Marketing Assisstant Review

I thoroughly enjoyed my placement at 3M. I worked within Marketing and extended my placement by 5 weeks as I wanted to carry out my projects and campaigns until their end. 3M is a great company to work for with a great culture and great people. I enjoyed my projects but also my daily.

During my placement at 3M I felt very valued by my colleagues. You are not treated like a placement student but a valued member of the team. I was given my own product responsibilities whereby I was responsible for all marketing activities for these products and provided support to the rest of the team.

At the start of my placement I had weekly meetings with my manager to discuss which parts of the role I was enjoying most and also to check I was on track. Support and guidance was great, 3M have an open door policy and you feel comfortable asking whatever questions you need to, to anyone in the team.

The balance of my workload was good. At the beginning you can feel a bit overwhelmed as you are given so much responsibility however you will never have to balance too many tasks at one time. As you gain confidence and experience, your workload will increase. It is also up to you which projects you want to get involved with etc. and you can determine your own workload.

You are not treated like a placement student. The amount of responsibility you are given is unexpected. I managed my own product groups whereby I was responsible for all marketing activities, for example collateral, promotions etc. I also project managed my own campaigns throughout placement where I was responsible for planning, budget, working with agencies etc.

I learned many great skills during my placement and these have definitely helped my return to University. For example, during placement I was made responsible for all communications for the team, internally and externally, which improved my writing skills. Further skills I developed which will assist my degree studies and beyond are time keeping, professionalism and team work,

The atmosphere in the office is great. The culture is very relaxed and the open plan design means you can talk to anyone easily, despite their level within the company. Everyone has plenty of space at their desk and around them and you don't feel boxed in. Everyone in the office is friendly and welcoming.

The placement scheme was set up very well. You start at the same time as other placement students and are inducted by HR at the beginning. You go on various training throughout the year with the other placement students from across all the different sites and there is lots of help and support for you if you need it.

As well as various training schemes throughout the year for all the placement students (e.g. communication skills, presentation skills and so on), there are also other training opportunities offered to everyone at 3M for you to get involved with if you wish. There is also a talent development team which offer help and support in your personal development.

I would definitely return to 3M, it is a great company to work for and there are plenty of opportunities to grow and move within the organisation if and when you wish.

There is a good social scene at 3M. There are annual company events such as the Christmas party but also divisional events, whether that be monthly pub lunch or so on. Amongst placement students, you are all very close and often socialise outside of work. Many placement students also live together.

Fortunately I lived at home during my placement so did not have to pay rent for a private property. Many placement students house share though to save money and work together to find the best property for them in the area. The cost of socialising in the area (Bracknell) is ok, not as expensive as in London but more than other places.

In Bracknell itself, the nightlife would be predominantly pubs, however if you wanted a proper night out it is a short train/taxi into Reading which has many more bars and clubs. Reading is much better for nightlife and can be relatively inexpensive on student nights at certain bars or clubs.

There are many opportunities to get involved in activities outside of work, for example many sport's clubs such as the inter-departmental football tournaments and so on. There are also lots of opportunities for volunteering if you wish, whether that be helping to decorate a local school, helping at a care home etc.