Marketing Operations Review

My placement taught me so many new skills however there were times I felt I struggled with tasks, this however meant I learnt from mistakes and prepared me for similar tasks in the future. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed my placement year.

I felt a strong sense of value and belonging within my team while on placement with Cummins. The community was welcoming and made me feel comfortable throughout the duration of my placement.

I was given support in areas when it was necessary but left to my own judgement in order to develop my independence and initiative. This to begin with was tough but in retrospect meant I learnt how to delegate tasks when leading a project but also better manage my own time.

My workload varied dependent on the events we had in our schedule. Due to the nature of my role work can be volatile so it was genuinely a case of being too busy or too quiet. In respect of this my manager decided to give me more responsibility to fill in the time where I was less busy making my workload more balanced.

I was given a larger amount of responsibility as my placement progressed within my closing months I was planning my own show with my managers support but ultimately this was all my own responsibility to complete. In effect, I feel my manager gave me far more responsibility than I think the average placement would receive.

I believe the skills I have learnt will develop my professionalism as I know before commencing this placement I was still in an educational mentality and didn't consider workplace factors and the environment that comes with it. Not only this but the culture and communication skills attached has made me realise that university should be treated no different. Since university is a career defining milestone and it is important that students should approach their studies in a more significant viewpoint.

In general the atmosphere was friendly, welcoming and relaxed. There was never a time I felt in a hostile environment and enjoyed the company of my colleagues and other staff.

There was to an extent a high level of organisation. My only fault would be that before commencing placement the human resources department failed to include myself and another placement in the email thread detailing those who were also on placement. This resulted in me finding accommodation on my own which was rather frustrating.

The firm I feel have invested a lot in me, given the level of responsibility I have obtained it would suggest they have somewhat given me a high level of trust to ensure more important tasks have been completed.

There is a desire to return for a graduate role to see how my career can progress with Cummins. However, there is no urgency to return it is more of a case of availability in terms of roles and the location they are based.

The social scene was excellent the other placements and even some of the colleagues all engaged and networked with each other very well. I strongly agree the social scene brought a great atmosphere to the workplace.

My accommodation came to about £600 including bills and food for the month, it was manageable due to the income but I struggled to save huge amounts of money since I was too preoccupied with the social scene and less geared towards saving money.

The nightlife was rather disappointing and difficult to travel to the more lively areas. If I could drive the nightlife would have been more accessible and lively.

There were a few activities but a lot of the placements decided it was more fun doing stuff together outside of work than looking for activities on our own.