Maketing Assistant Review

I absolutely loved my placement at 3M. I didn't know much about the company when I applied but I am so glad I did. It is a fascinating company and they treat all of their employees fantastically. I had a thoroughly enjoyable year, developed many skills along the way and also made fantastic friends.

I felt very valued by my colleagues. The teams at 3M are used to placement students coming through from year to year and they value the new fresh ideas you can bring to the table. They really make you feel like part of the team as soon as you step through the door.

I felt completely at home and part of the team at 3M. Your team take you under their wing and give you the perfect balance of responsibility and support to help you get the most out of your year. No one is ever too busy to stop and help you if you don't understand something and they ensure that you never feel overwhelmed.

I was extremely busy on a daily basis which I thoroughly enjoyed. There are always going to be parts of any job which you don't love, but I loved the majority of what I was doing on a daily basis, meaning that I was happiest when busy. However, if I ever felt stressed or that I was working too much, my manager was always supportive and would help me find ways to manage my work and alleviate any stress.

By the end of placement I was given a lot of responsibility. This builds up perfectly over the space of the year as you learn more things and become more capable. I was always given the correct amount of responsibility for the level I was at during the job, even if at the start, it feels like it is too much!

3M not only offer fantastic placement opportunities, but during the year you are also given training on things such as six sigma, presentation skills and many more. I feel confident now in applying for graduate roles and that is down to the skills that I have gained from my placement year at 3M.

The general atmosphere in the office was great. The office is extremely open planned meaning you get to talk to lots of people on a daily basis from lots of different businesses within 3M. There is a great sense of teamwork within the office and no one is ever too busy to stop and give you a hand if you need something.

The placement at 3M was extremely organised. The recruitment team in 3M who work with placement students are fantastic and are always there if you have any queries. From the assessment centre to the placement socials to the final end of year reviews, everything was extremely well organised and ran like clockwork.

The company are great at investing in placement students. We are given external training courses specifically for us to help us develop our skills throughout the course of the year.

3M currently do not have a graduate scheme for marketers but they do have one for engineers. However, they encourage you to get back in touch at the end of the year if you would like to return to the company. This way they can assist you in finding a job suitable for you within the company.

There was a great social scene amongst placement students. There are many placement students, apprentices and young people within the Bracknell office meaning there were many nights out. We also had many socials for our teams where we would go for pub lunches, go bowling or do a cocktail making class in London. There are also socials for the entire office such as the Christmas party and summer party.

I lived in Reading and commuted to Bracknell for work. In Reading the cost of living as slightly high. However this may be because I am used to the living costs of Newcastle! With the salary you are on it is easy to put money aside for socialising, and as it is a university town it is easy to find good deals within the town.

During my placement in the Bracknell office there was great night life. As I lived in Reading we often went to the clubs and bars in Reading. As Reading is a student town you can often find cheap deals on and there are plenty of young people about. Wokingham has lots of good pubs to go to and plenty of nice beer gardens for the summer time.

There were many opportunities to get involved in activities outside work at 3M. There was everything from touch rugby, Monday night football, badminton to things that were more up my street such as Thursday night drinking club! There is also opportunities to get involved in charity work and to help out with STEM projects.