As part of our Corporate Social Responsibility programme in London we have been working with Central Foundation Boy’s School in Islington for a number of years, taking Year 12 students for Work Experience placements. This July we hosted 3 students. One of these students tells us about his experience.
My name is Brandon Lau and I had the privilege to undergo a two week work experience placement at Euromonitor International. I applied to work as part of the consulting team at Euromonitor and I had the opportunity to work alongside consultants on live projects as well as taking opportunities which I may never get elsewhere. Upon applying for Euromonitor, I only knew about the basics of what my role consisted of. However the two weeks which I spent working alongside professionals in their line of work enabled me to have a greater understanding of what market research consists of and how consultants work alongside clients to ensure high quality market research can help enhance their business.
A particular project I worked on was compiling market research on the use of headsets (inter-communication systems) in the British sports industry. The research consisted of looking into which sports currently use headsets and the reasons for their use as well as how different headsets compare to others. Through analysing different headset manufacturers I was able to use aspects such as price, durability and ergonomics to assess their strengths and weaknesses. Furthermore, the experience enabled me to develop my skills in making analytical judgments based on the researched that I obtained. This skill furthered my understanding of the role of consultants in guiding clients to make the most informed decisions.
I believe that the most important lesson I learnt during my time at Euromonitor is communicating ideas with accurate and detailed research. This is demonstrated by supporting recommendations with accurate and detailed research. This skill I believe can be used to help with my academics and any future studies.
Brandon’s manager, Karun Guatam comments: “The work experience scheme gave Brandon a great opportunity to experience the corporate world at Euromonitor. The placement allowed Brandon to interact with different people, roles and levels of seniority within the Consulting team where he joined client update calls, project kick-offs, analyst briefings and training on basic work place skills. The placement was also immersive; Brandon played an active role in projects – conducting desk research, online audits and his own presentation. I feel the opportunity for Brandon has been a valuable one and one that will help to shape future professional career path decisions in an informed manner.”
Working with local schools and the community is a key element of our Corporate Social Responsibility programme and our work experience programme is just one of many projects that enables our employees in London can engage with the local community.
Our work experience programme enables us to work towards the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, part of our commitment as signatories to the United Nations Global Compact.
