Digital Marketing Intern Review

Working for L’Oréal Professionnel in the Indirect Marketing Team, I often network with the wider Marketing and Commercial Teams to create and provide a range of online and offline activation for our UKI accounts. This also gives me the opportunity to connect directly with our customers and provide bespoke materials. My key offline responsibilities include improving customer navigation, updating in-store POS, creating educational materials and increasing store advocacy. My key online responsibilities include the creation of website banners, Instagram/TikTok posts, E-Cards and CRMs which our accounts utilise to increase our online presence.

As I progressed through my Internship, I was given more and more responsibilities.
At the beginning, my main tasks were based around creative work for Indirect Activation, this allowed me to become familiar with my day-to-day tasks and work out the most efficient way of completing these. I was then responsible for more bespoke projects with high priority customers. After mastering this, I adopted more responsibility again such as taking part in face to face customer meetings, managing the Indirect budget and planning new product launch activation. I also initiated and led training sessions with the National Account Managers on TikTok and implemented it into our bi-monthly activation.

During my Placement Year I have developed a variety of new and existing skills. My Time Management and Organisational skills were well presented during my time at L’Oréal and were further improved when dealing with new product launches and busy work schedules. Due to the amount of networking required within my role, my communication skills were also exercised when connecting with multiple different stakeholders. I also developed a confidence in presenting to these stakeholders and learned how to relay my messages clearly and effectively. These skills were quickly enhanced because of the encouragement of independent working which can be widely transferable across a range of job roles and industries.

The support and guidance I received during my Placement Year was very well balanced. I was always encouraged to ask questions and felt welcomed to go to any of my team members for guidance. My division was highly collaborative and friendly which made it easier to voice when I needed support. Even during the job role change of my manager, he still offered to support me where necessary. Autonomy is also heavily encouraged which helped me become more proactive in my work style.

L’Oréal has a very uplifting and positive atmosphere. There is always something exciting to look forward to, such as pop-ups in the café which give brands the opportunity to showcase their products and give out free goodies. There is a large early careers cohort with Interns, Apprentices and Grads which made the atmosphere even better as being surrounded by people your age is more reassuring. Social events and parties are a big focus in L’Oréal which are encouraged as a way of networking and team building. Although the frequency of these socials varies depending on which division you are in, there are still many opportunities to network within and across divisions. Autonomy and independent working are very much encouraged which emphasises the empowerment given to employees. This opens the door to a lot of opportunities and chances to get hands-on experience. Overall, the culture is very hard working but is regularly awarded and provides an excellent work/life balance.

My Placement Year has been a fantastic first experience of corporate work and I have absolutely loved it. This year has provided me with skills and experiences which will be beneficial to my future success and employability. I have gained understanding of how a global-leading business is ran and have been given a level of responsibility I wasn’t expecting. From being able to attend product launch events to travelling around the UK for meetings, I have had a range of exciting and interesting experiences which are higher than the expectations I had when starting at L’Oréal. Work hours and office days are extremely flexible and everyone in my Team was inspiring and motivating to work with. Having a big Intern cohort also made my year even more enjoyable as everyone was friendly and sociable. I recommend L’Oréal as an enjoyable business to work for and I plan on hopefully returning for the Management Trainee Scheme.

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