Supply Chain and Logistics Intern Review

Caterpillar is a fantastic company to work for. They provide the opportunity for students who are still in the process of their education to learn some vital, real life skills and enhance their CV's. The management at the particular facility I worked at were fantastic and had years of experience between them, showing why Caterpillar is renowned for its great leadership.

When a new person enters any business, no matter their skills or experience, it is likely it will take a while for them to settle in to the business and people become used to them being there and using them as a resource. Some people will be resistant to any change, but on the whole you are valued, and your ideas are thoroughly considered and discussed as you gain more trust and responsibility.

My manager was fantastic with me. They provided me with constant communication to help me do my job and pre warned me early of any impacts that changes higher up the business may have for my job role. If you are seen to be giving your whole hearted effort then your manager will appreciate the job you are doing and reciprocate that. Moving to a new area and starting a new job was daunting, however my manager both on a personal and professional level was very supportive.

When you start there may be a reluctance to ask questions and this is the time you are most likely to need support and be offered it, in terms are what you need to do on a day to day basis. There is nothing worse than being bored and watching the time slowly tick down at work, so try to ask many questions and seek help if you find yourself short of tasks as there is likely to be something to do.

Although I worked for a large multinational business, the actual facility I worked at was fairly small and had good processes in place but a big scope for improvement with logistics, which was the department I was bought in to. I found that some changes were obviously needed and I was given freedom to suggest and try out new ideas, working with various other departments across the business. If ever I needed help implementing change because someone was reluctant to accept it, a manager would always provide support and listen to both cases before making a decision, which made it feel like you had a large responsibility to be accurate in what you were trying to implement.

You learn skills that are likely to never leave you. Waking up at 7 in the morning to drive to work and then work or 9 hours is a skill that I have learnt and found easy to acquire. It is much easier to get out of bed when you know you are waking up to go and work somewhere you enjoy and will be happy going to. Other skills you learn are putting theory in to practice and learning advanced principles that are used on a daily basis within your department.

Unfortunately when I joined the business it had just gone through a downturn and had to adapt its costs to meet new volumes at which it was producing, therefore there was a bit of an edgy mood for my first few months, which did eventually subside and the office started to become fairly jovial, however we were then given news that there would be further cost reducing actions which caused more whispering, caution and edginess. People on a daily basis however were very pleasant and friendly and would always help, it was just unfortunate I joined at a time many people were leaving and there was quite a few people who were unsettled.

There was a clear job for me to do. In my department there were people who were very busy on a day to day basis, therefore an extra pair of hands was necessary to implement some of the easier changes that were required which perhaps needed more time because people needed convincing that they were necessary. Sometimes tasks weren't forthcoming but this is where responsibility lay with me to ask questions and learn how to approach what needed to be done and create tasks for myself which would contribute to my job.

I was given training for the first few days of my job and took this skills on board fairly easily to complete the jobs that were required of me. I was given support for projects I wanted to implement in terms of, I was allowed to place orders and given responsibility to speak to suppliers on a regular basis and spend some of our departments budget if my manager felt that an idea of mine was worthwhile. The skills that I was taught will stay with my forever and I can use them to further develop my career in the future.

The graduate scheme which Caterpillar offers is one of the best available and probably the best in manufacture engineering which is a career I definitely want to go in to. Securing my placement with this company was fantastic for my prospects of getting full time employment however this isn't a guaranteed graduate job. I know I need to make an impact throughout my year and make changes that will be remembered and still in practice years from now to be seen as someone the business wants to retain.

There wasn't any other placement students at the Caterpillar facility I worked at which didn't bother me too much. I travelled home a lot where I had more of a social life, and could see my family regularly. There were other younger people in the office and management often encouraged us to help each other to help each other do our jobs and socialise. I wasn't necessarily looking to have a fantastic social life on my placement, however my own research in to house sharing with other people who didn't work for caterpillar was vital for my social life during the week.

The cost of living where I was located was actually cheaper than university, which was surprising considering that standard university house contract is a month shorter and the houses you live in at university are no where near as nice. The cost of other aspects of where I live I found to be greater, such as travelling home either by car or train, however this didn't bother me too much, as I was paid a fair wage and I wasn't on placement for the money, more the opportunity to work and gain experience and skills.

There was a local village near to where I worked which was voted high street of the year a few years ago which was a very lovely place and had many places to eat and drink. Newcastle was only a short journey away from where I worked and offered great nightlife and there was various other places to go out and drink, including 3 pubs all within walking distance of where I lived. often I didn't go out at weekends because I was tired and wanted to relax more at the weekend rather than stay out late and have a sore head the next day.

The house that I lived in often did things after work or at weekends, and I joined in from time to time with these activities which make your social time more enjoyable and make you feel like you've done more with your time, rather than just lying around being tired after work. Living away meant that I had to do things such as washing, ironing and cooking which consume large amounts of your social time, whilst trying to do other activities, so sometimes it was nice to just have alone time and not do a great deal.