Produced by kdanceydowns
An abundance of applications, endless phone interviews and numerous amounts of assessment days – my placement search!
My placement year has been rather different to other placement students. I started out at an agency called DigitasLBi; however after being made redundant I had to gain another placement which luckily for me ended up being Disney.
My time at Disney was spent in the UK Parks and Resorts division – Disney Destinations International, situated in Hammersmith, London and I was very excited when I had the chance to work on all three brands including Walt Disney World, Disneyland Paris and Disney Cruise Line.
Having the chance to work for a well-known worldwide company was amazing – even better than I expected! There was such a positive atmosphere across the whole department and I loved having the chance to build really strong working relationships. Aside from the Disney teddies all over my desk, Disney music in the office, Disney themed meeting rooms and not forgetting the overall Disney positive vibe, I loved having the opportunity to take on a lot of responsibilities in my role as a Digital Partnerships/Marketing coordinator.
To name a few exciting projects I have been involved in… I have launched a partnership with a big US company, run a competition on disneyholidays.co.uk to raise awareness of one of our campaigns, launched the first UK Pinterest page on the Walt Disney World board, launched a Disney Irish Affiliate Programme and launched the first UK Social Media blogging programme. As well as taking on these big responsibilities I have been fortunate enough to have had days out at agencies as well as attending days at Google including a Google Graduate day and a Google Search day. I have also passed the Google Advertising Fundamentals exam which will look great on my CV!
My year out of university has been invaluable and a definite rollercoaster full of highs and lows. From gaining a placement at a Global Marketing agency, to being made redundant and not having a placement at all, to then attaining another placement at a Worldwide Company has been something I will never forget.
From working in digital marketing, it has truly helped me to shape the path that I want to take when I graduate. Before placement, I didn’t have a clear idea of whether I wanted to work agency or client side; however I now know that I want to work client side in Digital Marketing (Social Media, Affiliate Marketing, and PPC).
By Emilia-Jade Gibson, BA (Hons) Marketing Communications
Excellent blog and full of information, we are so proud xxxx
Hi, I’m looking into applying for this placement for 2017-2018, do you have any tips for the application process and what did the process actually entail?
Hi Lauren,
Emma here. I’ve just graduated from the degree Media and Communications. However, I did my placement year at Disney in 2014/2015. Some advise I would give:
“Try and get as much experience as possible before you apply, even if it’s for a short period of time, or a shadowing role in another company. Get those transferable skills down in you CV, even working in Starbucks is relevant because you can work in a team, deal with customer service etc.
The year I applied they had over 5000 applications so make sure you make yourself stand out, you can also discuss your specific experiences with Disney and the brand as well. This is your chance to talk about all of your relevant experience, especially during the interview process.”
I hope that helps and good luck!
Emma