EMEA Marketing and Professional Affairs Intern Review

Responsible for managing and supporting the rest of the team in multiple projects at once in differing areas of marketing, so you receive a really interesting and well-rounded view of what marketing consists of in a B2B and B2B2C marketing environment. You have a chance to work with agencies, people across Europe and beyond, and in a team with a plethora of extensive experience in a fun, engaging, friendly and supportive environment. This is a role that you might discount from the outset as it is not with a well-known brand and operates in a niche industry that doesn't tend to appeal to younger candidates, but I feel this experience provides an opportunity to hone your marketing skills that will put you above the competition when applying for further jobs.

I have greatly developed my employability not just for a marketing related role but also for any role I pursue after university. I feel that having gained experience in a corporate setting, my professional skills have increased from office etiquette to emailing to understanding how office politics work. I have had the opportunity to expand my hard skills such as with MS Office, marketing strategies, creative asset development and much more. My soft skills have increased drastically as well including presentation skills, public speaking, leadership, teamwork, adaptability etc.

You will be responsible for lots of different things including major projects to daily tasks to your own work that you have to manage. For the first half of the internship, there's a lot more support and the work you are responsible is not less significant but it's designed that if you don't succeed it in, the company will be fine. You are given the opportunity to fail and learn from your mistakes. From the second half of the internship, you naturally become more independent and are given more freedom to work with less support and are trusted more to complete the tasks that are given to you. I found this is a very fulfilling experience.

For the first few months to the halfway point, you are really guided and supported with all your work. Once you settle into the role more, learning your place in the team and how your colleagues operate, you are able to and even expected to take full responsibility for your own work and lead projects and tasks. People around you give you the space to develop in your own right while providing your guardrails to make sure you get the most from the internship.

It has been a truly fantastic place to work. I have absolutely loved my team. They're incredibly friendly, supportive, engaging, jovial and knowledgeable. Even though it's a massive corporate business, people describe it as a small big business; everyone seems to know each other and have worked with lots of different people from all over. It isn't hierarchical or top-down. Everyone chats to everyone else. You will many hallway conversations with Directors, VPs and Presidents too!

I thoroughly enjoyed my experience at CooperVision and would highly recommend this role to any prospective marketing or business student. There are opportunities to get out of the office through corporate days-out, intern socials and international business trips. You will likely get four intern socials which are paid for (up to a certain amount), two major corporate days-out - I went go-karting, visited a gin distillery and an expensive hotel - and one annual business trip to somewhere in Europe ( I think past locations have included Dublin, Madrid and Budapest).

Yes

Read the job description and tailor your CV and cover letter accordingly. Research the company through their website and see what others say about working there. If you want to experience a big company with a small-business feel to it then this is the place. Don't have any pre-conceived prejudices about the industry or what the product sold is. Sometimes the least expected jobs prove to be the most fulfilling. I didn't have any expectations in the beginning and it certainly helped me to embrace the internship fully.