Work Placement Marketing Jobs

Leading work placement employers

Helping you find a career in the marketing industry

Marketing is all about telling the world about how great a product, project or idea is. Marketing companies are hired when a client has a great idea for something and needs help spreading the word. It's a fast-paced industry that lets you flex your creative muscles!

Almost every industry needs marketing, from fast cars, to luxury spas, to government education initiatives. This means that you'll find work in a lot of different and interesting sectors. You'll have to come up with a lot of new and interesting ideas, so if you're someone with a creative flair, the marketing industry is the perfect place for you. You'll have to balance your own ideas with that of the clients', so there's always a fun challenge waiting for you.

You'll be working as part of a team, so make sure you're comfortable sharing ideas and listening to others. Marketing incorporates lots of different creative roles, so a marketing strategy will rarely just use a specific kind of talent. Often, it'll need copywriters, photographers, designers and many other disciplines. Consequently, you'll get to work with lots of different kinds of people.

You might work as part of a marketing team for a specific company, focusing on that company's products. Or you might be working as an independent marketing company that is hired to do work for a client.

Some marketing roles may be very much based in a single location, while others will allow you to travel. You may be an events manager that only organises events in one place, or you may travel to different locations around the country to reach different people. You may even end up in an international marketing company and get to travel the world!

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FAQs

FAQs

Skills & interests you'll need

At the very least, you'll need to be an upbeat person who can communicate why something is so gosh darn great to others. Communication skills are therefore key. You'll also need a creative flair to make eye-catching campaigns that spark your target audiences' interest.

Some roles may require more technical skills than others. A position as a photographer is obviously going to require some experience in photography, and if you want to be a copywriter, you're going to need to be able to show you can write a sentence.

You'll need to be able to keep an eye on the current trends in your target market, and often you'll be interviewing members of the public, so make sure you're confident around others.

Teamwork is also essential. You're rarely working on a project on your own in marketing. Usually, you'll need to be cooperating with members of your team to make the very best project you can.

Other skills include:

How to get Marketing internships, work experience or placements

Marketing agencies work to tight deadlines, so they are almost always looking for an extra pair of hands to help with the workload on a temporary basis. This will give you valuable experience and allow you to get a feel for the industry. Give local marketing companies a call and see if they have anything to offer.

Many marketing agencies run websites that specialise in students, whether they're school leavers or at university. They're often looking for articles from young people, so try sending them something to develop your art skills, be it writing, photography or something else!

Often you'll start as an assistant, meaning you'll develop skills on the job. This will also mean that your superiors will be able to recognise your progress, which may lead to promotions.

Overall, if you can show a familiarity with the working world and the creative world, you'll be gaining some great experience for the marketing industry. There are also courses that offer qualifications run by, for example, the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM). These qualifications can help you gain the skills you'll need for a career in marketing.

Many larger marketing agencies will also offer a range of different work placement schemes aimed at university students or sixth formers. These can range from a year-long, paid placement during your degree (a ‘sandwich year' or industrial placement), to a summer internship (usually 2-3 months), to a short 2-3 weeks of work shadowing.

A ‘sandwich' year is usually taken between the penultimate and final years of your degree course, and many people who undertake placements during their degrees report that the experience they received was highly beneficial for their career search after graduating (many employers will also give hiring preference in their graduate schemes to people who have completed placements with them and made a good impression!) Industrial placements can also be a great way to earn a year's salary and ease students' financial worries ahead of their final years. Most work placements are recruited during the first term of your penultimate year.

Many degree courses in marketing-related subjects will have a ‘sandwich year' as part of the degree's structure, so you might be able to find out details about placements from your department. It might also be worthwhile speaking to your university's careers department to see whether they have links to particular organisations.

Even if your degree does not have a ‘sandwich' year in its structure, many universities will allow you to take a year out for a placement - so if you are interested in doing this, speak to your department.

Most summer internships and work experience programmes will be advertised on employers' websites, so you should identify a range of companies that interest you and look for details of various programmes. Most employers will expect summer intern to be going into their final year of a degree, while work experience programmes are aimed at college students.