Assistant Product Manager Review

Task priorities are divided in a daily, weekly, monthly and quarterly basis. The majority of the work involves detailed competitor analysis, comparing and reviewing products a financial performance as well as using a USP-based approach to create documents and presentations. Proficiency in Excel is encouraged, with thorough checks and amendments of vehicle technical specifications and financial offers. Customer and dealer-facing websites, spreadsheets and documents are also reviewed on a regular basis. Certain aspects of new product launches are managed as well; from updating their brochures to creating their UK-specific tech & spec sheets. Daily queries from dealers provides challenging problem solving opportunities, and frequent visits to dealerships ensures an in depth understanding of networks and processes, alongside a hands on experience with the vehicles.

Working at Renault has greatly enhanced my communication, networking and team-working skills by being part of a fantastic team of interns, as well as having the opportunity to liaise and spend time with other departments and companies within the head office, from Alpine to Dacia. Spending considerable amounts of time on challenging tasks has also improved my problem solving and time management skills, with strict deadlines especially regarding product launches. Working with complex spreadsheets frequently has give me some strong analytical skills, along with my attention to detail that is tested and improved on a daily basis through various tasks.

From presenting to the board of directors to writing up a competitor analysis that got used by ~150 dealerships across the country, my first week at Renault was challenging, thrilling, and extremely rewarding to say the least. While I may have been thrown into the deep end regarding responsibilities in my very first week, an amazing handover experience ensured that I would be able to tackle all these tasks with little to no issues. On the other hand, being encouraged to question people around me took care of any problems that I ran into.

As mentioned earlier, the handover was planned well in advance to ensure my transition from uni to work was as smooth and stress-free as possible. Comprehensive guides that had been carefully written up by the previous interns, as well as their approachable attitudes also helped greatly throughout the handover period. After the handover, the support and guidance has been constant - especially with the brand manager being my biggest advocate and mentor. A lot of importance is placed on our health and safety as well, with employees there to support us with any physical and mental health related issues daily.

The culture honestly could not be better, everyone seems super friendly and approachable, whether they are from Dacia or Alpine, and regardless of department. You can freely walk to any of them and start a conversation with whoever you want, or even ask for a quick walk around if you're curious about a specific role or brand within Renault Group. We get a huge selection of free ice cream every day and there's even a fully-fledged racing simulator along with VR games. The company is full of petrolheads in fact, and a large number of employees speak or know French, so bonus points if you do too, or if you like cars!

It's been incredibly fun so far, with some amazing opportunities that I never expected to have within my first week itself. Presenting to the board of directors as an intern may be one of the most daunting yet coolest things I've ever done, and all of the interns even got to go to Goodwood Festival of Speed (for free!). Also, not to mention the dealer visits where we get to test drive the cars!!

Yes

Make sure you have at least some knowledge of Excel basics, and are proficient with Word and PowerPoint, as these will become your favourite tools over the next year. Have a brief understanding of the automotive industry, along with Renault as a brand and the Renault Group itself. However, you don't necessarily have to be a car enthusiast or speak French to impress the interviewers, just be yourself and showcase your strengths with a smile and you'll be good to go!