Marketing and Publicity Intern Review

I really enjoyed this placement. Mostly because there was such a variety of responsibilities and roles. Throughout this placement I was involved in marketing, publicity, human resources, retail, sales and social media management. I had a very flexible yet clear job role which involved being a point of contact for a lot of Warner Bro's important partners. This role also gave me a chance to discover what I enjoyed doing most and to hone my skills in that.

I did feel like a part of the team from day one and I was made aware very early on that my work mattered and that what I did had a real effect on how we operated. While I felt appreciated and valued, a lot of the time you have to work independently and take responsibility for your own role which means that you don't have a manager watching and commenting on everything you do. I knew that I was doing well when my managers gave me extra responsibility or trusted me to handle a situation myself. This is a very empowering place and they reward you by letting you take the lead in your own role.

Because Warner Bros. in Dublin is a small office, I had my managers right beside me most days. While they didn't hover over me or watch my work, if I was having issues or felt I needed extra support they were only a desk away which was great when a role required sign off or needed to be handled differently than how we thought at the beginning. I was never made to feel like asking for help was wrong and if I was every struggling they were more than happy to help!

As this role involves working for both departments, usually there was a perfect balance as when one department was quiet, they other was busy. However, during Christmas and large releases sometimes it can feel like there aren't enough hours in the day! The key here was to talk to my managers about it and let them know that both departments were fairly busy. They took that into consideration and helped me work around deadlines by being flexible in their own roles. We were always busy, but as long as I communicated this I never felt over-worked.

I've mentioned this already but the level of responsibility you're given is really amazing. My role really developed throughout the year and by the end I had experience in every department Warner Bros had to offer! Because I showed a lot of interest in publicity, my theatrical manager let me develop this by including me in press releases and feature ideas and by the end I was counted as a member of the publicity team! This is just one example of how I was encouraged to explore every role within the office.

While there are so many specific skills that I developed in this role, I think the bread and butter skills of the industry are the most important. I learned how to pick up a phone and talk to partners and press about how to work together to our mutual advantage. I learned how to present ideas and adapt them in response to challenges and changes. I learned how to be flexible in achieving goals. My time management and communication skills were definitely improved and I'm sure these will contribute to my degree when I go back next year.

Everyone was very busy and focused on work. However, because it was a small office, everyone was very close and it was easy to get to know everyone and to get on with them. We regularly had fun meetings that evolved into nights out and every birthday involved cake and Prosecco!

I think that this depends on the intern. When I first started I was given a handover document with my role clearly defined. I also had a week with the current intern of the time to go over basic role. I had objectives to meet throughout the first half of the placement and a review in the middle to talk about changes and how I felt the year was going. However, it really is your responsibility to decide what you really want to achieve within the year. For the first half the managers are very focused on giving you experience in the basic role. After that, you get to decide how your placement evolves. This is a great set up and shows a lot of trust in your abilities from your managers.

The extent to which my managers invested in my professional development is, in my opinion, unmatched. They allowed me to develop my role in the direction I was most interested in. They also encouraged communication between myself and members of every department within Warners. This sometimes involved including me in UK events and letting me travel to London to experience as much as possible. I was encouraged to do online courses that I thought may be useful, and to take charge of my own role.

I have heard a lot about former interns who went on to work for the company after graduating. This speaks volumes about the level of training you receive during your intern year. There are so many departments that this position involves working with, so you really get a sense of a lot of different job roles. I would love to come back after graduating to work in any one of them!

I am the only intern in the Dublin office which was a bit scary at first, but the office really is a lovely place to work and I get one well with all of my colleagues. Also, the previous intern will always be there to give advice and offer support for your move if you're coming from far away. There are also many clubs within Dublin which you can join. For example, I made a lot of friends volunteering for the Film Festival!

Living in Dublin can be quite expensive. However, as I mentioned before the current intern will be available to give you tips and tricks on how to find reasonable accommodation so you definitely get a lot of support for this. As for socialising, it all depends on where you go! Dublin is filled with students so there are a lot of cheaper options for you.

Dublin night life is fantastic. It's very laid back and fun and no matter what kind of night out you prefer there's definitely a place that can deliver. As before, the current intern can give you some advice and recommendations for this! As there are a lot of students here there are a lot of different options for a night out.

There are so many different things you can do in Dublin. As I mentioned before, I volunteered with the Film Festival during my time here and it was fantastic! Past interns have also joined Gaelic teams and there's a gym on every corner where you can take classes and join clubs!