Finance Analyst Review

Overall, I enjoyed the placement year. It was interesting to see how a big business like Caterpillar works and I was given a great amount of responsibility which kept me going throughout the year.

My colleague's were all great to work with and they all helped me whenever I needed help!

We were given weekly one to one's with our managers and this was to express any concern or go through anything you were unsure about. My manager was super friendly and easy to talk to anyway so it was never a problem if I needed extra support.

During month end I was extremely busy, so the first two weeks of the month there is always something to do. The workload slowed down during the last 2 weeks significantly but this allowed us to work on other things that require more time. Overall a good balance of work was given.

I think I was given quite a bit of responsibility overall which kept me going throughout the year and it wasn't the usual photocopying/scanning placement. This was pretty scary at first as you're dealing with big numbers and it was quite daunting although by the end of it I really understood what I was doing and why. All the jobs I did will definitely benefit me in my next job.

The placement year will definitely help me get a graduate job when I finish university as I can talk about the role and responsibilities I was given in interviews so it will definitely help. Although there wasn't much I could relate to from my degree I am glad I did it as I will take more away from the placement year than what I have learnt at university. My spreadsheet skills are now significantly better than when I started, as well as my time management and organisation skills - I would say I am a much more confident person within the role than I was when I first started.

Very friendly and you could talk to anyone. Everyone was always willing to help as well!

I thought it was pretty organised. Although I wasn't given a handover I still learnt everything well as process notes were given and we weren't left to do anything ourselves. The recruitment process was also pretty quick and efficient.

There was a lot of training given on excel and other programmes we would be using when we first started. There were also other training days within the placement year about Caterpillar which were handy.

I am unsure about what I want to do in the future but there may be graduate roles offered within Caterpillar although nothing has been confirmed to us.

Yes, I would go for lunch with the other finance placement students every day which was always a laugh.

I commuted from Leicester everyday so I'm unsure about the social scene in Peterborough.

I don't think it exists, but again I am unsure.

Yes there were constant emails about things to do outside of work like treasure hunts/charity days out etc.