From University to the Working World: Isabella’s marketing communications/business analysis placement

So you may think a placement is like a work experience week where you observe a professional and get an introduction into the industry. Not here at Atlas Copco Compressors UK! From day one this felt like a real 9 to 5 job, which is exactly what I wanted as I chose my university based on the mandatory placement year.

My first month at Atlas Copco Compressors flew by and I have learnt so much whilst being able to apply my own skills to the placement. My job role this year has been split under Marketing Communications and Business Analysis. Having studied Business and Management for the past two years and also having experience in social media marketing, this role did excite me as I knew I’d be able to get a lot more out if it than the usual placements. Especially working for an industry leader!

Working in marketing communications, my role involves assisting my manager with day to day marketing tasks, campaigns, and projects. In my role I am responsible for managing the social media for Atlas Copco UK Compressors UK. Creating and scheduling content for platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn is one of my favourite things to do. To be able to do this based on new product releases, industry insight and general updates allows me to be creative, which has been a lot of fun. I was born in Sweden and Atlas Copco is a well-known company but I won’t lie and say that I know it all when it comes to compressors, so I’ve been learning something new every day. Our social media ambassador programme is an initiative I’ve been able to get involved with where I create the posts for our ambassadors to share. I got to create a survey which we sent to over 100 ambassadors to hear how we could improve the programme and I have already been be able to implement changes. I’m also responsible for creating webpages for the Atlas Copco UK site using Adobe Experience Manager, which I hadn’t used before. Creating pages and seeing them published is something I still get excited about now. I’m also responsible for liaising with external marketing contacts which includes suppliers and processing purchase orders using SAP SRM.

Working alongside the business analysis team this year has been incredibly interesting. Being involved with the web chat bot, I’m responsible for answering customer enquiries and logging leads. To see the journey from a webchat to a customer order is rewarding but also interesting as this is a new industry for me. I’ve always wanted to brush up on my analytical skills in terms of numbers and I have been able to do this as I have been able to get involved with several projects which look at how certain processes can be improved, whilst analysing data. I hadn’t worked in manufacturing before so getting used to the jargon used in the industry and learning about the products Atlas Copco offers has opened up a whole new world to me. I didn’t realise but Atlas Copco is all around us and we all interact with products which the company has assisted in producing. When was the last time you went to a pub for a pint of beer? Not only is compressed air essential for brewing tanks, bottle filling and labelling, it also plays a direct role in the nitrogen supply and in the brewing process itself. I didn’t know this before but how cool is that? So dealing with enquiries has been exciting because sometimes I wonder what the products will be used for. Whilst logging leads, I also have to communicate with Sales Engineers and Distributors to ensure that we follow up on these leads. Communicating with real professionals in the real working world has been such a great opportunity as you learn a lot about people and the workplace.

I’d actually applied for the placement back in March just days before the pandemic reached a peak and we went into lockdown, so I wasn’t sure if I would hear back from Atlas Copco. A lot of companies had begun recruitment processes and later then pulled out at later dates. Some without even informing applicants. But not Atlas Copco! I received an email in July which outlined that the recruitment process for this placement had resumed and that the company was still able to go ahead with it in 2020/21. I was incredibly pleased as Atlas Copco is a Swedish company which is well known. I knew that I wanted this placement, so I made sure to give it my all. Instead of an assessment centre I was able to participate in a virtual group activity, which went incredibly well. I was nervous at first as I wasn’t sure how it would work but HR planned it so well that I felt comfortable and confident when participating in the task. After the task we were able to ask the previous placement students questions, and this really confirmed that I wanted to work at Atlas Copco this year. The previous students had nothing but good things to say and they were all so friendly along with the candidates. I’ve never felt so comfortable in an interview. This was all due to how welcoming and kind everyone was. To be interviewed by a company that had been able to adapt to the current situation whilst also being able to provide placements when many couldn’t was a great opportunity in itself. After the group activity I received a call to say that I had reached the final stage which was an interview with my hiring managers. I thought the interview went well but I didn’t want to get my hopes up, so to receive a call being offered a placement was one of the best days this year for me. I knew from the interviews and speaking with the colleagues that I wanted this placement so to be the chosen one is a great honour.

Transitioning into the ‘working world’ during a pandemic has been different to say the least. With everyone working from home, I knew that I would have to get used to working from home for quite a while. I have been working for many years prior, but these were customer service focused roles which involved daily interactions face to face. Now I had to get used to working at home on my own whilst communicating with colleagues and others virtually. But the company made sure to look after me. My work equipment arrived within days and I started my induction with an immense amount of support from managers and other colleagues. It was different starting a new role not having met my managers, but my colleagues took a lot of time out to communicate with me over Teams to ensure that I was settling into my role well. Getting used to the IT and different platforms that I would have to use in my role was a challenging aspect at first, but with training and asking my colleagues questions I was able to get settled in quite quickly. One thing I can say about Atlas Copco employees is that everyone will help where they can. This made me feel very welcome from the get-go!