Volkswagen Marketing Assistant Review

I was working within the TPS function of the Volkswagen Group and had such a great year. I was given high levels of responsibility and was given the chance to work on 'real' projects which gave me great experience to take back to my final year of university. The company as a whole was brilliant to work for and there we some fantastic benefits available such as the loan car scheme.

I felt like a very valuable member of the team which was helped by the fact that there were only 5 people in the TPS marketing team. Everyone that I worked with was very friendly and approachable, most didn't even realise I was a placement student unless I told them which meant that I was treated like any other member of the team.

My manager was really good in the sense that if I needed supervision then he would be more than happy to help me, but at the same time I was also given the freedom to use my own initiative and get on with tasks on my own. I had regular meetings with him to identify the tasks that I should be working on and he helped me to prioritize and manage my workload effectively.

I always had jobs to do but if I ever felt that I was a loose end I always felt comfortable asking my other colleagues if they needed help with anything. I helped to organise two conferences on my placement year and which meant that I was really hectic for about 2 months each time. It was really good to have busy periods though because you learn to work under pressure and it's really rewarding when it's all finished.

I was given quite a high level of responsibility, particularly towards the end of my placement when I had proved to my manager that I was capable of making decisions on my own. I was expected to get on with tasks without my managers supervision which meant that I had to be confident in the decision that I was making, which were sometimes on key aspects of the project that we were working on.

The skills that I developed on my placement will be extremely valuable to me during both my fianl year of university and also in my future job roles. I improved my confidence, organisation and prioritization skills, as well as learning general business acumen that can be applied to any future role.

The atmosphere in my part of the office was really good. The offices are open plan so there is no real sense of hierarchy which means that everyone is highly approachable. The atmosphere varies in different parts of the building because it is so large, but the Group Services department where I worked had a good atmosphere to work in.

The whole placement was organised extremely well. We had a couple of induction days that were set up by HR which allowed us to meet the other undergraduates and get to know each other. I also had a brilliant handover from my previous undergraduate which meant that it was a little less daunting when I was eventually left to my own devices! We also had sessions at the end of our placement to help us with interview skills and allowed us to give feedback to HR about what could be improved for next years intake.

There were a number of different courses available to attend including Excel, PowerPoint, presentation skills, managing your workload etc. These courses are available to all of the undergraduates and you simply have to ask your manager if you would like to attend one which is usually no problem. I also had review meetings with my manager in which we discussed how well I was performing and the areas in which I could improve for my next review.

I think Volkswagen would be a brilliant company to work for in the future. There are a great number of benefits that come with working with them, such as a company car and fantastic social events. The fact that they are such a large company also means that there is scope for progression through the business and possible international opportunities.

We were lucky enough to have a brilliant group of undergraduates which got on really well and always organised socials and nights out. A lot of us have made friendships for life and are still in contact now that we have finished our placements.

I lived at home so I can't really comment on the cost of living but the cost of socialising isn't too bad at all. Milton Keynes isn't a student town though so it's not super cheap but given that you'll be earning money on your placement year you'll definitely have enough to enjoy yourself still.

The nightlife in Milton Keynes is okay, nowhere near as good as a big city though. There are quite a lot of good bars and pubs in the Hub and Xscape. There are also 2 main nightclubs at the Xscape, as well as a few more in the theatre district.

There weren't that many opportunities to get involved in activities outside of work in relation to the business as a whole, however if there was something that you were really interested to do then you could definitely speak to HR about it or just organise it amongst the undergraduates.