Marketing Undergraduate Review

I thoroughly recommend anyone looking for a year long Marketing Placement to consider Volkswagen Financial Services. Although Finance Marketing can be a dry product and an area that is heavily regulated, the volume of iconic brands that you work across (Audi, VW, Bentley Porsche) makes up for this. Additionally the relatively small size of the department means you will be involved in a variety of areas including Digital, Print, Customer Facing and Retailer Facing materials. The Marketing team are very close nit and often socialise together and become friends as well as colleagues. As well your team there will also be a large group of Undergraduates to socialise with which is important if you are moving to a town where you don't know anybody. Overall I not only enjoyed my year I feel positive that I have gained bags of experience, working across a variety of brands and projects that I will be able to apply to my final year of studies and use as examples when applying for Graduate jobs.

As with any large company you have to earn their trust and prove your worth. However if you are capable and willing to work hard you will be given the same amount of work and responsibility as the full time Marketing Executives in the department. While on placement I felt like a valued member of the team, I was given my own projects to manage and push over the line; these ranged from creating materials to be on display in the show rooms, to overseeing the roll out new process and systems across the department. The volume of work that runs through the department means the team require your support daily, therefore if you are up to the challenge the team will have no problem getting you involved in tasks and will appreciate your support.

My managers were excellent. You will have one main team manager, mine was very supportive and genuinely cared about his team, making sure we were equipped to deal with the pressures that arose during the busy periods. You will have a monthly review for the first 6 months where you can talk through what you're enjoying or any areas where you could improve. Mike was also brilliant at getting me involved in any areas I felt it would be useful to gain experience in for Uni and my future career; such as Digital. You will also work with the Marketing managers on brand specific work, they will make sure you are supported and keep you on track with their brands projects. Their knowledge of their specific brands is amazing (for example Audi customers are talked to in a very different tone compared to SKODA customers) and you will learn loads from them!

In a word.... very! The department supports 7 main brands with all their finance Marketing therefore we get large volumes to support brand marketing on top of our own projects. In particular there are 4 quarters a year where each brands new campaigns are launched, these periods are extremely busy however the team comes together and makes sure everyone is supported. Between quarters the work loads quieten down and you have more time to focus on project work. If you're looking for an easy ride this is not the placement for you.

As I discussed in 'To what extent did you feel valued by your colleagues?' If you can prove you're adding value and working hard you will be given lots of responsibility. For example while there FS started using two new systems 'Dot Approve' and 'Digi' (for internal communications) I was effectively the expert in the Dept for these systems I ran their roll out making sure users were prepared I was also trained on and communicated any updates. Another example includes the introduction of a fixed price servicing plan for Bentley, with my Manager overseeing and the help of an agency I created all the materials for the launch both customer and retailer facing.

You will receive training on the types of Finance Products that we sell i.e Solutions Personal Contract Plan Vs Contract Hire, this is vital so you are aware of the products you are promoting. However there is little training other than this and a lot of learning i.e FCA regulation, is done on the job. My degree is more focused on strategic planning and the journey of the campaign from the grass rout stages of research all the way through to completion and measurement, you get little exposure to this at FS as we tended to jump on the back of brand campaigns and areas where they tell us they require support . However I think my year of experience will be extremely useful when applying for graduate jobs as I now have a massive portfolio of work I can display and talk about and I feel my stake holder management and time management skills have come on leaps and bounds.

The department has lots of young people in and the team had a good sense of humour which meant there was lots of laughter. Although like any corporate office during busy or stressful periods it would be a bit flat. However we moved into a beautiful new building compete with loads of breakout areas and quiet booths where you could go if you needed a change of scene or to focus. The building move lifted the atmosphere of the whole company.

Very well organised, there has been placements in place for a long time so they know what they are doing. My role had also been in place for a few years so when I first joined I had a few set tasks which were my responsibility. These were good as they eased me in until I developed the confidence and experience to pick up larger tasks. The only area for improvement would be support in finding houses as undergrads struggle every year. I didn't have this problem as I moved home for the year, but as MK doesn't have a UNI so there is no real 'student' rental market.

As discussed earlier you work closely with your manager who looks out for your development. In terms of training you will only receive training about the company and products, and team days were you work to improve as a dept.

Nothing set in stone but promising conversations to give them a call when I graduate :)

The department is very close knit and we had lots of team lunches a few fun nights out. The Christmas party was also amazing (free bar)! And to launch our new building they had a free launch party where Pixie Lott and Diversity performed which was amazing! As Undergrads you have a familiarisation event where you all meet each other and the current Undergrads you will be taking over from, before you start placement. They pay for you to stay over in MK, do a team activity and have a Nando's, my year went tobogganing and this year we went go carting. The event is really good as you get to know each other before you start and can find house mates if you need to move to MK.

Lived at home so can't comment but I don't think MK is the cheapest place to live in terms of rent however no where near London prices! Socialising costs are standard.

I have lived in MK all my life so I think I'm a bit over the night life here, there are a couple of clubs in the city centre nothing amazing though as no Uni. Lots of nice restaurants and cocktail bars though, the Hub is the nicest place to go out! Also a big shopping centre, cinemas and nice parks. MK has a bit of everything really.

Lots of charity work opportunities with FS