Marketing student placement

Have you ever wondered what a typical day looks like for a Marketing student on a year-long placement? Well, my name is Steph and I am currently on a placement year with BCU. Birmingham City University has been voted the best university in the West Midlands for providing meaningful work experience placements to students (RateMyPlacement 2025), so it's not just me that's loving placements! Each day is fun and a great learning experience, so come along with me to see what a typical day looks like.

10:00 – As a Content Assistant at BCU, I love that I can get my hands on different types of projects, one of them being photoshoots. I never thought I would be as happy being behind the camera as I am in front of it, but it is now one of my passions. Emily (the Fashion student we photographed that day) made it easy for us with her charm and charisma; she was so inspiring. She told us about her experience at New York Fashion Week and showed us some of her work. At that moment I was flooded with joy, being both a student and employee at BCU opens your eyes to the ‘ordinary people’ with extraordinary talents and skills. It encourages me to never stop being extra even in the ordinary.

11:00 – Right after shooting, I had to rush to a meeting. It’s crazy because I never thought I would be in what I like to call “big girl meetings”. It feels so great to be treated as a professional even though I am still a student. This meeting consisted of learning how to use a new platform for the BCU website, followed by a short training session with my manager to teach me the ropes.

12:30 – Lunch time! I am always amazed by the huge range of food that BCU offers, I was so spoiled for choice. There are so many food outlets with different cuisines such as Chinese, Caribbean and American to name a few. Eventually, I chose some peri-peri wings and fries – I could not resist.

13:30 – After my delicious lunch, I headed to one of the nearby buildings to grab some equipment to create content. I have been filming clips all day, but I wanted to step up my content a little. The Marketing department has enough equipment to shoot a film, it’s great!

2:30 – When I arrived back at the office, I got right to work. One of the tasks I needed to get done was a video audit – this was to make sure that every course page has the best of the best videos that inform prospective students of what their course offers. I was happy to do it because I knew this could have been a deciding factor for whether students chose BCU or not, so I took this task very seriously. I truly believe that BCU was a perfect choice for me academically and professionally with this placement, so I was determined that every prospective student had the same experience I had.

3:30 – After my video audit I edited the clips I took of myself while working and began editing.

4:30 – Home time is always bittersweet for me! I often don’t want to stop working on my projects because I truly enjoy what I do, but I know I’ll be back again tomorrow, so I close my laptop and head off to spend time with my friends. We spend time catching up and laughing excessively loudly – because that is how we roll!

7:00 – Choir rehearsals are always a treat for me! Each week I get to sing my cares away with my church family. This week we rehearsed the song ‘Made a Way’ by Travis Greene. I sang extra loudly because I truly believe God made a way for me to follow my dreams. Minus the sore throat from all the loud singing, I had a blast with my people.

10:00 – Right when I get home, I light a candle – anything with a hint of vanilla and I’m good to go! I spend most nights reading – my current read is A Good General by Dag Heward-Mills. It is so eye-opening. A great read. Reading has always been a hobby of mine since I was young, and it comforts me right until I nod off for another great adventure in the realms of sleep.

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