For one week only, our office junior Jude abandoned his usual admin tasks and shadowed Cathy, Magenta’s MD, as part of his sixth form work experience programme.
This week has been unlike any other. Rather than being in the office all the time, supporting my usual boss, Katina, our office and wellbeing manager, I’ve been up and down the country like a yo-yo.
The main highlight was definitely Monday. But it wasn’t the most thrilling start as I had to be up at 5am to get to Warwick. Coffee was necessary. The first part of the day was a presentation where a partnership between Harrow Green and Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) was presented to the PFM Awards judges. It was interesting to see how businesses present themselves. However, it was a bit nerve-wracking as the judges asked everyone to introduce themselves and they started with me. I felt like a nobody in a room full of important people. Everyone was very welcoming, though, and I felt part of the team.
In the second part of the day, JLR gave us a tour of the buildings and showed us the design rooms for the new Land Rovers. The new models are top secret and were covered over with sheets so that nobody could see them. I felt lucky to be able to see cars that won’t be on the road for another five years.
The rest of the week wasn’t quite as exciting as the first day but it was still interesting. On Tuesday, Cathy and I went up to Crawley to listen to a talk on growing businesses, which was really useful for my Business A-level. On Thursday, Mark, Sabrina, Cathy and I went to Farringdon to meet up with one of Magenta’s key clients, Corps Security. I sat in on a typical client meeting and also heard about plans for new products and services and the most effective ways we could communicate them. I also got to hear about the impact of Brexit on the security sector, which is something we discuss regularly in my Economics A-level classes.
My week at Magenta was fun and rewarding. The office environment is positive, and every member of the team is approachable, smart and good at what they do. It gave me a real insight into the business world.
