Sales Assistant Review

I thoroughly enjoyed my placement year at ProspectSoft, both on a professional and personal level. My role was diverse and engaging, and I’ll definitely return to University with an invaluable skillset that I wouldn’t have acquired, had I not done a placement year. But most importantly, I made some really great friends which in turn made the experience highly enjoyable.

The working environment at ProspectSoft is highly supportive, and as a placement I was always made to feel valued as an employer. Throughout the duration of my placement, I was treated as an integral member of the team and placements are included in both company and departmental meetings where I’ve always had the opportunity to voice my opinions and suggestions.

On my placement, I was lucky enough to receive support and guidance from both the Sales/Marketing Director and Marketing Manager at ProspectSoft. Learning from such senior members of staff was a truly insightful experience, and they were always happy to answer any questions I had along the way!

Naturally, there were times when my work load was particularly demanding for example as Placement Recruitment Officer at ProspectSoft December and January were extremely busy months for me as this is when we receive the majority of our applications. But for me personally, I loved rising to the challenge and it definitely helped me to become increasingly productive. I always have daily tasks to complete, so it means that even when I have weeks that are more relaxed than others, there’s always something to be getting on with.

With ProspectSoft being a small to medium sized business, the responsibility you get given is second to none. I was delegated tasks such as heading up ProspectSoft’s placement recruitment process alongside being responsible for the sales and support of our web analytics product. You can truly see the impact of your work not just in your department, but also on the company as a whole.

I haven’t returned to University just yet, but I imagine that the skills I’ve gained on my placement will help me to achieve academic success in my final year. I believe that the general business acumen that I’ve developed (from different marketing strategies and sales techniques, to conducting myself professionally in an email) alongside the practice I got in marketing my writing to a target audience when writing blogs has made me better equipped to graduate University a more rounded individual.

The general atmosphere in the office was professional, yet really social too. If you ever needed to get your head down to complete a time-pressured task I was always able to do so, but at the same time there was always something to laugh about in the Sales/Marketing office too! The atmosphere is fun and young, for example we have a Pizza Friday once a month and a pool table in our office that we could play at lunch!

The Placement Scheme at ProspectSoft has been in place for over 10 years now, so the scheme is very well refined and structured. Following the training at the beginning of the month, I had lots to look forward to including helping ProspectSoft launch their biggest ever event at Silverstone Racetrack and overseeing the placement recruitment process. There’s also the chance to have an appraisal with our Director, and I found this exercise really useful in self-reflecting on all that I’d achieved.

At the beginning of my placement year at ProspectSoft, I received four weeks of relatively intense training on a variety of topics including how to navigate my way across a Customer Relationship Management system to general telemarketing skills. This year I have also become certified in HubSpot’s Inbound Marketing course which I was encouraged to complete, and there’s also the chance to have an appraisal with our Director. I found this exercise really useful in self-reflecting on all that I’d achieved.

Over half of ProspectSoft’s workforce is made up of either existing or returning placements, and I’m sure that there will be placements on my intake who will most definitely return to ProspectSoft.

The social scene among the Placements at ProspectSoft was great. It was brilliant to have the support of a placement network around me, identifying with people who are in the exact same situation as you. We would often go out for lunch together, or even on nights out after work whenever we had the chance! I’ll definitely stay in contact with the other placements I’ve had the pleasure of working with this year.

I was lucky enough to be able to live at home this year, as it was just a 30 minute commute from my home to the ProspectSoft offices. Other than that, the prices are what you would expect for the South of England.

Even though Stokenchurch is just a small village, it is ideally located between London and Oxford. London is just a 30 minute train journey away from High Wycombe, and Oxford a short drive down the M40 so there’s always lots to do on weekends! In Stokenchurch, there is also a nice pub/hotel called the Kings where you can go for lunch and a drink after work.

If you’re an active person there’s lots to get involved in outside of work. I know that some of the placement students regularly went climbing with work colleagues, and ProspectSoft even had a team enter Tough Mudder this year. For some of us girls we also had an Arts and Crafts night, which was a bit more relaxed but still a lot of fun!