Fleet Communications Co-ordinator Review

I have really enjoyed my placement year at Vauxhall. I have been able to get involved in so many different aspects of my department which as has really helped me learn as much as possible about the processes within my department. By working in the marketing department, it has allowed me to get involved in working events talking directly to customers. I have been involved in writing and distributing emails to customers and prospects. By taking part in these activities, I have been able to learn about marketing mediums in a real business and have benefited considerably from this year of experience.

I felt extremely valued by my colleagues at Vauxhall. Everyone is so friendly and they all genuinely want you to get the most from your placement. As soon as I started I was able to lead projects with support from every team member. When a new task or project came about, I was always asked to get involved to ensure that I learnt as much as possible while working for the company.

I felt supported by my manager and management in the team every day. I felt like I could always approach my manager for help and guidance when i wasn't sure of something. My manager always ensured that I got involved in as much as possible which really helped me understand every aspect of my department. I had some university work while i was on placement and my manager was always offering to help and wanted to make sure that I got all the information I needed to help improve my university work.

My role has a lot of tasks that needed completing on a weekly and monthly basis. Some of these tasks involved a fair bit of preparation and information for other people in the business. This meant that I always had something to do, and if I didn't have a lot on, my team members would ask me to get involved and help them with certain tasks which meant as a team we could get more completed quickly and efficiently.

I was able to lead quite a few projects while on placement. When I started my placement there was a project that I began straight away and took the lead but had close supervision from a team member. I took the lead on key decisions for the project but always had the support in case there was something i wasn't sure of. I had a great deal of responsibility but always had someone to ask for support. Throughout my placement I was involved in a lot more larger projects where my team trusted me to make key decisions.

I have learnt so much from my placement year at Vauxhall. I have developed team work and communication skills considerably by working with a number of people in the office and with the agency. Most of all, I have gained a huge amount of confidence in myself and my ability to complete projects successfully. Gaining this year of professional experience has given me an insight into the real world of work and what I would like to be doing after university. The skills and knowledge that I will take back to my university studies is how marketing theories relate to a real business and how companies deal with challenging obstacles that they come across on a day to day basis.

The general atmosphere in the office was relaxed but everyone got on with their work. Everyone was friendly and easy to approach. Everyone worked hard and were focused but then everyone could take short breaks and get refreshments whenever they wanted.

The organisation of my work placement was very good. Right from the beginning when I completed my application and numerical test, I received results very quickly. When I was asked to the assessment centre, it was very easy to get a response if I had any questions. My expenses were paid back to me very quickly. The running of the assessment centre was very good, everything was on time and we were given all the information we needed to complete the day. When I started, the presentations we sat through were well organised and we were fully prepped to start our placement year.

I completed many training sessions while working at Vauxhall. I completed excel training sessions which improved my excel skills. I also completed presentation training which helped me understand the areas were I needed to improve. It was compulsory to complete three presentations throughout my placement year to communicate to managers what jobs I was getting involved in and what future project I would like to get involved in. The presentation at the end of the year, was to communicate how I have progressed through year and to look ahead at what my goals are for the future.

Working for Vauxhall is extremely appealing, everyone is so friendly and I have really enjoyed working with my team throughout the year. There are a lot of benefits from working at Vauxhall, and they are very focused on your development and progression through the company.

Vauxhall take on around 80 students which means when you start you really aren't alone. During the first two weeks there is a jam packed schedule full of social events which help you get to know the new and current undergrads and your teams at work. This really helps you settle in and get to know everyone better.

The cost of living where i was working was relatively cheap. I lived in a nice house on a family estate which was good value for money. It was cheap to socialize where we lived which meant we did a lot as a big group. We were relatively near London which meant it was easy to travel there when we wanted to.

There wasn't much nightlife where we worked but it was great having a big group of undergrads to spend time with which meant we had fun wherever we went.

There was a great gym that I joined which was good value for money for students. I really enjoyed taking different classes and there were swimming pools to use as well. I took part in a park run in the local area which is a great free activity to do on the weekend. I also took part in a 5K Colour run as well which was a really fun thing to do along with the community.