Digital Marketing Assistant Review

I throroughly enjoyed my placement at Toyota. I was allowed to be a part and contribute to meaningful and important work whilst building my interpersonal skills that I can take beyond my degree. I had some excellent exposure to the marketing discipline and how a big brand works. Working alongside 20 other placement students also helped the experience as we always had someone we were comfortbale working with. Everyone at TGB is extremely nice and working patterns/conditions are very flexible.

Within my team I definitely felt valued by my team and my views were considered for many projects. I often presented to my team for new projects and was given the trust to see them through to completion. Throughout the rest of the business however I did often feel some friction as to gaining consensus. I think my colleagues trusted me to take over certain areas of work and I was actively enageged in meaningful work.

My line manager was extremely helpful in ensuring I got everyhting out of my placement as I could. I was able to take on areas I was interested in and develop my personal skills through objectives and a clear development plan. However i would also add that this was quite varied amongst other students are Toyota as some didnt recieve no where near as much support as I did. In my experience I was supported throughout.

It varied depending on the projects that were currently on and meetings. Some days might be back to back meetings when you have urgent work to do. While others might be lacking however my line manager always ensured I had enough to do and I felt comfortable to ask for more work. Sometimes you might need to ask to be a part of a project so you can have exposure however I was largely content with my work.

I was given a lot of responsibility and trust to oversee projects. I carried out many page projects for brand new cars that had lots of paid advertising behind them. As a student you can only be given enough to an extent however I did feel like I was trusted with lots of meaningful work. There was a nice mix of general admin and exciting projects that I had the room to made a big contribution.

The placement year has definitely allowed me to see what areas I am interested in working after university whilst I have defienely built up my working confidence graudally throughout the year. There was lots of various training provided and my personal development plan really helped build upon skills I wanted to develop. I think the skills I have gained will most certainly contribute to working beyond my degree. My line manager enabled me to decide what areas I have and havent enjoyed.

The open plan office meant everyone was approachable, and especially easy if you were trying to match someone to their email picture. Support for students is very good and the office has a very calming vibe. Senior management put on many social events whilst the office had lots of places to eat & walk with other students. The office never felt segregated and you always could listen in and contribute to conversations going on around you.

The placement was well organised .

Lots of training is provided for everyone in the office. During COVID-19 we also had a working from home allowance to cover unextpected costs. A better for me fund is also provided to put £100 towards anything like classes or medidation subscriptions. TGB really invest in their staff and it shows from the lack of staff turnover. Company events are put on throughout the year and we all very very valued by upper management. Furthermore you work on a personal development plan through the year.

There are mean appealing prospects. There is a graduate scheme which means you rotate around the busiess every 3 months whilst many people in the office have been there for many many years. I cannot tell you about anyone who has left while I was there. Staff have the ability to change their role and rise from within to different senior roles. TGB really invest from within and it is clear to see with minimal staff turnover.

Very good social scene amongst other students. There was 20 of us and we all spent lots of time togther whether it was lunch or outside of work. Epsom has a few social areas however it was easy to go straight into London. Amongst colleagues we had lots of quarterly offsite meetings which had evening activities and parties. This overall helped with moving away and meeting new people/creating new working relationships within the organisation and outside.

Cost were okay. My room rent was £650pm however it was close to the office and kept up. Food at the office can add up to £20 a week but not bad for the quality. i had a student company car which cost £200pm which was handy for going home often or going to offsite meetings. Generally it is a bit pricey but the experience and opportunitees for lviing in the area are limitless for places to go.

Epsom is quite limited with a couple small clubs and a few pubs however with easy access to London there are limiteless opportunities. I often went into wimbledon which is really good! Alternatviely you can go to Kingston which is cheap by bus or find any sort of rooftop party in london during the summer. Otherwise there were lots of student house parties and various places you could end up. Clapham was also another good nighttime location.