Marketing Associate Review

During my time at SAP, I couldn't have asked for a better placement experience. I have been fortunate enough to be involved in managing a variety of corporate campaigns and promoting a range of events. My manager and team were extremely supportive in allowing me to gain exposure in projects from other aspects of the company such as in sales and digital marketing to increase my knowledge of the business further. This has been beneficial in helping me understand the company culture and processes in greater depth across the different teams.

I felt welcomed and valued by my colleagues from day one. As part of my onboarding process, I had meetings with key team members and employees that were influential to my job role. This helped me integrate easier into the team and allowed me to develop key friendships with individuals that I will remain in contact with when I return to university. In addition, I was always included in team meetings and was able to express my opinions and ask questions without hesitation.

My manager was extremely supportive in helping me adjust from university to a full-time job. When I first started, I was required to go through onboarding training for the first month that allowed me to understand the core products and services of SAP. After completing my onboarding training, I received support on learning how to use a variety of applications and tasks related to my job role from my manager and team. Every week, my manager and I would have a 1-2-1 meeting to discuss ongoing tasks, concerns and how I could be more efficient in certain projects. This certainly helped me prioritise my workload and understand which areas of my job role I could improve on for future reference.

My workload would vary depending on if there was an upcoming campaign, webinar or event that my team and I were executing. Some of these tasks were crucial and took up a significant proportion of my time in promoting them via social media. At times though, I had to reach out to my manager or team for additional work after completing my to do list. I soon learnt to overcome this by supporting other team functions in various projects so that I could gain more perspective and exposure into their roles and responsibilities.

I was given a huge amount of responsibility in looking after the content and social media channels. This required me to review and approve a range of content to be published to a wider audience. When posting content, I had to make sure I was thorough enough to avoid mistakes from occurring. This level of responsibility allowed the rest of my team to have greater trust and confidence in my capabilities. One of my biggest responsibilities was converting a meeting room in to a media room to support our marketing and sales functions once we moved offices. Having no prior knowledge in media or film, I had to research, buy and learn how to use the video equipment so that my team could execute video projects.

I study Business Management with Marketing at university, I have learnt that my job role goes way beyond the theoretical knowledge that is learnt in a lecture or seminar. My university tends to focus on smaller businesses on my course. However, working for a huge company such as SAP has allowed me to learn the influence social media has in engaging with your target audience to create perception and greater levels of brand awareness. In addition, I have had training and exposure in a variety of renowned systems and applications that a lot of businesses have already implemented. Including this experience and knowledge in your CV or interviews will help you distinguish yourself from other candidates when applying for future job roles.

The general atmosphere within the office is open and friendly. I always found that all members of the team would be approachable at their desk to help with any questions or queries. The kitchen is a great opportunity to network with other employees that are not related to your job role. Also, free lunch is provided in the canteen which helps take your mind off work and learn more about your colleagues. At times, it can be a little noisy on our floor when different team members are having a conversation, especially during the end of the month when closing deals. However, it tends to be quiet on a Friday as a lot of employees work from home.

I think that the overall work placement was organised relatively well. It has a steerco committee that will try and offer support to the current cohort of interns wherever possible. In addition, they provide a range of sessions and opportunities to develop your existing skills. As I was based in a different office compared to the majority of interns, it was difficult to get involved as I was not interacting with the steerco committee on a daily basis.

SAP provides a variety of online training courses to improve your business knowledge further. When I first joined, I was required to complete a one month onboarding program that allowed me to understand their core products and services. In addition, I was able to learn more about their applications and how they are integrated across the business. As well as that, if you have a passion or desire to learn something new there are various individuals available to help you achieve that goal. For example, I spoke to my manager about wanting to learn more about the sales function. Eventually, I was able to shadow some calls and learn some tips on executing a deal. This helped me understand what happens after a prospect or client has been engaged with marketing.

From what I have experienced, I would love to return to SAP after finishing university. However, I have learnt that there is not a lot of opportunities or job roles available within my marketing team as the head count is limited. I appreciate it's difficult to create an additional job role for a graduate unless the company would like to retain your skill set or expertise. If I was fortunate enough to return, I think a role outside of marketing would be more realistic for a graduate.

In the Maidenhead office, the employees play six-a-side football every Monday night after work. In addition, there is a weekly running group session for those that enjoy athletics or are training for an upcoming event. Amongst the interns, we have Thursday night socials in either Richmond or Clapham at various pubs or bars. It's a great opportunity to get to know the rest of your colleagues and intern group.

I lived in Reading city centre during my placement year. Whenever I did go out in Maidenhead, I found that there wasn't too much to do in terms of night life. There are a few decent pubs you can go to with your colleagues, but, your best bet will either be travelling to Reading or London for a better experience. I found that if I wanted to socialise with the majority of interns, I would have to commute to Clapham or Richmond instead.

Maidenhead isn't the biggest of places, it has a few local pubs, bars and a small shopping centre. The convenience of the train station means you can commute to London or Reading in order to experience a higher quality of nightlife. If you are based in the Maidenhead office full-time, I would greatly encourage you to make the effort to see your intern group on a social night out in London to avoid missing out.

There were a lot of opportunities outside of work such as six-a-side football every Monday after work. In addition, there is a weekly running group session for those that enjoy athletics or are training for an upcoming event. Finally, SAP have a huge influence towards corporate social responsibility within their community. Each quarter, all employees are required to give up one day of their time away from work to support a local cause. For example, I have been fortunate enough to help cook lunch for a homeless shelter and give vulnerable individuals donated necessities. This also allowed me to increase my network with other employees from SAP I have never interacted with before.