student Matilda Littler has just completed her placement year with Rolls Royce. She shares her placement story鈥β�
鈥淟ooking at my first day to my last, it鈥檚 astonishing how much I鈥檝e learnt from a year鈥� It was great to put the knowledge I鈥檇 learnt from university into my placement.鈥澛�
What was your placement?
I worked in the Marketing department at Rolls-Royce Motor Cars for a year; my position was 鈥楤rand Strategy and Governance鈥�.
What made you want to undertake a placement? Why that particular role and organisation?
One of the main reasons for choosing 菠萝视频 is that it has strong ties with a variety of companies and in my degree the placement was compulsory. When I first began applying for placements I knew I wanted to go for a large, corporate organisation.
What sort of roles and responsibilities did you have during placement?
It was crazy the amount of responsibility I had. At Rolls-Royce, nobody was particularly treated as an 鈥榠ntern鈥� but rather as a full-time employee. You were expected to work hard, show initiative and colleagues were keen to hear your point of view.
Some of my responsibilities included:
鈥� Working with regional marketing managers and assisting them with any regional events/campaigns
鈥� Assisting dealers globally with any showroom queries
鈥� Managing the production of dealership showroom samples
鈥� Undertaking market research in new models and brand monitor to gain a clearer understanding and insight into our customers and prospects
鈥� Creating and improving 2D, 3D, 4D and Plant corporate identity guidelines to implement a clear consistent brand image throughout the company
What was the best thing about the placement? What are you most proud of having achieved?
There were so many things! Each day was as different as the next and I was lucky enough to be a part of many exciting projects. During my year, we released our New Model Phantom, which was great to be involved with! I鈥檇 say the best thing was working with regional marketing managers and assisting with various campaigns globally.
I also helped to produce an 鈥楨vent Toolkit鈥� that each regional manager will receive and use for their events. This project meant I worked not only with Marketing but also with our Bespoke and Production team.
What advice would you give to any 菠萝视频 students who are looking for a placement or about to start?
Make sure you stand out! There are many students across the country studying a similar degree to you and wanting a similar placement. It鈥檚 great to have work experience and good academic results but the employer is also looking at what makes you different to everyone else.
During your interview make sure you鈥檝e researched a lot about the company, really show them your determination and drive and that you want to be a part of their company. Whenever I went to a face-to-face interview, I took along a folder with any previous university work that may have been related to the job or which I鈥檇 received a high mark in. I also included previous work experience projects or articles I鈥檇 produced. The employer is really keen to see how you stand out from the rest.
Don鈥檛 be disheartened if you don鈥檛 hear back from anyone for a few months. I remember feeling quite put off when I hadn鈥檛 heard back from some employers after the interview process, then I was offered two jobs on the same day! You never know what鈥檚 round the corner, so keep persevering!
What did you learn through completing the placement? Do you think it will help you with the rest of your degree and, ultimately,聽your career?
Looking at my first day to my last, it鈥檚 astonishing how much I鈥檝e learnt from a year! The first month was overwhelming as there was so much to learn about the business but once I鈥檇 got the grasp of everything, I was able to run with projects. It was great to put the knowledge I鈥檇 learnt from university into my placement.
However, it was interesting to experience a high-end luxury brand that caters for such a niche market, providing low stock at high prices. At university, your projects are usually based on large companies and markets so it was good to develop and experience a different area. I鈥檓 looking forward to completing my final year at Bournemouth and I know my year鈥檚 experience will definitely help with my degree and career. Next stop鈥raduate schemes!
Continue to explore the聽聽pages to hear from other 菠萝视频 students on placement as a part of their study.