Internal Sales and Marketing Assistant Review

Panasonic offers a lot of flexibility and I was able to tailor my work load around the areas I enjoyed. You receive real responsibilities at Panasonic and although the role challenges you there is always people around who can help, making the work enjoyable instead of over-stressful. You'll have good days and bad, but the work is enjoyable if you choose to make the most of it and get stuck in.

The extent in which you are valued by your colleagues is completely up to you. Like trust, your value within the company needs to be earned. If you work hard and have a positive attitude then your colleagues will put real trust in you and your abilities - then you will be seen as a valued member of the team.

Whether it's your manager or colleague, support is always available and everyone is happy to help or at least point you in the right direction. Nobody is going to spoon feed you though and its up to you to use your initiative and try to solve your own problems as much as possible.

Within my role I worked on a lot of events and that meant my work load constantly changed depending on what events we attended. On average I would say the work load is enough to keep you busy day-to-day, but at times you need to go out and find your own work to do. See who else needs help to get the most from your placement or show some initiative and find ways to improve a current process.

At Panasonic you take on a real role with real responsibilities, your work will affect others and you will be given deadlines and a certain level of quality will be expected. This is not a role where you will be fetching coffees, if want real work on your placement and gain real experiences then Panasonic is the place to be.

The skills I have developed at Panasonic are going to benefit me through my studies and throughout my whole career. You will learn how a company really works whilst on placement, you will learn how best to communicate with people and hopefully learn from the mistakes you made. Because you will make mistakes. The 9 to 5 working day puts you in a routine which will help with time management at university.

The atmosphere in the office is friendly but professional. Everyone is welcoming and approachable and there is usually cake somewhere in the office. You have to understand that Panasonic is a large corporate company and professionalism is important, often important visitors and high levels of management are on site. The workplace is relaxed and staff are happy.

Joining Panasonic was very streamlined, the application process was clear and there was a lot of communication. Once you join, your work station will be set up ready and training will be provided in your first couple of weeks. Panasonic has been hiring placement students for years and the process is air tight.

You will receive a selection of training when you join that is relevant to your role. You are then given the opportunity to participate in further training to further develop yourself. Panasonic staff understand the limited time students have at the company and want to work with you to ensure you receive the most out of it as possible. This even includes moving you into different roles for further experience if requested.

Personally I would be happy to return to Panasonic and take on my current role after university. Panasonic has taken on previous students before so it is important to make an impression once you are here and network efficiently. As such a large company the employment prospects are huge and you will now be one step ahead of the competition with your experience from placement.

With a group of 12-16 students hired at once, you will make friends and within my placement year we all saw each other outside of work and will continue to meet once we leave. Even if you are not house sharing you will have no problem making friends and joining in. Students often participate in charity events together, enjoy nights in town and meet after work for drinks.

Depending on your preferences there are many places you can live. You will work in Bracknell where the cost of living is reasonable but there isn't an overwhelming amount to do. The closer you live to Reading, the more expensive living will be but you will have more to do in your free time.

Reading is the closest town for a night life, the clubs aren't amazing in my opinion but if you live close to the office there is nothing available for night life. But with a good transport system in Reading traveling to London is easy for a good night with friends.

Panasonic run a welfare scheme which includes sports classes like Yoga, as well as discounted memberships to local gyms so there is lots to get involved in. They are also strong supporters of Macmillan cancer research and there are always charity events to volunteer for. Reading is a great town for sports facilities and other activities to explore on weekends.