Placement Year Review at 3M

The Role

Role Description

conducting and presenting market research; maintaining/creating communications (email, web, social media or print); event management; NPI management; leading cost saving initiatives

1. To what extent did you enjoy your work placement or internship?

★★★★★★★★★☆

Rated 9/10

Working at 3M was an absolutely fantastic experience and I would recommend their marketing placement scheme very highly. Some of my day-to-day tasks included: undertaking research to gain an understanding of how our customers utilise our products and what our current penetration levels within those segments are; maintaining end-user communications whether that be via email, web, social media or print; project managing 3M’s presence at a number of high-profile industry events; leading NPI projects from market research stages through to test sell; leading cost saving initiatives etc.

2. To what extent did you feel valued by your colleagues?

★★★★★★★★★★

Rated 10/10

Hard work never went unnoticed and I felt part of the team from day one.

3. To what extent were you given support and guidance by management/your supervisor(s)?

★★★★★★★★☆☆

Rated 8/10

I had a brilliant manager who set challenging expectations and work during my placement. He was always happy to give guidance when needed. This said, I would have liked more formal training on some of my duties. I sometimes felt that I was left to get on with things.

4. How busy were you on a daily basis?

★★★★★★★★☆☆

Rated 8/10

3M provides a good work/life balance.

5. How much responsibility were you given during your placement?

★★★★★★★★☆☆

Rated 8/10

I found the philosophy in my division was to give placement students as much or as little responsibility as they could cope with. You have to prove yourself, but provided you do this you will have the opportunity to gain some pretty impressive experience.

6. To what extent did/will the skills you developed, and training you received, assist you in your degree studies and beyond?

★★★★★★★★☆☆

Rated 8/10

Having recently returned to university I'm finding the experiences gained on placement very helpful in regard to understanding the content we are currently covering in lectures. I'm sure this experience will be hugely helpful in my future career too.

The Organisation

7. What was the general atmosphere in your office?

★★★★★★★★★☆

Rated 9/10

I had a very sociable team both inside and outside of the office.

8. How well organised was the overall work placement or internship set up?

★★★★★★★★☆☆

Rated 8/10

I think 3M's placements can vary from division to division. This said, my placement was very well organised.

9. In terms of personal training and development, to what extent did the company or firm invest in you?

★★★★★★★☆☆☆

Rated 7/10

For a placement scheme we had some good training. However, I think there should have been more opportunities for marketing/sales/technical specific training.

10. What were the perks on your work placement?

★★★★★★★★☆☆

Rated 8/10

• Flexi Time
• Subsidised Canteen
• Sports and Social Club
• Subsidised/Company Gym
• National Travel
• Financial Bonus
• Company Parties/Events
• Staff Sales/Staff Shop
• Working from home

11. How appealing are future employment prospects within the organisation?

★★★★★★★★☆☆

Rated 8/10

Other Information

12. Was there a good social scene amongst any fellow placement students/colleagues?

★★★★★★★★☆☆

Rated 8/10

Great bunch of people!

13. What was the cost of living and socialising in the area you worked in?

★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆

Rated 5/10

Average

14. What was the Nightlife like in the area you worked?

★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆

Rated 5/10

The office is situated in Bracknell which has absolutely no nightlife what so ever. That said, Reading, Ascot, Windsor and Wokingham are all within driving distance. I would probably avoid living in Bracknell.

15. Were there many opportunities to get involved in activities outside of work?

★★★★★★★★★☆

Rated 9/10

There are a number of sports clubs you can join. Outside of the more organised sports clubs there are a number of guys and girls who are into sports like climbing and mountain biking. Bracknell forest has some pretty decent bike trails. TNDC (thursday night drinking club) is a bit of a laugh too.

In addition to these questions, is there any extra information you would like to leave about your experiences on your work placement that other students may be interested in?

You will definitely make some great friends at 3M.

Review 56/56 for 3M

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