Product Marketing / Management Intern Review

Overall, I can honestly say that my placement year at SBD full of valuable experiences. I am very grateful to of had the opportunity to spend the year in their employment. The working environment is very positive whether this is in your close team or the wider organisation. Unfortunately, there was of course a time where I had to complete the final months of my placement from home due to COVID-19 but the team were forever present and I still got the sense that I was a valuable part of the team.

In my experience I worked within the Hand Tools & Storage team, more specifically Construction Solutions. like I have said the team is a very positive with great role models in terms of work ethic. In my first week, I was welcomed tremendously being introduced to my team and other colleagues within the Slough office. In terms of work, even though my team was always very busy they constantly found ways to get me involved and make my mark in projects which provided me with an extensive knowledge on how a company like SBD globally operates. This was apparent as well outside my core team, where I felt that any work I did was appreciated, even in my early stages. I cannot endorse the Hand Tools & Storage team and Construction Solutions enough, a great group of people to work with.

When starting a placement experience you are going to have a lot of questions but you can be overwhelmed with coming to grips with your role. I think right from the off my managers gave me great support and ensured I had the tools to perform my role effectively and they also had patience when I didn't quite understand something. Both were very approachable when you had any questions and also had vast amounts of knowledge about their respective roles and SBD as whole, they were good to learn from. As well as support, they gave me the responsibility to work independently and trust that I would be able to complete the work I was given.

I think when it comes to workload it comes in waves and flows, you can be really busy one week then have a quiet week the next. Like I said I my team were always looking for work for me to get involved in so I did get the opportunity to take part in a lot of different projects. in my case I had a project tracker that allowed me to understand which work needed to be completed to a deadline and what work I continuously update. so as you go you build up a portfolio of work which you can complete when you are having a quite week.

Throughout the year my responsibility increased when I felt I understood the essential processes that go into product launches and development and when my managers recognised this. In particularly, there was a project that where I was able to take the lead and eventually present my progress this to the whole of the Hand Tools & Storage team, which required a lot of prior work applying feedback I had been given. this also involved numerous training calls where i would inform the team of a new process that I had implemented.

As I'm completing a business degree this experience gave me a valuable insight into how a global business operates, how much work goes into product launches / development and implementing new processes to help the team perform effectively. My work ethic also improved, which has changed the way I approach my University work, being more organised, and further my critical giving giving me a different perspective in business processes and theory. Throughout my time I also developed my skills within apps & software's such as Excel, SAP, Hybris and QlikView. which will be valuable in future roles.

The Slough office as I have said was very positive, a great space to work and learn. You have the choice to get involved in wider initiatives such as mental health first aid and more informal activities such as secret Santa. There a number of people outside your team that will become valuable when trying to develop your skills, for me this was in excel and SAP my colleagues were always happy to help to improve my skills and give me tips.

the interview process leading to you joining SBD is informative and the HR team was very helpful and made you feel very comfortable. in terms of progression you would have weekly/monthly catch up with your managers identifying was is going well and how you can improve. I think by the end it did change but this was obviously due to working remotely and the furlough period but even during this there was always support from the team.

at the start of my placement all the interns got the opportunity to visit the SBD university to gain further knowledge on the companies vast product portfolio. this involved using the power tools, hand tools, automotive, outdoor and home products in various activities. as well as this they provided excel and PowerPoint to get you started with some skills that would make you feel a bit more confident, but obviously these skills developed over time.