Management Trainee Review

I have throughly enjoyed my time at L'Oreal. Whilst it wasn't exactly what I had been expecting, what I got was constantly challenging and interesting work. In just 10 weeks I could get involved in a number of major projects and got to see work that I had done implemented in stores across the country. I didn't get to do as much of the creative side of marketing as I would have liked, mainly because the brand I worked in was very much dictated to by a higher office, but I got to work on some really exciting projects whilst working in the company.

My colleagues never seemed to adjust the amount or difficulty of the work they would give me based on the fact I was an intern, so I did feel like I was useful and valued. I wasn't often given menial or easy tasks, instead I was encouraged to get involved in the most difficult and large-scaled projects that the brand was involved with. I didn't have many interns on my team so it wasn't quite as sociable as some of the other brands but my colleagues were always helpful and fun to be around.

My manager was one of the key factors that made my internship so enjoyable. Affable and always available to help, he seemed to put a lot of trust in my abilities whilst never letting me slip behind. I met with him every week for an hour chat to have a catch-up but outside of that he was always available for little questions and help so I rarely felt like I was lost; a big possibility at first as there was lots to get to grips with. We got on very well and I am very grateful for his help. Human Resources were also very helpful and I thoroughly enjoyed all of the trainings.

Constantly busy. My university is considered to be extremely hard-working but L'Oreal wasn't much less busy. However, it was rarely dull work and I enjoy being challenged so most of the time I felt like I had a handle over my workload. There was never a day where I was twiddling my thumbs but on the other end of the scale there were a few where I had to work for a substantial time out of my working hours. To be honest though I just see that as part of working life rather than a negative though.

I felt like I was given a very large amount of responsibility during my internship and I was grateful for that. In my ten weeks here, I almost independently co-ordinated the two biggest in-store launches of the year for the brand. I met with my manager once a week to check my progress but otherwise it was all up to me. This meant that rather than simply work on some theoretical project, I was actually responsible for delivery some of L'Oreal's active business and that was a very rewarding concept. I can only help my work has been successful but the fact I was given the opportunity was great.

Not so much for my degree studies but a massive amount for my proposed career path. I want to go into advertising and/or marketing so the skills are directly relatable to what I hope to do in the future. I have had some experience working from the agency side, but this was of course the brand side and so I now have a much more comprehensive view of how the industry works. This comes from the fact that lots of the skills I have learnt are to do with the concepts prior to the end-advertising, for example, thinking about brand direction, taking into account sales figures, and the practicalities of marketing.

Always friendly, everyone was helpful and got on well.

The internship scheme seemed to be almost perfected; it was well-thought through and planned by HR.

There were many opportunities for learning within the company and I could access many e-learning options.

I would love to continue working at L'Oreal. I don't have a job with them but I would like to.

There was, unfortunately a couple of circumstances meant I couldn't take as much advantage of it as I would have liked but that was just bad luck. I lived outside of london so couldn't really go out and also there weren't many other interns in my area so it wasn't especially easy to meet people at first as I didn't have much of a chance but that was just bad luck!

Very expensive, it was central London....

Amazing, it was central London...

Lots of sport possibilities and a few social events. There seemed to be lots going on.