About my marketing placement

If you’re in your second year of a sandwich course, you’re probably hearing a lot about going on placement right now! Social Media Rep Gemma talks about what she looked for in her placement, the kind of work she’s taking care of and how it’s going so far.

I came to the University of Huddersfield in 2016 to study BA(Hons) Business and Marketing, and my course is a “sandwich course” – one with a year out to go on placement. Initially I wasn’t actually going to do a placement, but when I reached my second year I had changed my mind; with thanks to the information and help provided by the Business School Placements Unit, and my wonderful group of friends (whom I realised I didn’t want to graduate without!).

At first, I did think that maybe I wouldn’t benefit from a placement, having already worked full-time before coming to university, but I couldn’t have been more wrong. Having the chance to have a year out to work has helped hone my marketing skills even more and has definitely given me some excellent experience to draw upon in my final year.

For my placement I’m working as an Account Executive at Digital Velocity Ltd, a fantastic digital and ecommerce agency based in Leeds.

Digital Velocity was exactly what I was looking for in a placement. I’m not overly keen on big company culture and the team at Digital Velocity is quite small; meaning we all work together quite closely. And of course, agency life comes with some great perks, such as playing Mario Kart during lunchtimes and more than the occasional free pizza…

More than anything though, I’m enjoying working with the team and the projects I take part in every day. Because of Digital Velocity’s roster of clients, I end up with a variety of tasks to complete each day so it’s never repetitive or dull. From planning and scheduling social media content for one client, reporting and data analysis, to taking care of email comms programmes for another, I’m never bored. I even get to help out with some ecommerce website management which I’ve never done before, as well as enjoy working closely with our design and development teams to maintain the webpages.

I’d definitely recommend that anyone on the fence about undertaking a placement should really consider it, and have a look at the variety of companies out there that offer placements. Aside from building upon my experience, it’s also an excellent way to earn (and save!) a little money towards your final year of studying. Sometimes these placements even work out long term with placement students coming back after graduating for a full-time job; of which there’s two at Digital Velocity!
And of course, we enjoy some brilliant team social events so re-acclimatising to work from student life hasn’t been too difficult.

So if you’re considering undertaking a placement as part of your course, my recommendation is to jump in there feet first. I’ve had a blast so far on my placement and I’m excited to see how the rest of my year out goes. For tips on nailing an interview and obtaining a placement too, watch this space…