Digital Marketing and Social Media Assistant Review

Whilst on my year long placement at Panasonic UK, I got to experience a complete vary of opportunities, working with different people across many different areas of the business and external agencies (some in which it was not part of my daily role to do so) and being able to attend and work different events. Together, these enabled me to really enjoy my experience working at the company, never having a day the same and never having little to do in order to get bored.

Working at Panasonic I definitely did not feel like a typical placement student. I was given big responsibilities in roles and had to lead certain projects, leading colleagues that had worked at the company for a lot longer than I had. The company was also great in so much as my manager gave me regular feedback on how I was performing, letting me know when I had done something well, alongside working together on how to improve on things that may not have gone as planned.

Half way through my placement year, my manager changed as the Brand Communication department in which I worked restructured. Having worked previously with my newly appointed manager meant it wasn't awkward and I found that because of the situation at hand he was really positive in the work I was completing, guiding me through what I was already working on and bringing in new ways to tackle a challenge. Being the manager of the Social Media channels for the company meant I had to create content and manage what was to go live, and before posting, sending it to my manager to approve. Here we worked together to look at what I had created to see what worked and what could be improved. Management within the company was very good at working collaboratively with the placement students, especially within my small, digital team.

No day within my role of Digital Marketing and Social Media Assistant was ever the same. Some days were of course, busier than others but tasks varied on how far through the financial and seasonal year we were, whether I was working on the advertising campaign or analyzing social statistics. I rarely had days where I had little to do, and even if I had finished all of my tasks I would inform my manager who would happily give me more responsibility of taking on another task for our small team who had to manage a lot of challenges.

I had a great deal of responsibility in my placement role. Not only did I feel like a valued member of my team, I was appointed the Social Media Manager of the company's online presence which consisted of 10 channels. Launching 2 new channels within my placement year meant I had to work with agencies directly and take charge, make decisions and give feedback where necessary, something my manager appointed to me as he struggled to have the time to do so. Saying this, if I required guidance or advice in any way, my manager would always help.

My placement year at Panasonic UK gave me the most valuable skills from those you can write down on paper such as time management, excel skills and social media management to more life skills such as dealing with awkward situations and office politics. Not only this, the year has helped open my eyes to what I feel I would like to pursue in life and shown m how much scope really is out there, from Advertising, PR and Journalism to Graphic Design and Marketing.

The general atmosphere in the Panasonic UK office especially within my 'end' was always positive and up-beat, working on the fun campaigns constantly. Being an open planned office also helped this to be so.

The HR department within the company did a great job in making sure that placement student had everything they required for the year and had the right guidance and exposure. Even if you were unsure about certain things, there was always a reachable contact to speak to who could help out.

The company put a lot of emphasis on personal development. At the beginning of the year I had the opportunity to participate in various training courses such as Excel, time management, assertiveness and email culture which benefitted me massively throughout the year. Many more courses were also offered throughout the year that my manager was happy for me to attend if I felt it would be beneficial. Alongside this, personal targets were set to complete and if so, a bonus would be received at the end of the year dependant on how well you and the company had performed.

The company does not officially promote graduate jobs or placements. However many placement students have returned from previous years to join the company on a permanent basis, having the benefit of knowing how the company works and about the products. I feel I have also gained a great amount of contacts throughout my time which will hopefully benefit me in the future.

In total there are around 14 placement students and a number of apprentices all of a similar age within the company that regularly meet up outside of work hours. Prior to joining, the company also put you in touch to set you up together to go and find a house.

I would say the cost of living did not differ that much to the amount you would live off at uni, however travel costs need to be taken into account. Saying this, because you have a regular income which is significantly higher than the one you have at uni, there is little issue and you can even enjoy some of the luxuries you may not otherwise be able to afford term time at uni.

As a group of students, we decided to live in Reading, just outside of Bracknell where the offices were. This was because Reading had a lot more activity going on and great nightlife throughout the week (being a uni town and all).

There were lots. I joined a gym, and people at work introduced me to other activities which I could have joined such as dancing and comedy etc. One of the other placement students who I worked with also volunteered at the local cub scouts every week.