Assistant Brand Manager Review

Your line manager will be able to put together a workplan based on the areas of work that you are most keen to explore! For me, it was data analysis. For this reason, my role involved a lot of data pulling and performance tracking to present to local and global stakeholders. I would also every now and then pull together really deep dives into performance, requiring a lot of data analysis to formulate a 'story' for the product or brand. Beyond this, I also worked with a cross functional team on numerous occasions to land new projects. This required manging the process from start to finish, creating an idea of the initial concept to present to investors and then implementing it with the team. I would also work with our comms team to land information regarding our new products both internally and externally. This involved organising internal newsletters, TV displays, competitions, tastings, advertising boards etc. As well as external media reports. Other aspects of the job included budgeting, adapting point of sale materials, acting as the key point of contact for some of the other teams in the business, optimising social media content, creating and providing assets etc.

I have developed immensely both personally and professionally. I was very keen to develop my data analyses skills in particular, and feel like I have done just that. I have also become a more confident member of the team throughout the process and have started building my own network within the company. I also have a much better understanding of the industry and business in general, and how multi-faceted it is. I will definitely be taking my learnings and areas of improvement further into my career.

Yes, I was given a fair bit of responsibility during the placement. I was tasked with running entire projects for the team from start to finish/the end of the placement. I would manage these independently, reporting back to my line manager on the progress each week, and asking for advice where necessary. I was also entrusted with leading some aspects of my workplan autonomously, without needing to constantly update my line manager. In addition, I was put in charge of creating a programme to bring our entire extended team closer to consumers.

I received great support in placement, particular from my immediate team. Starting off, there are a lot of new programmes and software to get used to. In my opinion, trainings provided by the experts on these programmes and software were very convoluted and confusing, so I relied on some support from my team to truly get the grips with them. The team were super helpful with this. They were also happy to answer questions and always filled me in with areas of their conversation that I had less context on due to being new.

Speaking from my own experience, the company is very flexible. My line manager and team encouraged taking regular breaks from work, in particular during stressful times or if feeling unwell. I got the impression that the company and people really value mental health. During the pandemic, we had Wellbeing Wednesdays where the team were allowed to take an extra hour off of work to do whatever we liked, which was very motivating during times where all you did was stare at your computer screen all day. We also have Summer Hours, where we finished early in the summer to enjoy the sun. All the people I met were also super friendly and welcoming. I never felt uncomfortable or talked down to by anyone. I really see the culture as a massive positive here.

I thoroughly enjoyed my placement. I think it was a fantastic experience and would highly recommend the company to anyone thinking of doing a placement. I think I have grown so much by doing this placement and gained a real insight into the working world. I was given a varied workplan to ensure that I was developing a range of skills, which I really appreciate. I also really liked the culture, which ensured I never felt too stressed out.

Yes

I think the company is always on the look out for certain types of people. Try to show that you are proactive and always seeking to go beyond what is expected of you. This should get you off to a good start whether its before you join or after you join. Take the initiative when you think something could be done better or deserves more attention. Also, make sure you are making the most of opportunities for self-development, whether its online courses or trainings.