Market Research Intern - Media Development Review

As a market research intern I have really enjoyed my role as I have been exposed to multiple opportunities such as working closely with clients, attending helpful training days, being involved in important projects and developing my own personal skills. These opportunities have allowed me to learn about market research and about the general office-work environment. Everyone is really friendly and supportive, which is particularly useful in your first few months.

My colleagues across my core projects were all extremely helpful and understanding of my lack of knowledge at the start of my placement. Once I got up to speed, I felt like a valued member of the team with important roles and responsibilities. I sat with other colleagues in my department which were also very supportive when I needed help and created a friendly environment to work in.

Since I started I have a weekly hour-long meeting with my manager where we discuss any challenges, problems or questions I have had in that week/am anticipating. My manager ensured I set goals before my probation period ended, which we then reviewed and updated for a longer term period. I felt more than comfortable approaching my manager with any issues or concerns throughout my time at Ipsos.

My daily schedule varied - most often I was very busy, which I liked. This would mean balancing tasks across my projects to make sure everything was completed efficiently. There were quieter periods throughout projects, which meant I could attend training days / online training and use my volunteering and innovative days.

I personally felt as though I had a lot of responsibility. I learnt a lot in a short space of time and after this learning period I started setting up my own calls and meetings with colleagues, completing essential client tasks and attending multiple talks across the business. I had specific tasks that were essential within in the process of each project.

Working in this office environment has definitely improved my time-management and organisational skills, which I think will benefit me hugely in my final year at university. Most importantly, this placement has allowed me to learn so many skills and experience lots of different situations, which are all skills which will apply to my future career. I have also become a lot more confident and independent in making important decisions, which is something a lot of companies will value.

The atmosphere at Ipsos is relaxed, the dress code is flexible, as are the working hours, which takes a lot of pressure off commuting etc. Genuinely everyone I have met here have been so welcoming and also understanding of mistakes and errors that were made when starting new tasks. Everyone is very supportive and more than happy to help with any challenges you face.

As my role (in Media Development) I felt like a valued member of the team, with important tasks and projects that required my assistance. The only thing I can fault is the handover period, which was quite stressful and I felt as though we needed more time with the previous placement students to get to grips more with the role. (I plan to improve this with extremely detailed handover notes / presentation for the new placement students, to avoid this happening again).

The training available at Ipsos is incredible. There are hundreds of training sessions you can attend, which really help to develop your personal skills. For example within the first 3 months I completed 3 training sessions and attended 3-4 talks from external speakers. The 2 innovative days off per year, also allowed us to chose something we were passionate about and something that we could share with others on our return.

By working at Ipsos, I can definitely see the progression rates and where I would fit into the business. Ipsos offer grad schemes and are always looking to expand the team, so I feel as though there are definitely potential permanent opportunities at Ipsos, whether or not it be in the same department.

We had a lot of drinks and socials organised by HR. The summer party is particularly good for meeting new placement students / grads, as well as the multiple Christmas events with your team, department and early careers. However, I wished there was more direct contact with the placement students at the start (such as a group chat before we started so we could meet beforehand).

I lived at home through my placement and commuted into London, which is very expensive for me. However as this is a paid placement, it was easy enough to afford the commute. Living anywhere in London is expensive, however your commute is then subsidised as you live closer to work, so it roughly works out the same. If you have to travel to other office locations / to clients, Ipsos subsidise this - which definitely helps.

London is expensive but there are so many places to go and experience. If we went out with colleagues it tended to be around the office, which included a lot of pubs. However, if you go into more central London there are loads of bars and clubs which are really fun.

Ipsos offer 2x volunteering days off, which involves taking 2 days off of work to volunteer for a charity. They also offer 2x innovate days, which involves another 2x days off work to go to conferences/ted talks etc. The social side of things was also a big part of Ipsos, there are always drinks to attend!