WHAT ARE WORK PLACEMENTS REALLY LIKE?

At the Fashion Retail Academy, several of our courses offer the chance to complete a work placement. One of our BA (Hons) Marketing & Communication students, Megan, recently completed her placement at luxury fragrance company Jo Loves, founded by Jo Malone. We asked her to tell us all about her experience...

“During my three-week work placement at Jo Loves, a luxury fragrance company, I gained invaluable experience, and the placement helped to shape both my professional and personal development.

I’m incredibly grateful to the Fashion Retail Academy for securing this opportunity for me in the cosmetics sector. Although my initial interest was primarily in fashion, this placement opened my eyes to a new industry. Thanks to this experience, I now feel more confident and clearer about the direction I want to take after my course.

At Jo Loves, I had the opportunity to shadow their Social Media & PR Executive, which aligned perfectly with my Marketing degree at the FRA. Shadowing the executive gave me hands-on experience and insight into the real life running of a cosmetic brand needing to reach targets and meet deadlines.

On my placement, I helped develop their social media strategy for a new product launch. I was involved in brainstorming content ideas, planning the Instagram feed, and conceptualizing TikTok video content. I also played a role in organising brand partnerships for their annual Christmas PR parcel, which gave me a chance to understand influencer marketing - a sector I had zero experience in!

One of the highlights of my placement was visiting various venues in London in preparation for an event supporting their latest product launch. I was able to sit in on meetings with the entire team where they discussed the brand’s current performance and mapped out future strategies. Being part of these discussions was a first for me and I am so grateful Jo Loves gave me this opportunity. I also spent time at Jo Loves’ PR agency, where I met professionals from different sectors and helped pack PR parcels for their key influencers.

Despite the nerves on my first day, my time at Jo Loves was an incredibly positive experience. The placement program that the FRA offers is an amazing opportunity, and their industry connections are truly unmatched.

I wholeheartedly recommend that every student take part in these work placements, as they provide skills and insights that can’t be learned in a classroom.

Additionally, having such credible brands on our CVs will be a significant advantage when applying for jobs after graduation. Not many graduates can say they’ve had such hands-on experience with a luxury brand, which I believe will set us apart in the hiring process.

Overall, I cannot express enough how grateful I am for those three weeks at Jo Loves. It was a fantastic opportunity, and I’ll carry the lessons I learned with me as I move forward in my journey.”