Corporate Communications Trainee Review

I work in corporate comms, with my role covering 70% Internal Comms and 30% PR. My day-to-day varies from attending photoshoots for the annual report, to helping with shooting for internal videos to just bog standard answering emails and writing intranet pieces. My role is largely creative and involves graphic design also.

Yes, I have been recieved formal trianing in the following areas: Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator, business writing skills, presentation skills, time management and also learnt more about investment through the I2020 programme, alongside my Investment Foundations qualification. Apart from actual trainee, being in the office environment has taught me lots about interacting in teams.

Genuinely enjoy the programme. My manager is extremely nurturing and arranges to meet me once every week to discuss my work, my progress and also my future. My role is quite creative which was something I had pursued at A-levels but had always had a passion for. The Schroders environment is also extremely enjoyable with a great corporate culture.

Well organised. Training sessions are frequent, and my team has had trainees before so understood the level of work and oversight I required. Meet frequently with my manager and our trainee coordinator arranges a lot of sessions for us. My one suggestion would be to have more structure regarding the study for our qualification e.g. earlier study days instead of having them so late in the year

A lot of support! My manager meets me weekly to disucss my work and is always easily accessible. From the bigger picture, Schroders as an employer is very supportive, with lots of free perks including a free gym, subsidised canteebn, non-contributory pension and more. The company also encourages collaboration, creating a pleasant team dynamic.

This is one area of weakness I believe. I am sitting CFA Investment Foundations, and I have a textbook available. I'm content with self-studying but feel this process could be improved by having a couple of sessions spread out through the year, as opposed to having a couple of days booked out before my exam.

Truthfully not much. My role is quite far removed from investments, but I enjoy having my qualification as it gives me a better sense of the industry and what my company does. I also find it very helpful as I will be studying economics next year at uni, so it is providing me with a solid base.

Many extra curriculars on offer. At Schroders, we have a sports and social commitee which organsises many subsidised activities e.g. terrarium making and trips to the ballet. It's a great way to meet people outside the team. We also have coffee connections which sets you up with a person if a completely part of the business where you have coffee. With Schroders I've also become a mentor for inner city children in East London. As part of the I2020 scheme, I've had many networking events with trainees like myself, and have also joined an Investment Club which is teaching me how to stock pick.

Yes

It has a great company culture with teams being really collaraborative and kind when working on projects. There is also a lot of company benefits as mentioned before with free gym and subsidised food and a great pension scheme. The social side is also good, having made lots of friends with my colelagues.

Preparation is key. While they may not expect you to understand everything about the world of asset management, have a look at what Schroders has been up to in the news recently, find out who is CEO. Also gain an idea of what the role is looking for e.g. hards skills or soft skills?