Insight Day Review

The insight day was fantastic - not only did I get to experience several parts of the business, I was also provided with excellent business related training. The day was well planned, flexible, had a relaxed feel to it and set me in good stead for any similar work in the future.

All the staff were so friendly! We were introduced to a number of people, including the two co-founders (who were really down to earth), and were immediately made to feel like we were part of the team. Our ideas were noted down and worked in to company projects, making us feel like we were having a real impact on the business.

There was a good balance of independent work and support on this insight day. For example, during the marketing task our group undertook, members of staff would pick up on something we'd been discussing and ask questions about it if we got stuck in order to get us back on track and further stimulate our thoughts.

I'm not sure there could be anything more relevant! As well as improving our team working skills, we had experience using a piece of marketing software and received interactive training in listening, presenting and negotiating. All of these skills could be applied well to real life settings, professionally and personally.

We were informed of the day's timetable when we arrived, and everything ran pretty much on time - we even had a scheduled mentoring lunch. Sometimes we'd really get into an activity and want to spend longer on it, but being as we were only there for a day our time was limited. The only thing that could be improved is increasing the number of days the insight runs for.

The new open plan office in the heart of Brixton lends itself well to having a welcoming atmosphere. The team is diverse, professional and friendly. We were able to ask questions freely, gain constructive feedback on tasks we'd performed and ask for advice or extra help at any time - we weren't under any pressure.

I'd say there was a good balance of us helping the company and the company helping us. We provided them with some marketing ideas from our experiences, but received a huge amount of training in return. This training helped with our professional development and allowed us to recognise our strengths.

During my insight, I spent time with the marketing, HR and client management teams. Most of the day was task-based, which was great for learning about specific things, but it wasn't always clear how those tasks could be worked into an everyday role. There wasn't any 'shadowing' opportunities either, but that's mainly down to the short length of the insight.

Everything from the office space to the ping pong table allowed us to learn a bit more about the company's culture. They manage to strike a good balance between being friends but maintaining an effective organisation. The company really wants to get the best for everyone - their clients, students and their employees.

It was certainly interesting to find out more about the company and how it came to be, as well as some of the things that are entailed within each job role. However, I don't think a day is long enough for a significant impact to be made on my career choices - although it certainly got me thinking!

The train travel from York to Brixton was pretty expensive, but the company reimbursed it all. Furthermore, our mentoring lunch was paid for and all the training we received from experienced professionals was entirely free of charge. Do not be put off this insight day if you struggle at all financially.

As I mentioned, not only did I work with a number of teams throughout the day, I was also able to have a mentoring lunch with one employee. This allowed me to find out more about her and the other employees (the majority of whom I now have on LinkedIn).

Pretty wholesome! I was able to ask questions about the work-life balance, how it was having moved offices a fair bit, how you meet people outside of work. Then of course there was the actual work-related talk! Overall, I made some good contacts and probably a couple of friend too.

As well as the ping pong tournament that takes place over lunch/after work, the employees sometimes hang out in the breakout area after work to watch a football match/anything else notable. Apart from this, I didn't find out too much about whether people get involved in, either with other employees or in the area generally.

ABSOLUTELY! This insight day was so rewarding. No matter what profession you want to go into, what course you're studying or where in the world you're coming from, you will learn something useful at RMP. The people there have travelled the world, learnt an awful lot and sometimes ended up in a totally different career to what they had planned.