Modern Retailing Project Assistant Review

I really enjoyed my 15 month placement at BMW Group UK. I worked in the Modern Retailing team where I supported the team in rolling out innovative pilot projects to the 144 strong retail network. The Group gives great responsibility to placement students and you are treated as an employee.

I felt extremely valued by the colleagues in my immediate team and also colleagues in the wider department that I worked in. There is the flexibility at BMW to work in other teams and on other Manager's projects - I found this to be a great way to build up your network in an authentic way.

When you start as a placement student you are assigned a mentor (a previous student) who can help you with any issues you may have in your team. During my year, my immediate team were extremely approachable and if I couldn't talk to my Manager about something I would gain guidance from another colleague. It is also within the BMW culture to have professional mentors, therefore I asked 2-3 Senior Managers if we could regularly catch-up on my progress throughout the year.

I had a huge amount of responsibility. In my first 6 months I was focussing on a single project, where I was responsible for rolling out the project to the 144 retailers in the BMW and MINI network - this involved scheduling training with them and running the training session, answering questions that the Sales Managers and Heads of Businesses may have and supporting them after going-live. I really enjoyed speaking to the retailers and understanding their ways or working compared to Head Office. For the other 9 months I focussed on multiple pilot projects with companies such as Drover and Facebook. This, again, was highly enjoyable as I got to meet new people and think in a more creative way for some of our marketing campaigns with Facebook and Instagram.

As above, I was given a huge amount of responsibility over my placement year. You can take on as much responsibility as you want to have and prove to your team that you can be trusted with larger-scale projects. After the initial few months at BMW the placement students are fully integrated in to their teams and are treated like a normal employee - having responsibility for multiple projects and managing external stakeholders.

On my Placement Year I attended a 6 day’s worth of training, including leadership courses, conflict at work and motor trade law. The huge access to training is a great way to grow during your year and also provides you with examples that you can take back to your final year at university. Overall, the placement year is invaluable - you gain confidence, you build up your professional network, and if you achieve at BMW you are also invited back after you graduate!

The culture at BMW is great for effective working - the office is open plan, making it easy to talk to other teams and we hot desk (meaning you sit at a different seat/desk every day rather than being assigned a desk). Despite being daunting at first, I really enjoyed the hot desking as it meant you sit with new people each day. There are collaborative working areas all around the office - whether that be high desks of comfy sofas to have your meetings on. There are 2 restaurants and 2 cafe on campus which again, is a great place for a casual meeting.

The intake of 25 new placement students each year can be fairly complex. Before starting, contact between HR and the incoming student can be a bit quiet, however once you start you always have a HR Specialist that you can contact. During my first week it took a lot of time setting up my laptop, getting my pass, assigning myself to the business etc. however this depends on your previous student/Manager. For the next student, I had pre-organised all of her laptops and IT processes so it was easier for her. On campus there is an IT helpesk open everyday that is extremely helpful when you come across any issues.

BMW has invested in me hugely. I joined the placement year after already completing a 10-week summer internship in 2016. After completing the internship, BMW sponsored me when I returned to University and also supported me upon my return - I didn't have interview for my placement role, rather I met with the Managers and organised it myself. Throughout the year I also received 6 days’ worth of training, which again is a huge investment from the company. After completing my placement year I have been invited back to BMW on their 'SpeedUp' programme which involves sponsorship through my final year of university.

After completing my placement year I have been invited back to BMW on their 'SpeedUp' programme. The programme invites high-achieving students back into the business after graduation, where you will start a full-time role within the business. This isn't a graduate role, rather a full-time headcount job therefore I am looking forward to returning to even more responsibility!

The social scene was fun, with us having a few parties around the other student’s houses. Farnborough (where BMW Group Head Office is located) is 40 minutes on the train from London and 20 minutes away from Reading, however our cohort of interns didn't really venture too far away for a night out. Every Thursday the Marketing students attend meetings in London therefore there were normally drinks after this in the evening. Personally, my team was extremely social and we regularly met up at my Managers house for drinks or we would go to a bar. Also, we regularly ate out at local pubs and restaurants for lunch which was good fun.

Hampshire is a very expensive place to live however when you travel on business trips the company provides you with a daily allowance for food and drink. Also, all other travel expenses are reimbursed which helps out. It is cheapest to house-share with other students or rent a room for the placement year.

Around Farnborough there are clubs in Camberly, Fleet and Basingstoke. We mainly went out in Fleet or Camberly as these were also cheaper than heading further afield to Reading/London. Every Thursday the Marketing students attend meetings in London therefore there were normally drinks after this in the evening which was fun.

There are lot of 'theme teams' you can join, such as getting involved with charity events, networking with others through a large networking group on campus, fitness clubs such as running on a Monday. Throughout the year there was also football tournaments, crazy golf, horse racining etc. There is a lot to get involved in internally, and the company also supports events you attend outside of The Group, for example I attended Deloitte's Women at the Wheel conferences that focus on female leadership and progression within the automotive industry. Further to your role, you can also help out other Managers. For example, I supported a Manager on a project with the Geniuses in our retail network. After the competition closed I was invited to Berlin with the winning Geniuses as a thank you for helping out!