Marketing, Sales and Service Placement Student Review

Absolutely loved it! I was given a lot of responsibility and was trusted to do my work as I saw fit. From good results in my first few months, I asked to approach some difficult tasks that the rest of my team handled. They agreed that I could gradually make my way into these responsibilities, to which I did and am very appreciative for the trust they put in me. I also got to go away on a few trips which were so much fun and really gave me insight to other areas of the company.

I felt that I impressed my colleagues and they valued my opinions. They would come to me for help in some areas that I became very knowledgeable on, and I felt that we worked well together. I also played a key role in team socials, and development; and so the work I did in organising several events, days of reflection and weekly training I felt went highly appreciated.

I was given a 'buddy' to assist me in my new project. They were very good at teaching me the way of the company but also giving me enough space to learn for myself. The role was a new one and so there was little structure to it as of my arrival. I felt a little uneasy at first having no structure to what I was supposed to do, however, very quickly valued that as it meant that I could make what I wanted out of it.

Consistently had tasks to complete, however, there was often a mix of near term deadlines and my on-going project. I always had enough time to do some extra analyses that weren't necessarily required but could lead to some interesting data. Some weeks we would have a high workload but this would be made up for by a shortened day another day. If I ever felt I had too little to do I would ask around a new subject or some new responsibilities and so I was never bored.

A lot of responsibility! Upon arrival I was to lead a new project, to which no one new much about. This meant I was able to mould the project as I wished and was trusted to do what I felt was necessary and manage my work accordingly. I was also allowed to present in front of directors monthly. Half way through my placement I asked to get involved in the work that the rest of the team does, which has huge profit impact. I was gradually allowed to take on tasks over 2 months. After proving myself I was then allowed to look after a markets program/ forecast out to 2016 (Denmark). From this stems into production of vehicles, sales in the market and subsequent planning from the expected revenue as a result.

My skills in critical thinking have developed a lot. I had to unpick a very complicated situation as part of my project. I consistently had to question everything and then say but why can't it be another way? It was scary to suggest such dramatic changes to the company but I did have breakthroughs in some big decisions. Some did take several months to gain approval, but it showed me that actually you can make a big difference if you keep going. Project management could be difficult at times, especially when you hit a road block. Sometimes the block wasn't as big as I had feared, and again I now know that I need to approach things head on.

At first it was a little quiet. The office was about 75% Men aged 40 and up, which at first I felt a bit daunted by. After a few social events and getting to know people at various areas around the office, I felt there was a bit more of a buzz. We would have a laugh every day and always had some food or something going around. Everyone was very open to new ideas for things within the office and had a laugh decorating the place time to time. We'd often also engage in debate which was always really interesting, whether it be about food or the economy. We had a few days a month of peak work periods where everyone could be a bit more tense, this is when there have been tight deadlines imposed by senior, senior management. However, everyone would be in the same boat and everyone was good at coming together to support each other during these times.

It wasn't very well organised. Our induction training was death by PowerPoint in a dark room. We only met about 10 other placement students/graduates that day. I had no idea what I would be doing, I was only told the department I was going into. I had spoken to my manager prior to arrival to find out more, as I requested contact details, but had I not I wouldn't have known anything more than my department. The introduction to my team was very warm, I had personal introductions to everyone, some one on one time with my buddy and a welcome meeting with everyone. My role was new, so understandably lacked structure. However, I did appreciate this as it meant I could mould it quite a bit. On going, I had no formal appraisals until I left. I did organise some informal ones with my line manager throughout though. It was roughly 3 months before we met other placement students across Ford of Britain. We then found there was a network of graduates and placements that organised monthly socials and meetings. My replacement was unknown, even when I left, which was 3 weeks prior to their start date. This meant handover wasn't as smooth as it could have been. Also, I can't be informed of any offer to return as a graduate until earliest May 2016, however prior years did not know until August the following year.

Very little. There was some compulsory training around laws and regulations. This was just online characters that we would watch and have a quiz on. If I wanted further training in something, such as presenting or something technical like Excel, I needed to get it approved by my manager. This would only be approved if it was free to the company. Otherwise there was support from my team who were knowledgeable in particular areas. I did have someone on my team teach me how to write CBA coding which was invaluable, but was done out of his work time.

There are clear lines where graduates have developed and moved into new roles. However, it appeared that most people would move sideways a lot and not get into a management role, despite 20 odd years of service. However, it was clear where some graduates had excelled and were going up very quickly. It is thrown around that more females are needed in the company and so their future prospects could be brighter than a males. A lot of placement students appeared to have returned to Ford as graduates. However, all the ones I had met had not been informed until June-August the following year. Therefore, I see it likely that I will be offered a place, however due to the waiting time I may have chosen to go elsewhere. For me the most important thing is peace of mind whilst studying that I have a good graduate job to follow my degree. Therefore, I am looking to go elsewhere.

We didn't get to meet other placement students for a long time and so there were only 6 of us for a few months. When we met the others we did socialise at graduate socials which were monthly. Between the placement students we would also meet up at least once a month to catch up on things. Before I came along my team didn't do much in the way of socials. I then started to organise monthly socials within or team which always went down really well and we would have good turn outs. However, the location in Essex and the nature of our company meant that most people lived far out and drove into work each day, and so there was little after work socialising.

Cost of living was quite substantial. Getting into work every day meant a lot of petrol costs. The nature of Essex is that there are a lot of small towns/areas separated by long stretches of land, and so public transport was not an option (/a very long option!) if you lived outside of the local area. Socialising usually meant going into London. Again if you wanted to go elsewhere in Essex you'd need to drive which meant not drinking etc. Getting to London was relatively straightforward, but there were no last busses etc. The local clubbing scene was quite expensive due to the cost of taxis in and out and the famous show TOWIE meaning the clubs were pricy.

It was pretty dead. There was one club that was close enough to use to not break the bank from a taxi, which was in Brentwood and very pricy. It was always busy and was a pretty safe night, the music would be good, the people would be calm. Some people lived closer to London so could enjoy that whole nightlife.

There were sports clubs and social clubs that I had heard of, however they weren't very well advertised. The gym was always very popular though. We were offered money to support learning something, with which I learnt to drive. This was invaluable to me as I am not sure I could have otherwise afford it. There were local teams for sports that one of my colleagues got involved in.