Marketing Assistant Review

This year has definitely been full of opportunities. On my first day I was able to go on a sales visit to a key customer, and watch how the relationships are built an maintained. There have been struggles as we're in a period of change, but the people are great, and the industries are interesting, and I had the ability to work in many different areas.

My opinion has mattered since day 1. Working in a very small team has meant that my contributions have mattered 100%. I have been included in decision making, assisted in Marketing planning and strategy, and taken lead on several events. The business would be much harder to run without the assistance of a placement student, so you do feel like an integral part of the team.

There really is a 'No question is a stupid question' mentality at 3M. Any times I've been given big projects, my managers have been happy to assist, and guide me in the right directions when I've hit road blocks. They have helped me to be more focused on the detail, and constantly ask myself 'why?'.

This varied from week to week. Due to my unique circumstances (I joined when 2 new managers joined the business so were in a similar boat to me in terms of not knowing much about the industry), the first few months were slow in terms of work load as we all settled in. But by 6 months in, the original manager (who had been away on maternity) came back, at which point things became much busier and proactive.

There was no sugar coating - you are definitely thrown in at the deep end and given projects which will affect the business. But in my eyes this was a good thing - as it is good experience for the future, and it taught me how to quickly adapt. The only reason I gave this a 9 and not a 10 is because at times you are left out of the high end information, but this is to be expected.

I have developed a much more proactive work ethic this year which I hope to carry on with me into my final year at Uni. I had learned the importance of routine, and how work life balance is crucial to being productive at work. I have accumulated too many skills to list that will undoubtedly help in uni and later life.

The people at 3M are great - you definitely feel like a part of a team. Yes, at the moment in this transitional period there is some negativity in the air as people are resistant to change, but I have no doubt that things will get smoother.

Brilliantly. The recruitment process was easy. The onboarding process was great and helped us all get to know each other. We have had various training sessions throughout the year which have aided our personal developments. In terms of work, you just get stuck in and become part of the machine.

We have had various training sessions throughout the year which have aided our personal developments. I have been given key projects and responsibilities which allowed me to develop my organisational skills, my communication skills, and a plethora of other skills.

Currently I don't know if there is a graduate scheme running - but the nature of employment at 3M would suggest that there are possibilities of joining as a full time employee if you are the right candidate.

Very Good! The social club hosts many events throughout the year, as well as each business group having their own social events such as monthly pub lunches, Social nights, pub quizzes etc. There are also sports clubs - eg I joined the Badminton and touch rugby clubs - which was good for fitness as well as meeting people I wouldn't have otherwise met.

Reading/Bracknell are fairly expensive areas given their proximity to London - however there are grocery stores nearby where you can get reasonably priced food/toiletries, and a wide range of restaurants you can go to/order on take away sites. Public transport was quite expensive.

To me, the night life is only as good as the people you go with. Saying that, there are a number of good clubs in Reading, and lots of nice pubs/bars in surrounding towns such as Wokingham.

There are opportunities if you make them. I chose to take part in the 3M social clubs so I was busy 2 nights a week already. I think the work/life balance is very important, so chose to socialise with friends rather than taking on extra activities.