Product Management & Marketing Intern Review

The placement was very enjoyable, the mix of challenging work and heavy involvement with projects throughout the year made it a very valuable experience.

I had a great team in the product management and marketing department, all of my colleagues valued me and offered assistance in any work. I was able to get involved with any of the projects I asked to be added into and became a real resource for the team, rather than just a junior member.

My managers throughout the year were fantastic. I was constantly supported and made to feel part of the team, I feel that my managers were particularly valued by the company and that allowed me to mirror how they acted and responded to requests in order for myself to be more highly regarded in the office. It was great to see where I could end up in the company and the feedback about my performance and career advice has been invaluable.

If ever I felt I was starting to lack work I could get myself involved with more projects very easily, I also had monthly reviews with my managers to talk about workload and my happiness with the work. This helped shape my workload throughout the year.

I very quickly became a good resource for the PM team at my site, working across the globe with other sites with minimal supervision and reporting back to my seniors whenever necessary. I could easily answer questions and turn around requests from other departments without gaining approval, which to me was a good indication that I was responsible for my own work.

Throughout the year I have used marketing tools and theories that directly relate to my degree, meaning I now have real life examples to use in any future modules. I have also become very comfortable in a professional environment and feel that I can enter another workplace very easily and start having an impact instantly after university.

The atmosphere was very relaxed and welcoming. All of the teams interacted with each other and worked together on projects every week, which helped with the harmony. I personally felt very welcomed at the site and would not have hesitated to walk into any of the directors offices to ask questions etc.

The placement was very well organised, receiving a welcome pack, introduction booklet and diary of intern dates and events was much appreciated and helped throughout the year. It was also very easy to get in touch with the placement managers to talk about any issues or questions we may have. This organisation continued to my site where I was given a full tour and introduction to all departments by the managers and their employees. This all made the settling in period very easy and comfortable rather than stressful!

Throughout the year the interns visited sites across England for training and development days, these days were good investments and did produce some useful and interesting results. I feel some of the days could have been condensed or more business orientated, but I enjoyed and appreciated them nonetheless.

Eaton also have a graduate scheme that has a good retention rate, the prospects for travel and training throughout the grad scheme are very appealing, as well as the options for employment at the end of the scheme. It was very interesting to see how the former grads were climbing through the company compared to external hires.

I was lucky enough to be placed in Loughborough with 4 other placement students, so this resulted in a very good year socially and I have gained a lot of new friendships that will continue past the placement year - this made the transition from university much easier and more enjoyable. I have also made good friends with a lot of people in the organisation and will continue to stay in touch with them in the future.

The cost of living in Loughborough and Nottingham is average, I didn't notice it being any different to my university living costs - except for rent being slightly higher as I chose to rent an apartment on my own. The wage received allowed me to live comfortable and save for my summer before heading back to uni.

Loughborough is a university town so was very good for nights out etc. I lived very close to the town centre so always had somewhere to go with friends and never found myself wondering where to go. I also visited friends in Nottingham regularly, which was an amazing place for nights out.

There were options to play sports after work, one of which was organised by one of the other interns. This was great fun and allowed us to all become more comfortable around colleagues and see another side of them.