Regional Marketing and Channel Communications Assistant Review

Very enjoyable. Always kept busy with new projects within the team and also teams too. My team really supported me on new projects that I wanted to pursue and trusted me to manage from start to finish. The team were very friendly which reflected the Sony culture, it definitely wasn't as corporate as I thought it would be.

I felt very valued by my colleagues from the beginning of my placement - they were very welcoming, always willing to help and very open to hearing my opinions. I was trusted and respected to get on work and run projects. My job did not feel minor and my team encouraged me to venture out and excel.

I was always given support and guidance and never felt anxious or silly about asking for help. The management style wasn't autocratic as they trusted me to just get on with work but they were always willing to discuss any issues and help solve this. We had review meetings to discuss any grievances and how I wanted to progress.

Due to the nature of the business, some days will be very busy and others not so much. Especially around key industry events it was very busy but manageable. There was no pressure to work overtime. Even in less busy times, you can focus on daily tasks or catch up on other work.

I was given a lot of responsible as I ran key projects. Many things were ultimately approved by management but I was able to freely manage things how I thought was best. Throughout the year I adopted a lot of new roles and responsibilities which enhanced my experience but kept me very busy.

As well as specialist skills such as working different programmes, I developed key transferable skills such as presentation and public speaking, organisation, communication and working with different stakeholders across Europe, leadership and delegation and data analysis. However, we had 4 'SPY' days where all interns were required to attend were not that useful in terms of training and development, but it was good to see different Sony businesses.

The office in general is quiet as not many people work in office due to remote working and events. Management are integrated amongst the the office which is nice as Sony promote an open door policy (there are only doors in meeting rooms). There is relaxing areas and a games room which is fun to have a quick break.

Prior to starting, I felt quite lost as there was not much communication. The most useful was when we received fellow interns' contact details. I wasn't told that my line manager had changed until I started and met my new line manager which was confusing and quite embarrassing. Also, I wasn't told my end date until a few months into the placement which meant I had to sort out alternate accommodation for the final month.

The four SPY days set up to help interns development were not that useful as a lot of it was just listening to presentations or doing activities that I didn't think were relevant or useful in my role or even business group - it focused a lot on the consumer side. Sony offered professional training days but these were not open to me as an intern in the team. Most of my training and development stemmed from learning on the job and from the support of my team challenging me.

I haven't noticed many opportunities to come back to due to the quite tight structure of the organisation. Grad schemes were have not really been explained to us and I'm not sure how much better it would be to the internship. If anything, I would like to try a different business group.

There were about 15 interns in the Basingstoke office which made it easier to socialise. The intern group was fairly sociable and I formed a few close friendships. We made the most of out time and always tried to make plans which made the year much more enjoyable. A lot of us lived in town so we were all close in location.

The cost of living is quite expensive if you rent through an agency (around £550 p/m). I would definitely recommend finding a contract on Spare Room as it is usually cheaper, less hassle and fees and much easier to work around if your contract changes. Cost of food and drink is pretty much the same a London prices but manageable with the salary.

There is one nightclub in Basingstoke which is not the best but it was fun as we would go out as a big group of us. The club has 2 floors and the music is ok but keep your expectations low as Basingstoke isnt a student area. There are some pubs in the town which are fairly priced but Reading is only 15 mins on the train and has much more.

There is a sports and social club at Sony which you can join for £1 per month fee and they usually hold activities such as go-karting and other outings. Other than that, we just organised things to do as an intern group. The Basingstoke office has its own cinema which you can rent out.