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See this placement as a fundamental step into your corporate level career and take this time to observe the roles your colleagues work in each day as this is helpful insight into the type of work you might want to see yourself doing. If it is the type of work you are curious about, be proactive in asking them about their roles

Gillian Maxwell shares a similar sentiment to many other graduates. Use your time on co-op to explore different career options and learn from those around you to discover what you want to do when the time comes. 

Tell us a bit about yourself; what course did you study at UL, and what has your career looked like to date? 

At UL, I graduated with a Bachelor of Business Studies degree majoring in Marketing. Post university, my first corporate role was in pharmaceutical marketing at GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) where I co-ordinated the marcoms for two respiratory brands in Ireland as well as a national public health awareness campaign. I then transitioned into the information technology space where at Microsoft I strategised marketing plans with UK and Ireland partners to drive demand for Windows, Office, Windows Server, and 3rd Party devices including HP, Dell, Lenovo, Acer, and ASUS while also supporting the marcoms for Surface devices and Xbox. From there to Veritas Technologies where I now implement our corporate integrated campaigns across seven languages and lead the global end-to-end execution of our company’s thought leadership research initiative annually. Looking ahead, I’m focused on further developing my commercial acumen skills with defined stretch projects for an ever-evolving business landscape. 

Tell us a bit about your co-op placement, what organisation you worked with and what year it took place. 

I was delighted when I secured a co-op placement as an Engine Leasing Intern in General Electric Capital Aviation Services (GECAS) in Shannon, County Clare, in 2013. From the day I started, I gained valuable hands-on experience with daily customer deal reviews, coordinated a two-day customer relations event in London, contributed to the redevelopment of the company’s extranet project, and participated in onsite charity work with the Samaritans and St. Gabriel’s. The colleagues I met there have been instrumental in advancing my career to date.  

What impact did your co-op placement have on your future career? 

Without a doubt, it opened doors for me to initial corporate-level interviews as most required previous commercial work experience upon application. In one of those instances, it did secure a role that wouldn’t have been offered to me without having had my co-op experience.  

What advice would you give to students going on co-op now? 

See this placement as a fundamental step into your corporate-level career and take this time to observe the roles your colleagues work in each day as this is helpful insight into the type of work you might want to see yourself doing. If it is the type of work you are curious about, be proactive in asking them about their roles and ask how you might support them more whilst you are on placement. In situations that allow, some of you may be able to continue your work with this placement long after co-op finishes so keep that in mind and for the ones that don’t, some of these colleagues will be part of your network for many years to come which can set the foundation for your long-term professional success.