Purchasing Assistant Review

My placement was quite enjoyable however there were times I didn't feel comfortable within the office. I enjoyed the tasks I had however they were the same, repetitive tasks. Although I didn't personally go out of my way to find projects I felt there wasn't many opportunities to do so.

There have been times within the office where I'm the only one that knows how to do something in which case I felt valued and needed however in most other cases I was often reminded that I was a student and my opinion didn't matter - whether they were joking or not I do not know.

I have been given a lot of support from other employees within the department which has been on-going throughout the year, and I have been particularly grateful for this. Within the first few months of my placement management supported me a little however that has gradual become less and less throughout the year - this enabled me to stand on my own and use my initiative in problems.

Majority of the time I was busy on a daily basis even if it were just doing emails, there was always something to do. In some cases I was bombarded with a lot of tasks however it was not beyond my capability.

There was an average amount of responsibility given throughout, I had a monthly reporting task which I was the only one who knew how to complete so in terms of that it was my responsibility however coming to the last month of my placement the process has changed and been given to others.

I don't think my placement will assist me in my final year, there were no options to undertake formal training and anything I did informally on daily basis would not be beneficial. However I do feel that this placement will help me when going into work full time after university.

The office atmosphere was very relaxed however it was easy to become distracted. I felt I was able to ask questions when I needed too and I didn't feel under pressure at all. The only downside of the office atmosphere is that there was a lot of employees in a very small space which made it easy to tread on each others toes and there was always someone who was not in the best of moods which meant everyone in the office got the brunt of it. I think it would be nice to have some separation and personal space to make it easier to breath.

I think the placement was set up very well, I was given a formal contract and start date. I had been shown all the health and safety procedures and when I started I had a structured hand over schedule.

Personally I felt the firm didn't invest in me one bit, however I can understand why. I am only here for one year, why would they waste money sending me on a course when I'm just going to take that knowledge and leave to go back to university.

I don't think the company wanted to take me on after my placement however I know there can be opportunities to do so as previous placement students before me have come back to work as full time employees.

At the start of my placement I went out a lot with other students however now I rarely interact with them. A lot of students live at home, myself included, and therefore it made it difficult to do things outside of work due to travelling etc. On some occasions the team went out for example birthdays and when employees have left. Also at the start of the year badminton was a regular occurrence however that also fizzled out.

I live at home so the cost was minimal and socialising was the same to what I was used to.

Nightlife was ok, a little bit dirty but then there is always somewhere like that in most places.

Rarely.