Field Operations Assistant Review

The decision to do my placement at GE was one of the best decisions I have made so far. I was drawn in by the company's focus on the development of its leaders, and I must say that they have not failed in providing me really good opportunities to learn and mature as a leader. The culture at GE fits me as a glove, as they have a culture of execution.I love being able to work along so many people that are so focused on delivering good results!

From the start of my placement, my manager ensured I met most of the people in my office and that they would know my name. Whenever people would have questions for him, but he knew that I would be able to answer, he would direct people to me. This made me feel responsible and appreciated for the work I was doing. Even when sending emails through, people made a habit of appreciating the work I do for them.

My role was quite diverse, as I have decided with my manager, even from the beginning, that I want to be able to experience different parts of the business in order to be able to help me decide what I want to focus on in the future. Although my manager has to attend client meetings all over the country, he takes time to ring in and ask how I am doing from time to time. He also makes sure I have appropriate work to do, although at times, he tested my initiative as well.

As I had a diverse role, sometimes I would have the time to focus on things that I am interested in - such as studying for an online course for 2 hours a day, instead of doing a work related task. I found this to be extremely enjoyable, as it gave me the motivation to keep working and learning how to improve their business processes. I rarely had to postpone my lunch, but most of the time, I managed to keep a good balance.

Interns working at GE are not interns. They are employees. They fill in specific roles, that the business cannot do without, so the amount of responsibility is quite big. You have tasks for which you are entirely responsible, and other tasks where you only have a small input. But this balance allows you to work under enough pressure to keep things interesting, but also keep you going!

GE provides its employees with the best learning opportunities. Every employee has access to GE Learning - an online learning platform, where employees can access different courses that would advance their knowledge. Also, the on the job training is invaluable, as I learned how to better negotiate, communicate, and motivate my colleagues. I would have not managed to do all of this if I was not to work in such a development focused environment.

The atmosphere was really nice, as it was a good balance between work and play. If I needed I break I would let my colleagues know, and we would chat, go for a walk outside, or watch a video together. People also were really good at making sure you are doing well, so they would check up on me, and cheer me up if I seemed to be a bit under the weather.

I think that with GE the placement is what you make it. So if you are the type of person that cannot really organize themselves well, GE is not the place for you. You have to be driven and focused, and you have to be able to say what you expect to get out of it. It is very flexible, so do not worry if you change your mind. Usually, you are able to let your manager know that you would want to focus on other things as well, and that is really good. It all varies from department to department though, so, do check that if you decide to apply.

GE is a great company to work for, as the prospects within the organisation are immense. As there are GE has different industries on which it focuses - Healthcare, Oil and Gas, Transportation, Energy Management, you have plenty of roles that you can be involved in. The majority of roles in GE are also filled with people from within the company, so you can be sure that if you want stability - you can definitely have that within GE.

The cost of living in the area I worked in was quite low in comparison with the area I decided to live in. I wanted to be closer to Central London, so I decided to pay the higher cost, so that I could be closer to all the fun! But you can definitely do well if you are on a budget, as you get a lot of company perks, which, if used wisely, will make your life really easy.

There are a lot of volunteering opportunities within the company, so yes, plenty of things to do outside of work. All you need to do is keep your eyes open, network as much as you can, and do not be afraid to have fun!