Emily McCoid

Country of origin: United Kingdom

Placement: Xerox

I chose to do a placement year as I felt it would give me practical experience prior to graduation and the opportunity to both implement and test/critique key theories I had learnt in my studies. I also wanted to break up my time at University and not become absorbed in a learning ‘bubble’ with no real life work experience. My hope was (and still is) that a placement year will make me more ‘employable’ upon graduation.

I worked within the Developing Markets Operation, and supported Product Managers on a variety of tasks. I carried out market analysis from external agency data input to drill down and create a picture of the current market landscape, and thereby gained a broad market perspective. I helped to prepare and post marketing materials and tools onto the Hub site, which involved utilising a virtual platform to share knowledge and insight with the Xerox community. I edited video scripts for new product promotions, to ensure the value proposition was clear.  I created monthly and quarterly reports on key sales/activity/revenue figures and when necessary turned this data into charts/diagrams for use in Business Strategy and Management meetings. I created a training session on a new CRM tool and delivered to the Regions by conference call. I carried out my dissertation with the customer services team, by investigating a loyalty metric that the company had recently implemented.

 I felt as though I was given increased responsibility as the year progressed and could see opportunities to progress within the company. The team welcomed me as a Xerox employee and I did not feel undervalued or labelled as the ‘student trainee’. I enjoyed being empowered to lead and implement the CRM training roll out and from this build confidence. I also enjoyed the Market Analysis element of my role, having access to key market data from external agencies and tracking trends over the year. 

Throughout my placement I have gathered primary data (semi-structured interviews & stats) for my dissertation which will benefit me greatly in my final year of study and I felt fully supported by the Xerox tem when doing my research. Additionally, the skills gained in market analysis and attention to detail with numbers/sense checking will aid me in my aspirations to work market agency side upon graduation.

The LUMS Careers team helped greatly in terms of interview technique, assessment centre preparation and they also publicised many of the placement opportunities that were available to us. My tip for students applying for placements is to apply to a few less desired companies first to strengthen your application answers and gain confidence in phone interviews before applying to the companies you would really like to work for.