Market Quality Engineer Review

I have enjoyed the majority of my internship. There has not always been enough work for my to do in my department, so it has been boring at times. However, the work that I have done has been interesting and really given me the opportunity to meet more people around the business and learn a lot more about how the business works, both within the office environment and in the Core Value Chain.

I feel like I have integrated well into my team, although it has been difficult with my team being based across the world. Despite this, I have been involved in meeting and projects with all my team members and feel I've made a positive contribution which has been acknowledged by my colleagues. They have all been very welcoming and helpful during my placement.

My manager has mostly been good, although due to work trips/holidays I have had to work independently/with other managers for much of my placement. All the managers I have worked with have given me guidance when I've asked for it and most of them have allowed me to become involved in projects they are working on, even if only to get an idea of what the project is about.

Of my 8 hour day, I would say that I am busy for at least 6 hours on average. Some days I have had very little to do, but I can normally find things to work on and have developed a large network within the department and with other interns that I can turn to when I have less work to do so I can see what they are working on. I feel if I was in the department for a longer time I would have been able to get involved with more. 3 months is very little time to such a large company.

During my project I have been solely responsible for 2 projects, one of which had been started previous to my arrival. Although these projects weren't relied on by other members or the team, they were designed so that I could potentially have a significant effect on the productivity of my department, and improve the way another process within the business worked. It was nice having projects that I was fully responsible for, it allowed me to get really stuck into them and made me want to work harder to produce the best piece of work I could.

I feel like working here has really improved my time management and organisational skills. I'm also much more comfortable talking to people across the business now, whether they are an intern or a manager. I think this will really help at University, because I'll feel more comfortable working with more tutors and supervisors. In term,s of technical ability, I am not in a position that is relevant to my degree, but improving my other skills will definitely assist me with my studies.

My office is a very friendly environment. Within my first week I was introduced to everyone in my area of the office, which made me feel much more comfortable here from the very beginning. I've gained lots of friends around the office, and it is very relaxed, with flexible working times, providing I complete my weekly contracted hours.

My placement was relatively well organised, with a main placement project being outlined on my first day. Although this project was good, it was not always enough to fill me day, with other projects around this through my time in the company. From the nature of my department being very unique and constantly changing, I think my placement was as well organised as it could have been.

During the placement, I was given freedom to complete online training courses and presentations. At the beginning of the placement, I identified objectives with my manager, which included personal development. The company (and my manager) allowed me to move forward with this development and take time away from my projects to do this. For example, I consolidated personal relationships with team members on different sites, such as manufacturing sites, to improve the effectiveness of my working relationships.

I am very keen to return to the company as a graduate. I feel like I will be able to see a lot more of the company and really decide where I want to be while working here (or just improve my knowledge of the company to improve my ability to do my job). I feel like the opportunities within this company are also good and will allow me to move up or around the business to a job I will enjoy.

Yes, this was very good. We have weekly networking lunches with other undergraduates and talks from graduates and managers from across the company. The graduates within my department also organised monthly events, which we got involved in, including laser tag and go-karting. Given the large number of undergraduates, we were also recommended a university accommodation by the company, meaning that a number of undergraduate interns lived in the same building, which really allowed us to make better friends and meet as many interns as possible.

The area I lived in was fairly cheap, with my accommodation under £90 per week, and a number of large supermarkets in the area which meant living costs could be as cheap as you wanted. Socialising in the area was easy and fairly cheap, with a number of pubs that ranged in price.

I did not go out that much, but the nightlife in the area was fairly good, with a few clubs in the area, and many pubs within walking distance of my accommodation. There were a number of interns who would regularly go out. It also wasn't far from Birmingham or Leamington, which also have a fairly good nightlife.

While living in Coventry, I spent most of my time going to the gym and shopping in the town centre with friends. However, there were many opportunities to get involved with other things, such as the football league that was set-up by some of the other interns, and many sports clubs in the area that I could have joined.