Vanessa, Graphic Design student, is working as a UX Designer at MMT Digital in London
Vanessa, Graphic Design student, is working as a UX Designer at MMT Digital in London. She tells us about how it feels to be valued by colleagues and have your ideas listened to from day one.
MMT Digital
MMT Digital is a company that provides digital solutions for their clients. They use technology and design to solve big problems in the most efficient way.
Surprisingly, what I was most impressed about MMT isn’t the list of amazing clients and creative work, but the way they deal with their employees. They value every co-worker. The company culture is of collaboration and each one of the employees is treated as a team member.
My role
I’m currently working as the Placement UX Designer. Even though I have only worked at MMT for 2 months, I’ve already had the chance to give my input into different projects and my ideas were always listened to from day one.
The team understands this is my first experience in the industry and encourage me to ask as many questions as possible. At the same time they are interested in listening to new ideas from a university student.
What I’ve learnt so far
The most obvious improvement was my confidence about my work and ideas. Being able to present and share my thoughts within the team and seeing the team take on board those thoughts showed me the value of my ideas.
As well as soft skills such as presentation and confidence, I have also learnt a lot about UX processes. My superiors at MMT Digital have introduced me (and, I’m sure, will continue to introduce) to some amazing content to improve my knowledge in UX.
Even though I realise I have improved massively in the last couple of months I know I still have much to develop and I am very excited to discover what is yet to come.
What I’ll be working on in the future
The plan is to keep working with different team members so I can cover all the different areas the UX team deals with. The aim is that I can cover these areas of knowledge and build the confidence to work as an independent UX designer within MMT by the end of the placement.
Challenges and highlights
With the current situation, most of the MMT employees have been and still are working remotely. I have started and might finish my placement working from home, which has its challenges.
One of the highlights of my placement so far, and something I really appreciated, was my first day at work. MMT prepared an introductory event so I had the chance to go to the office and meet my fellow placement students and other colleagues. Being able to meet part of the team in person made working remotely a lot easier.
It is difficult to talk about highlights because every positive comment from colleagues or superiors feels like a massive highlight in any project, big or small.
I managed to find a quiet corner in the house to set my workspace at home. The company provided all the equipment necessary and also support and tips to set a healthy balance when working from home.
If you are lucky enough to start your placement in a non-pandemic time, your workspace will more like look like this.
This is how working from home looks like
If you are lucky enough to start your placement in a non-pandemic time, your workspace will more look like this.
What I would say to any student considering doing a placement:
If you have doubts, ask questions. Talk to other students that have been through it. I am happy to talk to anyone that is thinking of applying for a placement. I remember feeling nervous and I can guarantee it’s worth it.
It’s a great and unique opportunity to be gently introduced into the industry. I understand that it might be a shock to go from a classroom to working with a team in an office, but the student is provided with so much guidance that it becomes a pretty smooth change.
This experience is so valuable to a student’s growth as a professional, anyone would be crazy not to try.
Finally…
My final advice is: don’t worry about your placement search as you’re not on your own. Ask for support and get in touch with Creative Careers, even if it’s just to share your interest in applying.
And don’t leave it all to the last minute.
Interested in becoming a UX Designer?
MMT are currently advertising for Vanessa’s replacement so if you’re a second-year student check out the advert on our Work Placement database.
If you like the sound of working for MMT, they’re also advertising other placement roles.