Marketing Coordinator Review

My work placement at Cummins was a fantastic experience which I really enjoyed. I met great and experienced individuals and managed to develop my personal and professional character. I was given the opportunity to collaborate with stakeholders internationally and get exposed into various areas of the business. Reflecting back at my placement experience I definitely learnt a lot about myself, my learning style and my abilities.

From the beginning of my placement I felt very comfortable within the team as everyone was really friendly and supportive. From the start I was given projects and responsibilities that reflected my potential and abilities and the outcome and effort was valued and appreciated by the team and stakeholders.

Throughout my placement I consistently received great support and guidance both from my manager and the rest of the team members. I was also assigned a day to day supervisor for the first six months which was extremely helpful as I could ask any questions and raise any concerns I had. In addition, in terms of project work, I had bi-weekly 1:1 sessions with my manager to go through my work plan and identify where I would need additional help.

During the day I was quite busy working on diverse projects, which was really good as I had a lot of variety on a daily basis and managed to develop my coordinating skills. By working on different projects I managed to develop my planning techniques and come up with a solid plan for the year which allowed me to work on diverse things at the same time and deliver all my projects within due dates. Overall my work plan was balanced with reasonable deadlines which made me feel more confident with my work.

At the begging of my placement I was mostly executing, focusing on smaller tasks as I was new to the business and had to firstly gain a solid background knowledge. However during the second half of my placement I was given full responsibility and ownership of projects. I was given autonomy to make decisions for my projects and lead important meetings. Although I was very much responsible for the outcome, I always had my manager's and team's support which made me feel sure of myself.

I truly believe that the skills I have developed throughout the year are could definitely be applied in my final year and eventually in my future roles. During my placement, I received a lot of valuable trainings which have significantly shaped the professional character I have today. Through the trainings I was able to identify my strengths and weaknesses and together with the projects I was given I learnt how to apply them best to suit the main purpose.

The atmosphere in the office was great and well balanced. The group dynamics were strong and everyone could relate to each other. We had fun while working which I think is really important and hard to achieve especially when everyone is busy with their own work.

The placement scheme was very well structured by Cummins HR and everything was aligned and organised. My manager was always informed about the various placement trainings and the induction period run smoothly. Throughout the training all HR representatives were extremely helpful and supportive with any issues that came up. All managers had their individual checklists to make sure that the placement student was introduced to everything required and there were a series of individual supporting online trainings to make sure placements were informed about the various practices and core values of the business.

Throughout my placement I was given a lot of training opportunities that positively influenced my personal and professional development. One of the most important trainings I received were around communication and team working. The skills I learnt were directly related to my work and I was able to apply them into my role. The training opportunities were numerous and both internal and external which made me realise how much Cummins is investing in people.

Over the years the employment prospects have been quite strong, A number of placement students have come back as graduates which shows that a lot of placements enjoy their year and are willing to return, Personally I am particularly pleased with my placement experience and would very much like to come back and work for Cummins as a graduate,

Within the Cummins site where I was located, there were a lot of placement students working in different departments, which was really good as you always had someone that you could relate to and was on the same page as you were. All of the training sessions were delivered to all placement students at the same time which was a great opportunity for all to catch up and collaborate together.

Personally I did not have to relocate into a different area as my University was also located in Kent. That was a really positive element for me as I was quite familiar with the area, the relevant costs and had a good social life outside work.

The Nightlife in Canterbury, where I lived, was really good and there were a number of social activities to do in the evenings as well..

There were quite a few opportunities to get involved in outside of work provided by Cummins social club, such as weekend trips and sports. As part of Corporate Responsibility I was also given the chance to participate in various social activities to assist and improve the communities around the area which was a great experience.