Business, Marketing and Agriculture – Hamish had it all

Hamish said: “A year in an industry relative to your course is required as part of my university course. When looking through the list of placements offered through Harper Adams, I couldn’t find anything that suited my interests. I really wanted to spend a year with a firm that had a large involvement in the agricultural sector but also focused on the business and marketing aspects of the industry. Scrutton Bland fitted that category perfectly. 

Previous to my coming to Scrutton Bland, I had never worked in either a Marketing or Business Advisory team, so I joined with an open mind and ready to learn.  The team at Scrutton Bland were really accomodating to my application process, offering virtual interviews via Teams, rather than asking me to make the trip to the office multiple times. However after a few emails and phone calls with the HR department, I was given an interview opportunity with Elizabeth Nichols (Marketing Director) and Jack Deal (Business Advisory Partner).  

 I chose Business Advisory (BA) and Marketing as they were two departments that particularly interested me when looking for a placement and I wanted to make sure I could work in both. Scrutton Bland accommodated my request and I did six months in BA and six in Marketing.  

Whilst working at Scrutton Bland, I was fortunate enough to be involved in many large projects such as the Suffolk Show and Budget Breakfast as well as internal events such as the firm’s Annual General Meeting. It was great to be able have a role in in organising these events and to gain an understanding of what goes in to planning and delivering large-scale events – it certainly doesn’t happen all by itself!

 Throughout my time at Scrutton Bland, I have gained many new skills. One of the most important being the management and cost of time. This is translatable across both the departments that I worked in and is certainly something I can take with me into the future.  

Working with the Marketing team and Business Advisory team has been an absolute pleasure. Both teams made me feel incredibly welcome from the start and took extra steps to ensure I settled in.  I’m so grateful to everyone at Scrutton Bland who took the time to teach me so much, it’s definitely somewhere I’d recommend working!”

We wish Hamish every success with his university course, and in his career. If you’re interested in being part of the Scrutton Bland team, please check our careers page to find out more about what we offer, and the opportunities currently available.