Marketing Trainee Review

Overall I have really enjoyed my placement year at J&J. There have been various days throughout the year where I have found it hard and often let things get on top of me. On reflection these days are certainly outweighed by the good.

I feel a valued member of the team and have never felt like a 'placement student' but more a valued member of the team.

I have been given support from my manager on all tasks where I required it. At the start of placement this was a lot more than it is as I near the end and I now have a level of trust with my manager that I will flag any issues where further support is required.

It really varies. Some days I would feel like I didn't have enough hours in the day to complete my work and then two months down the line I would find myself with less to do and more spare time. You can ask to support on extra projects in the business and this will almost always be accepted. As a result my time management skills have developed over the course of the year.

I have been given a lot more responsibility than I initially thought I would have. A lot of the projects I have managed and worked on show up throughout the business. Being able to look at a piece of work and know your work contributed towards the end result is definitely rewarding.

I believe my placement year has definitely helped support the working theories I learned at uni and I will be taking back a lot of useful insights and studies to help in my final year of study. A lot of the theory I learned at university is not applicable to my job as it is either outdated or not relevant.

The office is friendly and very relaxed. The dress code is smart casual which adds to the atmosphere. Everyone is approachable and very talkative. A lot of employees work from home especially on a Friday so often the office is quite empty.

Initially the placement was not well organised with house finding, start dates and finding fellow placement students. As a group we communicated outside of what J&J had set up in order to sort out these issues. The structure of the placement itself and the job roles are very organised with ongoing reviews with your manager

We had an initial month of training for all platforms we would use throughout the year. As my year progressed I have been able to attend various marketing conferences, partner meetings and training courses. I believe I have been not only trusted but also invested in to develop my skills and bring these learnings back to the team.

Prospects are appealing however the location is not - working in Maidenhead isn't ideal.

Yes there was however this was all placement led and we were not given any support. Within the first week as a group we actively organised social activities. We still on a regular basis meet outside of work and socialise together. We have a really great group and together we have been on holidays and to Ascot together. As a team we haven't really completed many team activities together. This varies on a team by team basis however we have had one team day together since I started and two lunches. Its a real shame that smart spend affects this and often these activities are self funded.

Cost of living is higher as it is close to London and rent as a result increases. Socialising in Maidenhead is not great and I would recommend living in either Reading or closer to London. Maidenhead has a few bars however to live in it is pretty boring.

There are a few pubs you can go to in Maidenhead however these aren't great and as a result we tend to go out in Reading/London more often.

Yes but these were all placement led and none were organised by the company itself.