Assistant Product Marketing Manager Review

I have enjoyed my time at Sony greatly. The working atmosphere at Sony Professional Solutions Europe is great. As all the people are mostly very friendly and supportive. Not only this but my Sony placement has been able to provide me with chance to get involved in many different activities, including business trips and events.

Although working as part of a large team you feel you are still appreciated on individual level, at least this is my experience of Sony. People have most definitely let me know when i have done well and are very supportive in those tasks you are not as confident at doing. I feel most at Sony don't see you as an intern but value you as a colleague, not just this but they want you to succeed as much as you want to and will help you as much as possible with this in the main.

Across the year i have been given a great deal of support, specifically from my line-manager but also from many of those in my team and even those not in my team. I have never felt throughout the year there was no one i could turn to for help. A good example of the help and guidance i have received that was above and beyond was the support given to me with University work. Not only this but training course that have been provided throughout the year for many of the areas i wanted to improve in.

On a daily basis there was a lot of change in how busy I was. Sometime i had huge quantities of work especially on the run up to events and busier periods of the year but the majority of the time it was a very steady pace of work. However, there are a few quiet spells. A great thing is though in these quiet spells you are able to complete online training that i for example had been set by my manager or work with others teams on stuff you wouldn't normally get to do. But when i had a quieter spell it was very short lived.

I was given the sort if responsibility i never expected whilst on placement. Before placement i was very unsure what i would be doing day to day, but never thought it would involve much of what i did. The best part is thought that although I had a lot of responsibility i never once felt like i was out of my depth or couldn't go to someone for support, and i think most importantly i never felt i was going to be blamed or in trouble if something didn't quite go to plan, which is very reassuring .

I feel that my placement has set me up ready to go in to a graduate job with a level of knowledge and skill level that will allow me to hit the ground running. In terms of skills i have learnt a range of skills across placement, some of which are completely new and some that have just greatly reinforced those i had already. Not only this but the range of training i have been able to do this year, including Chartered Institute of Marketing modules, advanced Excel courses and Presentation skill training workshops have enabled me to develop more than i would of without these chances.

It is a very friendly atmosphere within the office and there is a lot of opportunities to interact with those you work with and those you don't ever work with through social clubs, and quiz nights. But when working you still don't feel you will be hushed if you talk to someone. However, you are expected to complete your work to a high standard. Its also great cos Friday there is a slightly shorter day and its also a dress down Friday. Saying this it is not a very smart office with most people not wearing ties and many going for a more smart casual look.

I was the first intern to take up the role i have carried out over the last 12 months, and at first i thought the role was possibly not the most organised, throughout the year however i have definitely seen that i think this was just the transition period as now i am very happy and feel my placement is very well structured. I think the only real problem i had was when initially entering into the contract there was a lot of problems with sorting paperwork prior to the placement, yet however non of this caused any major issues, however this was the recruiting agency and not Sony themselves.

Sony invests a lot of time in you i have found. Not just in ways which will benefit them but they also think about your long term development. They will always encourage you to get involved in as much as possible, where possible, but not just this i have found they will get you involved where they can. I have also found that they have a great range of training available both internal and external should you want it. For me it was required as part of my objectives over the 12 months to complete a set amount of training activities across a range of topics.

Sony have recently started a graduate placement scheme within Sony Electronics. Although I work in the Business to Business side of the business i feel many of the skills learnt are transferable to this scheme. There are also great examples of people who I have worked with over the year who started as placement students and have gone on to work for Sony full time after graduation.

Although Basingstoke itself is not the most exciting place the large amount of interns really make up for it. Not far from London and Reading and many other places you will never find yourself short of things to do at weekends either. There are many great places to eat in the surrounding area, and this year we have found ourselves enjoying a meal every Thursday a a group of interns. Not only this but with facilities like a Cinema on-sight and gym classes also many sporting groups such as a football teams you can can get really involved should you want to. Not just this but there are many other social events such as quiz nights.

Although i have paid quite a lot this year to live in a two bed flat in Basingstoke with a fellow intern, many of the others have opted for house shares at a very reasonable price. I myself have paid around 650 (bills incl.) a month for my flat it is possible to go much cheaper and much more expensive. And with a great Free Sony bus service from the station to the office in mornings and great motorway connectivity with M3/M4/M25 close at hand if you decide to commute that is just as easy.

Although nightlife in Basingstoke itself isn't the best there is a club that is open at weekends and also an over 21's Club. There are also bars such as Las Iguanas where you can get a great deal on cocktails. But of course reading is very close on hand if you are missing more of a student night out.

You will be faced with many activities outside work such as charity events that Sony participate in. But there are also many activities on tap in the local area.