Customer Development Summer Placement Review

I am in charge of Superdrug social media posts that include Unilever projects. My job is mostly collecting images from the brands and writing captions to be posted. When we don't have images, I book in a designer and brief them about the ideas/style that we need. My role also includes updating the budget forecast with the cost of all these artworks. Other bigger projects include updating websites with new art, so I have meetings with creative teams and collect feedback from internal teams too. I also work on developing concepts for instore POS and events, so a daily task is to keep track of cost/timing for these. Most of my work was done online.

I have enhanced my communication skills and learnt to use my own judgement instead of always waiting for approval. I am also more effective when it comes to research and will narrow down to only necessary information as deadlines can come very quickly. As a result, I am more organized and focused and have also learnt to avoid being distracted when working from home. More generally, I am more confident when it comes to expressing my opinion as I feel that I have been trusted with actual responsibilities and encouraged to lead in meetings.

I was given responsibility on a few things but considering the short nature of my placement, I wasn't able to lead on very long-term projects. I was trusted with writing all captions and sent them off without approval. On most creative projects, I briefed the creative team on my own and arranged communication without supervision. I did not feel micro managed and have found that the culture here is very relaxed and free. Most errors were corrected by training, I did not received harsh feedback. This style might be too casual for some people, you must appreciate working on your own and being structured without a manager.

I received a lot of guidance even though it was online, I could message or call anyone. My manager supported me even when she was on leave. I generally found that people were very welcoming and kind, we were encouraged to ask for help when needed. Generally, most of my co-workers were never too busy to help or would redirect me. There were also many group chats for support.

The company culture is very very casual, down to the dress code. If you go to the office, be prepared to have long conversations! Everyone is very friendly, I found that more senior co-workers were more willing to talk than other placement students. A lot of employees are housemates, it is easier to meet others if you live in the Clapham area. I generally always enjoyed the atmosphere, there are a lot of fun events such as The Great Walk and people tend to remember your name.

I really enjoyed my placement, I thought it was a very cool and friendly place to work. What really distinguishes it is that everyone has the same mindset (great recruitment), that is friendly and talkative. I found myself relaxed at work, most people dressed and talked in a very casual manner. The company culture feels like a summer job even though it's corporate. The events were amazing, you can tell they invested money and time. The work itself sometimes felt repetitive, it was also unclear which role I was getting into right up until I joined, but I ended up really enjoying it.

Yes

Be natural and honest at the interview, I was upfront about my flaws and it was mentioned in my feedback. The main point you have to mention is PURPOSe, why you do what you do. Any experience in charity work, especially Enactus is really valued. They are interested in personality over grades, do not talk about academics (they never asked for my grades!).