Marketing Associate Brand and Customer manager Review

This job has been an incredible experience for me to learn and grow as a person. I was lucky enough to be part of a fun team that put a huge amount of effort into supporting me and boosting me to get the most out of my placement year. I have been involved in a huge variety of projects which has made my day job interesting and refreshing

Although I am a placement student, I rarely feel as though people think of me as anything other than an equal. My ideas and opinions are always listened to and respected. I have been able to take lead on numerous occasions and really make my projects my own. My colleagues value the fact that I have brought a different perspective to the team

Over the course of the year I have had 2 different managers, both of whom have been an excellent support to me. They have worked hard to create opportunities for me, develop my confidence and understanding of the business and grow my network. They have both supported me to become the best version of myself. I have regular check ins with my manager to make sure I am happy as well as to understand some of my work. Equally, I have been given a lot of independence to get involved in different projects outside of my job description.

I have had a very busy year supporting the vaccines franchise. I spend a lot of my time working across the 4 vaccines brands, but equally have been involved in a number of stretch projects to gain additional skills. I have made good use of my time to get involved in fun projects (e.g. running an educational podcast) and networking to get a better understanding of other job roles

I was given a huge amount of responsibility but had great support from my team (they were always available to answer any of my questions and check I was on track). An example of this would be a campaign that I lead on - I was tasked with engaging healthcare professionals with some educational content about the shingles vaccine. I chose to make an educational video and drive traffic to this by a series of emails as well as running symposia. I was fully involved in all stages of this campaign

I have developed a huge amount in confidence, leadership and communication skills. I believe these will be extremely beneficial in my future. I have also now got a better understanding of how a big organisation works, as well as marketing and analytical skills. I was given training in many different areas of marketing, including digital engagement and how to measure and analyse this

People in the office are open and friendly. I would never be afraid to approach someone with a question, even if I didn't know them. I worked on a project to produce a video that summarises the culture at MSD. I went desk to desk to get people involved; everyone was fun and engaging and spoke very highly of the culture at MSD

My placement was well organised within my team as I received lots of support and training where needed. The company has a well established early talent programme so others are very used to working with students. There have been lots of events set up throughout the year for the placement students to learn more about the organisation and hear from inspirational speakers

I had 2 great managers that invested a huge amount into my personal development. At the start of the year, I highlighted some of my weak points so we worked on a plan to try and overcome these. They helped to connect me with lots of different people from around the organisation to build my network and develop my confidence. As students, we set up a forum to practice presenting on a biweekly basis. My managers supported me by coming along and giving me detailed feedback. I felt very empowered

I'd love to come back to MSD as I believe this is a company with strong values that align to mine. I have met lots of people in the company who have worked at MSD since being a student/graduate. I find this really motivating. I wish MSD had more graduate opportunities!

Lots of the students lived within close proximity so we were able to socialise outside of work hours easily. We often all had lunch together and got on really well. At the beginning of placement we were encouraged to socialise together which enabled us to build friendship which then grew naturally. The office is a very open environment so it was nice to go for coffee breaks / walks together

Living just outside of London has meant that cost of socialising/living is a lot less than if we were based in central London. This has been great as it is also easy to get into London so there is a lot to do. The pricing is similar to what I have experienced at university in Bath

We spent a lot of our time between Hertford and London. This was really good as we got a lot of variety in where we go out. Hertford is quite quiet but we would often go out together as a student cohort which made it fun. London is only about 45 minutes on the train so easy to get back even late at night

There were lots of activities planned to happen but unfortunately due to covid-19 these did not go ahead. MSD support us to get involved in volunteering, trips to other sites (e.g. manufacturing, animal health), company parties. There was an on site gym so I often went to this after work. There was a really good atmosphere at the gym and I met lots of people from different departments in the classes