I started my journey at Macro 4 with little to no knowledge about the IT industry. But now, approaching the final few weeks of my work experience, I have learnt more about B2B marketing and the industry than I could have ever imagined. 

Everybody has to start somewhere in their career, and Macro 4 has put me in the best possible position for that. From my very first day, I have received continued support from Lynda Kershaw, the Marketing Manager, and Sarah Bowden, the Marketing Communications Manager, as well as many other colleagues, which has helped me to develop significantly both personally and professionally. Not only that, but I have gained a huge amount of confidence as I have progressed through my placement, helping me to become independent in my role and to feel like a valued member of the Macro 4 team.

To support our development and build further confidence, students at Macro 4, like myself, are exposed to the whole business and participate in many activities with other departments, providing the opportunity to gain specialist knowledge and experience we wouldn’t get anywhere else.

What will you do on your marketing placement?

Since the beginning of my placement, I have been treated as a key member of the marketing team and have been given real business tasks to complete to help me get up to speed with the solutions Macro 4 offers. These include enterprise information management (EIM), customer communications management (CCM) and legacy application decommissioning (LAD), to name a few.

As a marketing student, you can expect to be highly involved in generating social media posts for Macro 4 and its sister company, SoftLanding Systems, as well as attending regular meetings to plan upcoming press releases and blogs. In addition, you will work closely with the web team who manage the company website, assisting with activities such as sourcing imagery, working on the navigation and SEO, while also using online tools such as Google Analytics and SEMrush to analyze the overall site health and online performance.

Furthermore, you can expect to produce internal reports, construct informative videos and product demos, manage engaging projects and attend external conferences. Overall, the job role is extremely unique and will allow you to broaden your marketing skills, network across the industry and gain an all-around experience; which is perfect preparation for your future career.

Highlights from my Macro 4 marketing placement

A highlight from my Macro 4 placement experience has been learning about and working on improvements to the company website. This interesting project taught me the importance of effective website practices and strategies. I did extensive research into the topic, producing various pieces of content, such as research reports and mood boards, and also designed and structured webpages using the content management system (CMS).

In addition, I particularly enjoyed networking at the events I attended. These were really beneficial for grasping a better understanding of the IBM zSystems and IBM i communities, and my knowledge about the services these platforms provide advanced much faster as a result.

Furthermore, I have had the chance to work on a couple of projects with the research and development placement students. This included, creating a video about the Macro 4 placement program and we also organized an internal pool league event for Macro 4 staff. These were really engaging activities and helped us to establish a deeper connection with the business’s culture. 

What’s next for me?

I thoroughly enjoyed my year of work, and I am happy to have spent it with Macro 4. It has helped me to develop my skills and put the knowledge I have gained from university into practice within my role.

The team at Macro 4 are dedicated, experienced professionals and I would highly recommend their assistance to ensure you hit the ground running after university.

In the coming months, I will be returning to university to write my dissertation and complete my final year of study. This will be a tough challenge, but I will stay motivated throughout. During this time, I will also be searching for a graduate position, preferably within the marketing field.

If you’re interested in finding out more about Macro 4, I recommend exploring the website further: https://www.macro4.com/