Marketing and Business Student Review

Fantastic work placement with unlimited support and development throughout the year. A huge variety of work-load, experiences and extra activities to get involved in made my time at Lubrizol incredibly valuable. From presenting at team meetings, taking responsibility in leading projects and working with a range of different people across the business, I was able to extract huge amounts of knowledge and tips to enhance my skillset and employability!

I settled in really well with the team as they were all so welcoming and supportive. This allowed me to connect with so many different people and get involved in a variety of projects which helped my work get recognised. Alongside all the support, I took on projects by myself and received great constructive feedback which really helped me progressive forward. I definitely felt trusted and valued in my role!

I had regular one-to-one meetings with my supervisor but could also approach them as and when needed too. This really helped me to go through my workload, understand tasks and help with prioritisation when things got busy. Additionally, my supervisor helped me set up meetings with other management across the business to increase my networks and receive different perspectives to my work and performance. Really helpful support throughout.

I had a brilliant work-load balance. I was able to find time to get involved in extra activities such as the Charity Committee, Sports and Social club and if I had time, exploring other areas of the business outside of my role. Nevertheless, I always had something to do and never found myself bored or stressed! There are plenty of people to help with prioritising workload if needed.

I had responsibility from day 1. This was an amazing way to build my confidence even if at the beginning I wasn't completely understanding everything. As I work on several different projects by myself and once I had established connections around site, I could approach different people really easily to support me. Having responsibility made my work feel valued and I knew that I was contributing to the business the whole time.

Time management, Excel, Market research, Communications, Presenting, Collaborating and Self-confidence! These are all skills enhanced during my placement which I'm already using in my final year. For future careers, adaptability has to be the biggest skill developed as I had to start working from home during the pandemic. It increased my communications skills having to present in online meetings, as well as, emailing and keeping creativity flowing within the team.

Office atmosphere was great. We had regular coffee trips to socialise and stretch our legs. Everyone's doors were always open to pop you head in and ask a question. We would have regular team catch ups throughout the day. I had a great office with all the correctly set up equipment!

Very well-organised. I had a supervisor and other members of management to support me throughout the placement. I had a great range of work and projects to complete that helped my development of understand the business. HR also organised for all placement students to have a familiarisation day to meet other students before we started and become familiar with our offices and the site. There were also other activities to get involved in too!

I had a three month induction pack which helped me to learn everything I needed to. I also had regular online training programmes throughout my placement, as well as a variety of workshops to improve my employability skills. There was also an opportunity for all placement students to present their work/projects to a large audience which was an amazing experience. I also had training in additional areas of the business to widen my knowledge!

There are so many opportunities! Not only myself, but a few other students during my placement year were offered a full-time position in the company. I am now on the Commercial Graduate Scheme for two years. The first year I'll be working part-time in Marketing alongside my final year at University. Once I complete University, I will work full-time in Sales for a year. It's a fantastic place for opportunities and career prospects!

I experienced many great socializing events within my team, such as Christmas party, work meals and out of work day trips. I also lived with other placement students at Lubrizol which allowed me to socialise outside of work on nights out and explore the Peak District, which has tons of beautiful walks! I also joined the sports and social club and went running with a different people from work, as well as, laser tag, escape rooms and quizzes. There would be room for more team building activities but given the circumstances of a pandemic this wouldn't have been possible during the second half of my placement.

Derby is very cheap compared to other cities! It allowed us to save money on rent and spend more on activities, such as nights out, day trips and weekends away! It was also great to have the chance to live with other placement students to save money on rent. You could easily have a cheap night out in Derby too with most nightclubs/bars not requiring an entry fee and a huge amount of pubs with cheap beer!

Derby is an average night out. It was great for us because we had a big group of students to go out with. However, we did often prefer to get the night bus to Nottingham for a more exciting night out with large clubs and events. The night bus runs throughout the early hours of the morning too and is only around 20-30 minutes.

Loads of activities. Sports and Social, Charity Committee, Environmental Club, STEM and other clubs too... There was also a yearly quiz, Christmas parties and events run by the charity committee throughout the year. Outside of work, you could also go to the gym, lots of national parks and places to walk in the Peak District.