers went on maternity leave and I was offered to cover for her! Fantastic development opportunity and definitely loads of responsibility that has made me improve a lot in different areas, as it is a management position.

I will definitely approach 3rd year in a very different way to my previous 2 years at uni. I now see the practical side of what we learn and this will be my focus. Additionally, working set hours every day should help me be more productive in uni. After uni, I know I would like to continue down the marketing pathway and if possible, in a global firm as well, as it keeps things very diverse and interesting, as many things happen at the same time and there is a lot of room for learning and development. I am now a lot more aware of how businesses work, I have great experience in marketing (and marketing tools like Salesforce, Eloqua...) and have developed my transferable skills (communication, problem solving, project management...) massively.

The atmosphere in the office is fantastic. Everyone is always smiling. Everyone is always very helpful and you can ask as many questions as you like- asking questions is encouraged! The office is open space, so it favours interacting with others, which is good for networking, but also for collaboration.

The scheme is very well organised. The first few weeks include job and business specific training and a handover period with the previous intern. Then you are quickly involved in projects and given lots of responsibility. More training takes place during the year, these more focused on soft/transferrable skills and professional development. You can go out to visit customers which is great. You are asked to organise either a STEM or a volunteering event, you visit universities for career fairs,...

I received training on personal brand (social media etc), communication (different audience, written, spoken...), insights report (colours report- get to know yourself better and how you can work with others better as well), productivity (how to be a productivity ninja-prioritising, managing emails, managing expectations...),... 3M pays for these courses and you are always encouraged to join as many as you can to speed up your development.

Currently there is no marketing graduate scheme, although there used to be one and they are thinking of bringing it back (I hope they do, because it would be amazing to come back to 3M). As of today, there is a chance to come back as a contractor- which is not that appealing as it would not be a permanent job.

There are monthly events to socialise within the industrial business group (which I am part of). We go out for lunch, have tea and coffee etc. There are some evening socials as well. If you like sports there is plenty of variety and you can join many different clubs and even be part of competitions.

Reading is not cheap (but it's cheaper than London and other towns around the city)- rent is between £400-£500/month- excluding bills. It's similar in Bracknell- but there is not much to do, so I wouldn't recommend living there. Pay is good and covers for all expenses including rent, holidays etc for the year and if you manage your income well, maybe even have some savings at the end of the year!

In Bracknell I don't know. In Reading there is plenty of choice. Clubs and bars are generally good and not too expensive. However student life mainly happens on Reading uni Campus so you don't see many students out unless you go on specific nights when there is a party or if you go mid-week.

Mainly sports.