Project and Customer Service Co-Ordinator Review

I have really enjoyed my year in placement. I have been given the responsibility of running my own projects and gained a lot of business knowledge as well as developed my skills. I have been able to work with a lot of different departments to understand how the business works and operates as a whole. I would definitely come back and work for Cummins after my degree if I have the opportunity.

Cummins has a friendly atmosphere where everyone in the office has been easy to approach and helpful. My team have supported me throughout my placement year and helped me with my development objectives, I have also worked cross-functionally with different departments and everyone makes you feel like a valued team member. I hope to keep in touch with my team after my placement.

My manager has been there to help throughout my placement and I have always felt like I can ask for help if I have a problem no matter how big or small the problem may be. They have provided support and guidance with my projects so that I am able to complete tasks to the best of my ability. My manager has also supported me through my development plan and ensured that I have gained practice and experience in my weaker areas. As well as ensuring I have met all of my objectives for my placement year.

On a daily basis, I had enough work to keep me busy and fill the day without being too busy. However as I have been involved with quarterly meetings with our customers, towards the dates of these meetings I would become very busy with preparation tasks and occasionally having to continue working after work hours at home. This is all part of working life and helped me to learn about time management and the importance of keeping a schedule in busy periods.

During my placement I was given responsibility of having my own projects from start to closure with support from the team. I have also had the responsibility of collating data for the customer and running both internal and external meetings with the leadership teams. Having this responsibility has given me further insight into how the business operates and helped me to become more confident when presenting my work

I have built on the theory that I have learned in university and been able to experience this within a large global organisation. I have received a lot of training both business and skills related, such as training sessions on presentation, teamwork and customer care. The skills I have developed will help me in my final year at university as I know a lot more about the business and how it operates. I have also grown noticeably in confidence which will help me throughout my career.

The office has a good atmosphere where everyone is really friendly and willing to help. There are a lot of committees within the office such as the sports and social which regularly hold events and trips out of work hours, and there is a lot of other placement students and graduates. On some days the office is sometimes quite quiet which isn't always a bad thing as you can get more work done.

The overall work placement was quite well organised as my manager created a lot of documents such as a development plan and objectives. There was an induction when I first started and I also had an 'onboarding' session where I learned all about the business as a whole. There is also a chance to enter a student bursary competition, however I thought this could have been managed better as I was not told about it until a month prior to the deadline.

There has been a lot of opportunities to attend training sessions, such as 4 all day sessions for the placement students, these have included presentation skills, teamwork, adapting to a professional environment and communication skills. I have also been on a 2 day course for project management and several customer service / customer care training sessions.

There are a lot of graduate opportunities at Cummins and they are rated highly in the graduate / placement employers. There are graduate schemes available which enable you to spend a few months within different departments which will help to gain a lot of knowledge on the complex and large business. I would like to come back to Cummins after I complete my degree if I have the chance.

There is a good social scene amongst the other placements and graduates within the business as there are two offices; Peterborough and Stamford, there are quite a lot of students and grads. We often arrange nights out to either Peterborough or Stamford. We also go meals and events like pub quizzes occasionally. There is also a lot of opportunities for socialising through the different events that the sports and social club arrange.

Very cheap for me as I live with my parents in Peterborough, so I have been lucky to avoid spending money on rent etc, however I don't believe that rent is too pricey around the city centre, and there are regular busses which the route leads to right outside the office. The cost of socialising is not too bad either, there are many deals in restaurants, and the bars and clubs sell drinks at a reasonable price.

The nightlife in Peterborough is what you can expect for a smaller city. There are a couple of clubs which are always quite busy and not too pricey, there's also a couple of Weatherspoons about for cheap drinks. The clubs often hold different events with many different djs, with a wide range of music. If you're with a good bunch of people, you can always have a good night.

Yes there have been opportunities to get involved with outside of work, this is through the sports and social club where they arrange events such as go-karting, skiing and mud runs. There are also quite a lot of placements and graduates within the office, so we can arrange our own events outside of work. There have also been a few occasions where we have been out for team meals with the department.