Group Functions Spring Week Review

I really enjoyed the week it was very informative and I liked the exposure we were given to different aspects of the business and many colleagues who worked there. However it was difficult for me to work the long days alongside travelling as this wasn't something I was used to.

The company and all the staff that worked with us during the week had clearly invested a lot of time into the programme therefore I felt valued as you could tell they wanted us to learn and succeed.

We got given so much guidance and information during our week and felt like the team in charge of the event were always there to talk to us or offer support if we needed it.

He presentation and interview skills we learnt, alongside the networking practice, will help post my degree once I get into the world of work or during it for group presentations I need to do in my studies and tutorials.

The double Dutch app used had our agenda on it which made the days very well structured as we all knew where we were meant to be when and what we were meant to be doing. The different sessions meant we did a range of activities making t well structured as a week overall.

The first two days were obviously a bit more formal and serious as no one knew each other and some sessions were quite serious. However as the group got to know each other more the atmosphere was much more fun and relaxed and the sessions got more interactive.

They invested a lot of time in us by planning events for us to network and meet senior members of staff, moreover the time spent invested in sorting out work shadowing was appreciated as they invested a lot to making sure it happened in the areas we wanted to see.

It was good to see the work shadowing however I don't think I still know what it would be like to work full time in the roles I saw as in the shadowing most of the graduates just had a chat with us about they're experiences rather than showing us what they have to do day to day.

We had a lot of talks about the values the company hold as most important in their culture and so I do feel like that was really embedded in us from the beginning of the week.

I think it gave me a good insight into a potential career path that I would like to take however as most of the talks were just an overviews into the different group functions I would need to have more of a hands on role in the specific departments before knowing if it would be a career I would like to actually pursue.

We were paid £250 to cover costs across the week and reimbursed for our travel costs to the Spring week on Monday and back on Friday.

There was ample opportunities for meeting and networking both on an informal and more formal basis at the event on Wednesday evening.

Sometimes it was hard to talk to people at the networking event as the space was quite small for the amount of people there.

I definitely would recommend this to a friend as I gained such an insight into what it's like to work in a large company and I met so many people that it will be helpful to know in the future. It was hard work but fun at the same time and I definitely learnt so much in 5 days.