Corporate Communications Review

Overall I really enjoyed my work. It was very varied so covered both internal communications, external communications and events. I was lucky in the sense that I study PR/Comms and that my job role is PR/Comms. I knew before my placement year that this is what I wanted to do and had done quite a few smaller placements beforehand. A placement year can be a long time so it is good to be sure it is a job you are interested in. I loved my job, my place of work and the work I was doing (almost all of the time).

I definetly feel like a valued part of the time. It felt less like an intership and more like a real job. I was realied on in the same way as other members of the team. It was quite a small team so everyone had to pull their weight. Everyone was very friendly and made sure you felt included.

Help/support was always there when I asked for it. I was given review meeetings with my managers every three months to discuss my progress and where I could improve which was really helped. I always knew that if I was struggling or needed help all I had to do was ask and then the support/guidance I needed would be given. I was also given a lot of independance to just get on with it myself, personally I really enojyed this way of working: being left to it but able to ask when you need help - however I dont think this would work for everyone. You needed to be quite proactive and confident.

Overall it was a good level of busy. Most days I had a good level of things to do so that I could really get stuck into work and wasnt bored. It was very rare to have a day when I wasn't busy enough or was bored. Having said that there were definetly times when I felt too busy, while having lots of responsibility and being relied on was great there were a few periods here and there where it was a bit too much for an intern. During certain busy periods it was a bit stessful, but it was great expereicne to be under stress and to be able to deal with things and get all the work done at a good level. However I do feel as though the year was what you made of it, it is partly me to blame for getting too involved with things,

When talking to my peers I really think I had a lot of responsibility compared to a typical placement year. For me I loved this and wouldnt change it, but again not for everyone. You weren't seen as 'just an intern' so you were expected to contribute your weight and really do a proper job. Again there were times when this could be stressful but I feel as through it really challenged me and montivated me.

I study PR at uni so I always planned to work in PR/Comms. My role showed me that I love the indutry I have chosen to work in and am not bad at the job either! I was given training when I needed it by other collegues, (mostly the handover period at the start of my placement). I have put into practice so many things I learned at uni and on modules. I feel as though it has been great expereince for me and I have grown in confidence and ability hugely. It's also a great thing to have on your CV. I really think my placement will help me when applying for jobs after graduation.

It was a small team but a really busy, virbant atmosphere. I worked at MINI Plant Oxford, so it is important to note that this is a manufacturing enviroment. At first this was definetly a bit daunting but throuhgout my year I made lots of contacts across and Plant and I will definetly miss the people!

It was set up pretty well. It did take a long time to get my contact and the recruitment process wasn't amazing. Once I arrived I got a pretty long handover which was really helpful. I do feel as though the job description wasn't great and didn't really fully explain the role, and this was the case of another intern in my office too. I loved my role but I would definetly recommend that at the interview stage you really knuckle down what your job actually is. As I said I had lots os respnsiiblity etc and wasn't treated as 'just a inter', but having said that you do have to understand you are the intern and the lowest down person in the office so if there are crappy jobs to get done you are expected to muck in. I definetly would say don't do this role if you dont like hard work.

The contract is for a year and there really is extremely limtied opportunity to come back to the companyt after your internship. This means that the company seometimes doesn't fully invest in you. Once it got towards the end of the year it was a bit like I was just waiting to go. You loose a little bit of motivation and the team/company looses a bit of interest in you. I totally understand this but if there were more opportunites to come back after graduation I think it would be better for the interns as well as for the company.

I would love to go back to the company. However there really is very limitied opportunites in my field within the company. The grad scheme is very specfic and there are not many entry level jobs in communications. It is a shame as I feel some interns would be much more motivated if they knew they had a chance to come back in the future. If there was an opportunity to come back I definetly would have taken it. But don't take a placement here thinking they will offer you a job/grad scheme place when you graduated.

The office wasn't too social but there was a great intern community across the site. Every thursday the interns would meet in a pub and go out. I didn't know anyone within a couple of hundred miles radius of Oxford which can definetly be a daunting thing. However I made loads of great friends over the year. Again it's definetly what you put into it. If you put in the effort to have a good social life here then you definetly will.

Oxford is a really expensive place to live. I got some of my student loan while here and definetly think I would have stuggled if I didn't. It's an intership - they pay isnt amazing. Not really the companies fault that cost of living in Oxford is high but it is defeintly somehting to consider. Having said all that if you live carefully you could afford to survive here on the intern pay (wouldnt afford much social things though).

For a small city Oxford nightlife is not bad. It is a student city so there are lots of bars and clubs. Cowley Road which is near the plant has loads of pubs/bars that arent TOO expensive. Weekends are quite expensive for going out but weekdays aren't quite as bad. Overall you can definetly have a fun night out here.

Again as mentioned there is quite a big intern community. If you want to get involved there are pleanty of people wanting ot do things.