Online Marketing Graphic Designer Review

Overall, I would say I enjoyed my time at Sony... although not the year I expected. I was lucky to work among a diverse, welcoming team who made me feel comfortable and confident, and had some great opportunities to develop my skills and understand what it's like to work in global company!

As my role was a new position in the company, it meant I quickly became an invaluable member of the team. People were very appreciative of my support and were clear to express this which was great! I would have liked to have attended more meetings where I could have contributed more to the team.

There were many changes throughout my department during the duration of my placement which saw me report to three managers at different times of the year. I got on well with all managers and felt comfortable asking for help, however in the first 6 months I did not have any feedback/review sessions which often left me feeling slightly lost. My manager knew I had little work, so this could have been a great way to discuss a new way of moving forward/finding out how I could achieve more from this placement year. I rarely worked directly with any of my managers as my job role was quite specific. As they had different areas of expertise, it was difficult to confide in them for skill-related support (which I feel is the purpose of completing a placement year.) Fortunately, other members of my team had slightly more relevant advise they could provide me, so I did have some opportunities to learn new skills throughout the year.

The first few months were extremely slow with very little to do each day. I could have tasks completed within a few hours, which people expected to take a few days, so I was often left waiting around. Throughout the year I built positive rapports with many colleagues which led to more work being sent in my direction. This meant I could have days/weeks where I was much busier!

Like I said in my previous answer, the first few months I had very little to do. This may partly be because the role was new and people were not quite sure how I fit into the department or were not aware of my services. As the year went on I had more responsibility and even had opportunities to travel and represent Sony abroad.

I had some great opportunities to learn new video filming/editing and animation skills, gain valuable copy-writing tips and develop email layouts... these are all new skills I can take forward into my university studies. I also developed my communication and presentation skills. However, as the only in-house graphic designer, it is extremely difficult to develop and learn new degree-relevant skills while on this placement. My course is very ideas based and there was very little room to discuss and develop exciting, new, innovative ideas among a design team and there is no one with graphic design specific skills to learn from.

More relaxed than how I thought a corporate company would be. Very friendly colleagues - my team would go to lunch together most days - and you quickly find yourself knowing many familiar faces around the office! Quite quiet and mundane... often sat behind my desk for 8 hours a day.

Overall, the transition into the placement was smooth, but I do feel there could have been a bit more guidance before our start date and quite a few interns found issues with the recruitment company prior to and during the placement. I think each manager should be required to fulfill some set tasks throughout the year (monthly review etc) to ensure the interns achieve the most out of the year.

We had SPY (Student Placement Year) development days throughout the year which gave us an insight into other sectors of Sony, but these days weren't specifically relevant to me or my skills. I don't feel any other training or development was personally invested into me, I was self-taught for most of the year.

I think Sony would be a great company to come back and work for and they do offer graduate positions, but for my role, I see no opportunity for development. Although I enjoyed working with my team, the role isn't demanding enough to come back here as a permanent member.

There's a really good intern community at Sony. We are a close knit of friends who spent lunch times together in the 'Fun Room' and often met up at weekends and after work!

My team had lots of leaving/welcome drinks and meals at the pub and sometimes we'd go to a karaoke bar. There's also the office Christmas party which is a great way to socialise! There are opportunities to join running club and participate in charity bake sales too.