Assistant Administrator Review

I enjoyed the placement a lot. At the start of the placement I was learning all the time, which kept things interesting. Towards of the end of the placement carrying out the same work did get a bit boring, but as a junior employee the work I could do was limited. The people I worked with also made it enjoyable, as everyone I met at the company was friendly and always willing to help if I had any issues with work. The manager I worked for was also very fair in his managemt style, so I never felt pressured or unhappy in the job.

I felt very valued by my colleagues. Within the team I worked in, I was always praised and thanked by colleagues for the work I carried out. My manager always ensured that I was okay doing something and encouraged me to take part in the extra activities in the office. I also felt valued by colleagues who weren't in my team, because everyone would aknowledge you, and when at the drinks machine, printer, lunch etc people would always ask how you are, about your weekend etc and actually take interest.

I was always given a lot of guidance on a new task, such as the best way to do it, where to find things. If u had any questions my manager or supervisor were happy to answer them and explain fully, ensuring I understood. There were few days when my manager or supervisor wouldn't be in the office, but there would always be someone else I could go to for guidance on any issues.

How busy I was would vary week to week, depending on season and amount of clients. Some weeks I would be rushed off my feet, and some weeks work would be slower. Although most weeks I had a good balance of work to do. The busy weeks were mainly over Christmas when clients had a year end coming up and we were trying to get everything finished for the Christmas holidays.

I was given some responsibilities, such as ensuring documents were correct and sent out on time, which was quite major when they were going to clients and Companies House. And also I was responsible for keeping track of deadlines. But I was never given any responsibility that was too much for me.

I learnt so much that I would never have learned at university. Mainly I built a lot on my commercial awareness skills, including knowledge on how groups of companies were built up and arranged, and the options for struggling businesses. I also developed my communication skills vastly, as I was communicating with colleagues, clients and other professionals on a daily basis, including in meetings, and how to write a formal email. The training and skills I picked up on the IT side of things will also help me, as I have increased basic IT skills and can pick up new IT software a lot quicker now. From what I have learnt about business on my placement, now back at uni I feel that I understand things in context more, and can see where what I learn applies in real life.

Everyone was very friendly in the office, and you could always have a good laugh in your team. We even had a pool table in the lunch area which meant some very competitive lunch times. Being an open plan office meant that you got to chat with people from other departments, and there were regular department and office socials.

Before starting the placement I did initially have to chase up the manager to see if I had got the job, but it was because they were waiting for the go ahead from HR, so it was HR who were a bit slow on this. But once I had the job I was able to visit before I started to get a idea of the office and meet my colleagues. And once I started the placement everything I needed was ready in place for me, such as my laptop, staff pass, work to do. Also my induction training was organised for my first day. So when I started everything was organised and set up perfectly.

I was given the same training opportunities as everyone else at the firm. There would be training on a regular basis, both online and at events at other offices. Even though I was only a temp I was encouraged to attend the training with everyone else. I never felt that I was being left out.

They offer graduate schemes in many areas, to one which I have already applied. As I am applying to a different area to which I did my placement I do have to still do interviews etc, but if I had done placement in the same area as what I am applying to I would have just had an performaby assemsment and been offered a job. They also offer a lot to graduates, such as a bonus when joining and the professional accounting qualification. Working for them has shown me that I highly want to work for them again in the future.

There were socials for everyone at which I got to meet other people on placement, but not really socials just for the placement students. Trying to meet placement students in other departments was quite hard. But there was the young professionals ball which you were encouraged to attend which was a social that the placement and graduates attended.

As a placement student I was able to rent a student flat cheap, and close enough to work so that I could walk, so didn't have to spend any money on travel. Working in a northern city meant that nights/meals out were well priced. I also had access to big and cheap supermarkets which meant I could keep the foodbill down.

The city is known for its nightlife scene, and being a student city drinks and club entry was always cheap. There are 2 main nightlife areas so you are spoilt for choice on a night out. People out were generally friendly and I never had any trouble on nights out. Usually there would be a police presence on the main square which is good to see and puts you at ease.

The company were big on charity and community so there would usually be something to get involved in. This included going to schools to help children with reading, charity absailing down offices in the city, and career events at schools/unis. The company even gave you 40hrs a year to use for volunteering, so if you did an event in works hours you wouldn't have to put the hours missed in at a later point.