This review was submitted over 4 years ago, so some of the information it contains may no longer be relevant.
Rating
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The Role
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The Company
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The Culture
- 1. To what extent did you enjoy your work placement or internship?
- 2. To what extent did you feel valued by your colleagues?
- 3. To what extent were you given support and guidance by management/your supervisor(s)?
- 4. How busy were you on a daily basis?
- 5. How much responsibility were you given during your placement?
- 6. To what extent did/will the skills you developed, and training you received, assist you in your degree studies and beyond?
- 7. What was the general atmosphere in your office?
- 8. How well organised was the overall work placement or internship set up?
- 9. In terms of personal training and development, to what extent did the company or firm invest in you?
- 10. What were the perks on your work placement?
- 11. How appealing are future employment prospects within the organisation?
- 12. Was there a good social scene amongst any fellow placement students/colleagues?
- 13. What was the cost of living and socialising in the area you worked in?
- 14. What was the Nightlife like in the area you worked?
- 15. Were there many opportunities to get involved in activities outside of work?
The Role
I had a great balance of work that was challenging, yet not frustrating. My colleagues were second to none, and the experience I have gained is worth it's weight in gold for my final year and beyond.
Within the department I felt very valued, and was able to provide assistance wherever possible. Outside of the department I felt very appreciated for offering prompt IT support, and so was always in peoples good books!
My manager regularly encouraged me to learn new concepts, and was always available to help me if I got stuck. He is a credit to the organisation and a key factor in why I had such a successful placement.
Work varied, but there were always long term projects to work on. Working in IT Support meant that no 2 days were the same, and tasks and difficulty varied greatly.
It scaled nicely through the year, at the beginning I was working on very isolated internal services, but by the end of my placement I was working on content that could be seen by the general public and all the clients of the company, and also the lead technical liaison for the social media sites.
I've learnt so many new concepts, but most importantly have been able to apply real life experience to a number of academic theories that I struggled to understand before I came on placement. Working in such a social role as IT support has enhanced my personal skills, and I've been able to isolate my weaknesses and improve them.
The Company
Great atmosphere - work hard play hard was definitely appropriate! Sales targets were monitored by the whole office and all 100+ people clapped when these were reached, golf tournaments were broadcast in the office during the Major's etc.
The company and it's HR rep did a great job of preparing an induction week, and the training was very well thought out. I felt like I was being slowly acclimatised to the organisation as opposed to "thrown in the deep end"
I received quite a few hours of personal training, in the guise of 1 on 1 training and personal development reviews. These helped me identify my weaknesses and how I could improve.
Sports and Social Club
Subsidised/Company Gym
National Travel
Company Parties/Events
Golfbreaks would be a great employer for anyone, but I would ideally like to enter employment in a more specific role post university.
The Culture
There were about 20 placement students during my year, living across a variety of locations in the area. People were always up for social activities and I've met some great people.
Details
Placement (10 Months+)
Computer Systems Engineering
London
August 2011