Assistant Marketing Manager Review

The work I was tasked with doing was interesting and stimulating. The placement offered the chance to get to know one role in relative depth, shadow people from other business areas and organise fundraising initiatives for the company's partner charity. This experience provided a good insight into the business, and allowed us to develop a breadth of skills. I really enjoyed working on projects within my team and will be sad to leave!

There was never a point when I felt undervalued by my colleagues. Lloyds Banking Group has developed a great working environment. Colleagues are understanding that we are interns and happy to give up their own time to give us advice and an insight into their role. Being allocated tasks which the team would normally work and appreciated for my work made me feel valued by my team.

I was given constant support by my line manager and I definitely felt that she had my interests in mind throughout the course of my internship. She put aside time at least once a week for a 121 catch-up, but checked on my progress daily. She also arranged for the graduate in my team to do a weekly 121, which was greatly helpful. Overall, I felt extremely supported by my line manager.

I said from the start that I wanted to do as much as possible so that I could learn as much as I could over the 10 weeks. This meant that I was busy working on projects with my team, communicating with stakeholders and agencies, and working on an independent research project. I never had a single day where I was bored with nothing to do. As well as the work within my team, I also planned and ran events to fundraise for the interns' charity challenge and had the development journey programme to work on. I was very busy, but my team never overwhelmed me with work and were conscious of my work load.

As I mentioned before, my line manager was extremely supportive of me. As such, she gave me a great deal of responsibility during the internship. To begin with, I was listening in on calls and coming to meetings with stakeholders as an observer. Although, even then, I was liaising with a creative agency on a project via email. As the weeks went by, I was given more and more responsibility. When my line manager went on leave in week 8, I took up some of her tasks and called the agency, communicated with stakeholders and briefed other teams.

The confidence which I have gained from the internship, as a result of being given responsibility and giving presentations, will help me when giving presentations at university. The competitor review project developed my research skills, which will be useful when it comes to writing a dissertation. Additionally, working to deadlines, on individual projects and in collaboration with other team members, has been a valuable experience with definite parallels to university deadlines.

My office is a relaxed working environment, where people work in an agile manner and everyone dresses for their diary. However, hot desking often results in teams being forced to split up with members sat in various places around the office. Although this allows you to meet more people, it changes the environment compared with when you are able to sit together as a team. I consider that it is both more enjoyable and more productive to sit as a team.

The placement was well organised, with a guide for line managers. When I arrived, my email address had already been set up. I never experienced problems with not having tasks or a laptop. Regular emails from Emerging Talent on a different theme each fortnight gives guidance on interns' development and helps interns to develop a breath of skills. Application for the graduate scheme could have been better communicated.

The company invests in the personal development of all its employees, with access to resources which enable you to develop skills. There is a Development Journey programme for interns, which guides interns in their development by giving tasks to do by theme, such as creating a personal brand. There are a variety of tasks you can do, including accessing informative videos and doing more interactive tasks, such as creating an elevator pitch and attending a networking lunch'n'learn.

Lloyds Banking Group creates a great working environment for its employees and promotes people to work how suits them and their team best. The work and variety of roles within the organised is interesting and varied, which makes the company very appealing. Additionally, the company has a well-developed graduate scheme.

As the majority of interns were living together in accommodation provided by Lloyds Banking Group, there was a good atmosphere and lots of opportunity to socialise with one another as well as to hear about what it is like to work in other business areas. Colleagues in the office often organise drinks after work and there is an overall friendly and sociable atmosphere.

London is an expensive place to live, with the cost of living generally higher than elsewhere in the UK. I was fortunate that my accommodation was providing for the internship by the company. However, the cost of living is something which I am considering when thinking about where I would like to work in the future.

London is famous for its nightlife and there are plenty of places to go. There is somewhere which appeals to everyone in London, no matter how niche your music taste. The nightlife is more expensive than other places which I have lived in, but that is to be expected in London.

London has a lot to offer, and I played basketball and football as well as becoming a member of a local gym. If I lived in London for longer, I would look into getting involved in more and perhaps joining a tennis club to play on a regular basis. The opportunities are certainly there.