Walking the talk on impactful work experience at SThree
featuring Elijah Marshall, Sixth Form student
SThree is an international staffing organisation specialising in the Information Technology, Banking & Finance, Life Sciences, Engineering, and Energy sectors. Year 12 BTEC Business student, Elijah Marshall learned about the organisation from a family friend. He went to the company, introduced himself and was eligible to do a week’s work experience as part of their corporate social responsibility programme which supports individuals, organisations and the wider economy.
The article below was written by the company for internal purposes and provides an overview of Elijah’s experience during the placement.
Who did we support?
This placement was set up in May for Elijah, an ambitious 17 year old from Hackney. We first heard about Elijah through Mike Walker’s brother who works for a charity in London, and subsequently learnt more about him from his school – Green Spring Academy where he studies a BTEC in Business.
Why did we set this up?
Elijah was a strong match for our CSR programme, especially given his desire to succeed in business. The school explained that he needed help to decide on his career interests and on which route to take, such as an apprenticeship or university.
We found out from Elijah directly that he wanted to spend time in three core areas: Marketing, Finance and Sales to help him work out which business function(s) suited him best.
What did he achieve through the placement?
Olida Khanom, CSR Assistant carefully constructed a plan for the week to include the key elements that Elijah requested, including networking and exposure to relevant departments. The week included:
- Learning about Marketing steams such as candidate acquisition with Irina Bordea, communications and employer branding with Kathrin Tschiesche, public relations with Katie Heinneman, customer experience with Harriet Howarth, brand management with Max Richardson, and overarching marketing strategy with Garreth Hayes
- LinkedIn profile, CV writing and interview technique with Nel Parmar
- Understanding an apprenticeship role with Rez Hoque, Tax and Treasury Apprentice, and finding out about different Finance areas, such as tax with Lewis Gray, and accountancy with Shinal Patel and Thabo Bango
- Learning about the Legal function with Marion Van Vlierden and Roland Gorinsky
- Introduction to CSR with Marie Broad and Olida Khanom
- Networking with Mike Walker and Gary Elden!
Feedback
“It went really well and I fulfilled all of my objectives. I know more about what marketing actually is in practice and I’ve definitely built my network. I’ve left with a number of connections on LinkedIn.” Elijah
“It was a great opportunity to introduce the many areas of marketing to Elijah who had such great enthusiasm to learn. From public relations, advertising, and media planning, to content marketing, social media, and research, there are so many pathways to take when you are first introduced to marketing. Being able to give Elijah some of this knowledge and answer his questions, hopefully helps him answer that question we’ve all asked ourselves one time or another – what job should I have?” Katie Heinemann
