Marketing Intern Review

I loved working at L'Oréal for my placement year, I was given a lot of responsibility which I enjoyed and helped me to learn quickly in a fast faced environment and made me feel ready to enter the workplace after university. The intern community was fabulous and the support from your team around you makes you feel part of the business and the team. It was challenging at times and there was a lot of character building but overall a great place to work with a fantastic culture.

I felt very valued by my team who relied a lot on interns not only for being the "backbone" of the business but also larger important projects and bringing a new perspective to the team. I would encourage regular feedback meetings to ensure you are on track and are still achieving your objectives.

My first manager was extremely supportive and made me feel like I could do anything I wanted in my career. She always encouraged training and extra curricular programmes within the business and always gave me the support I needed. When she left the business I was running the category by myself for around a month which was very challenging but I enjoyed the step up and it gave me an insight into what that role could be like.

All my days were fast paced and I never felt bored or as if I didn't have anything to do. There was a balance of leaving on time as long as you had your work completed. When I was running my category on my own it was slightly overwhelming and very busy at times but I asked for support when needed and it was given, and this wouldn't be the case for every intern.

I was given a lot of responsibility, I was able to lead projects including the development of an app the European team were piloting in the UK which was an amazing experience. Your insights and analysis is always welcomed as long as it is backed up and thought through. I had a lot of opportunities to present to senior management which was great.

The skills I learnt were definitely very positive and will help me in the rest of my studies and when I return to the workplace. From simple things like email etiquette to presenting to your general manager are all valuable experiences that I will take away. It is also a great chance to be part of a working team and also interact with wider teams such as supply chain or finance to give you a great overview of how a business works.

I was part of an amazing brand who were very energetic and excitable, this made the office a great place to be! There were also lots of socials so you can get to know your team really well!

The internship was very well organised and the structure of mid-year and end of year reviews work well. I think in the first half of the year we had lots of training which tailed off in the second 6 months. I would have loved more training during this period on things such as presentation skills, managing upwards etc.

As above in the first 6 months there was a steady training plan however in the next 6 months it tailed off. I did take advantage of optional courses to sign up to where possible but specific training for interns would have been great!

There is a great chance to continue your career at L'Oréal. It may have change slightly in the future but there is an option to apply for the Management Trainee (graduate scheme) once you have completed the internship. You can also apply for an entry level role after finishing university! It is very competitive but a great chance to work there in the future.

There is an intern committee which have sports and social secs which organise socials and sports events/run sports teams. These were well organised and fun including a Christmas Party and summer rounders in the park!

I was lucky enough to live close enough to London to live at home during my placement so saved some money however commuting was not great (about 1.5 hours each way) but as I made friends who lived in London it was great to stay with them when we had a social.

Nightlife in London is great! Expensive but great when you get cheap groups deals or a happy hour!

We had multiple sports teams which you could join e.g. Netball, Football, Running club! We also had a book club!