Marketing Assistant & Events Co-ordinator Review

I thoroughly enjoyed my placement with ProspectSoft. It’s exceeded my expectations. I have developed and gained many skills throughout the year. I am now able to apply all my new knowledge to my university course. Undoubtedly, this experience has been invaluable and will enhance my future career in marketing. As an SME, ProspectSoft has many benefits, especially for a placement student. I was given lots of responsibility straight away as I managed their social media platforms and recruitment for the next year of placements. I was able to quickly learn new things as the company strive to improve and learn. The employees are lovely, friendly and make you feel very welcome as most of them have been in the same position too!

Within my team, I certainly felt valued. I was able to ask questions, share my opinion and have an input to real marketing strategies. After a few weeks, they forget you are even a placement student! With all the different activities, meeting and training, you’re always involved and never undervalued or unheard. It’s great to have a positive impact on the business and adding value which definitely builds up confidence in your ideas and creativity, especially in the marketing department.

Throughout the month of training, I was given a lot of support and guidance and this was continued when I was in my department. Having the previous placement with me in the first week or two was great as it allowed me to have direct support from someone who was in my situation a year ago. You cannot fault anyone at the company as they are so approachable and willing to help! Within my department, my team leader was fab! There was great direction, communication and organisation within the team. At the beginning of each month, I would be given a list of tasks which I needed to complete. These tasks were developed in our monthly meetings which meant I was always on track with my personal development as well as completing exciting, new tasks for the company.

In Marketing, there is always something to do. Every day is different which is why I love it. Throughout the year, I’ve worked from a list provided by my team leader. This is great way of managing tasks and keeping track of all my achievements. I am a sucker for lists! With ProspectSoft, they love ideas, so if you want to get involved or try something new, they are willing to help you with this.

Within the marketing department, you get lots of responsibility. I mainly work independently on managing all social media platforms and posts, writing reports and designing work. This meant I am solely responsible for reaching deadlines and producing quality pieces of work. As a bonus, I was selected to recruit next years’ sales and marketing placements. Being known for their outstanding placement scheme, it’s an incredible responsibility to be part of this process.

The first month of mandatory training was invaluable to my experience at ProspectSoft. It kick-started my journey, equipping me with all the essentials I needed to understand the organisation, the software and my role. From this, I was able to jump straight into the role and create content such as an infographic about cloud software; CRM and eCommerce – having previously known nothing about software. From then, training is continued on a regular basis as the business grows and develops. Also, my team leader was good at recommending online courses for self-development as well as teaching me about GoogleAds, social media analytics and many more aspects of marketing. Over the year, I grew my confidence in many areas. Decision making, design and communication, these are all skills I can take back to university and continue developing in the future.

During my placement year, ProspectSoft moved to an open plan office. This was interesting to see how the company atmosphere shifted and productivity increased. It became more positive and inclusive. It was easier to ask for help across department, and overall communication improved. I could get to know all employees even though I didn’t directly work with them which was great. Overall, every employee was very approachable and fun, especially on Friday’s when it was quiz time!

Overall, the placement was organised well. With the intense training programme to begin, communication of expectations and roles were clear from the start. This organisation continued into the marketing department as we had monthly lists of all our tasks and weekly meetings and monthly catch-ups. This was great as it enabled me to communicate to my manager what I wanted to learn, develop and get involved with. I believe this definitely had a positive impact on my placement year and enabled me to gain everything I wanted to out of the year.

As a recognised placement employer, winning best SME placement provider 6 times, my expectations were high. From the beginning you can tell this placement is of quality and value. You are equipped with the knowledge and understanding you need to get a head start. During the year, I had the opportunity to attend many more training sessions to enhance my business and product knowledge. It was pushed to continue developing so I was able to complete certificates on LinkedIn and Hubspot. ProspectSoft are very supportive and helped me achieve everything that I wanted to do during my placement year. I was able to learn lots from my talented team leader such as how to use GoogleAds, create successful landing pages and implement overall marketing strategies. Monthly meetings helped me keep on track with my personal and professional goals whilst on placement.

It’s clear that ProspectSoft is a growing company with a well-established placement scheme. With a huge percentage of past and present placement students making up the workforce, it’s evident that they invest in placement students for a reason. I thoroughly enjoyed my placement year with ProspectSoft and depending on the circumstances an opportunity after university would appeal to me.

ProspectSoft are very sociable and there are many opportunities to get involved with social activities. For example, there is a games night and sporty activities played locally. Personally, I really enjoy the quiz on Friday’s! Also, ProspectSoft hold big summer and Christmas events.

Reasonable for the area as I decided to live in Oxford. It’s a great place to live with lots of things to do at the weekend and after work. You have shopping, gyms, cinemas and lots more on your door step, compared to Stokenchurch where ProspectSoft’s office is located.

Night life is good as Oxford is a student area with many university students.

As previously mentioned, there are many things to do with work colleagues outside of work as well as in Oxford where you typically live on placement. Activities such as games night and ProspectSoft’s football team are all available to get involved in. Also, if you want to do something, get people involved and do it! Curry evenings are great too!