Strategy Growth Analyst Review

National Grid gave me the option to try an entirely new field of industry through an economics study. This challenged me and allowed me to contribute genuinely useful work whilst providing me with the opportunity to further my personal development.

I was part of a very small team which was incredibly busy, whilst time was made for me I feel this is the aspect in which they could improve. All interactions were incredibly friendly and useful and the wider community at National Grid is amazing, especially among other power scholars.

My manager took a very blunt approach to telling me areas of improvement. However, for me this was very useful, it lead to genuine self improvement and an increase in the quality of my work.

I took on a placement which left me very busy. This was my intention so I cannot fault the company for it, but it has left me working longer days than many colleagues, although it was up to me to manage my own project and therefore my own decision to work this way.

It was my own project and I was put in a strategic team looking at the companies future. I had the responsibility to set my own objectives, manage my own time, work my own hours and deliver work that met a generalized format in a way I decided. It was an opportunity to genuinely learn and advance my career through taking responsibility for a project.

This is my second placement and my first lead to an increase of near 15% in my university grades. The projects have engaged me in engineering putting it in a real setting, but have also taught me skills that when applied to university put me in a position unrivaled among my peers without work experience.

To say it is a fun place is wrong, but the atmosphere is very relaxed, people are very open, very friendly and happy to talk to you. You do not feel out of place as a student, rather you are integrated into work as a full employee and people treat you with that level of respect. It is a brilliant place to be and I would thoroughly recommend it to others.

National Grid is using feedback from its previous placement students to feed back into its organisation and you can really tell. Issues we encountered in previous years were (nearly) eliminated and the overall placement really allowed for self improvement in a structured way.

Site visits were no problem, only had to ask and the day was given, even if there were other external work pressures at the time. There was a structured format explaining what they wanted to see allowing you to self improve. Further, weekly sessions with my line manager focused mostly on improving my personal development and the work that I was delivering in a critical yet constructive manner. I have learnt alot and been given many chances to improve myself through the company.

I have been offered a Job with National Grid even before my final year of university allowing me to focus on studies rather than find other work places. All the placement students were offered this same deal and the pay + benefits are very competitive so I would thoroughly recommend National Grid in terms of job prospects.

With approximately 20 students in the same position as myself it really allowed for social events to be similar to the university experience. Unlike most small intakes where you rely solely on larger team outings, this encouraged us to interact as a group. We took part in everything from night's out in clubs to picnics in the park and work at lunch. It is exactly the right number of people to be genuinely close to everyone on the scheme.

The only problem with the placement is that Leamington is expensive. However, that is because it is a lovely place to live and you are paid a competitive wage whilst there to allow you to enjoy it anyway. If this is your primary concern I would worry why you were picking the business in the first place, but there is an appropriate balance between the pay and cost of living to allow you to save for Uni.

Leamington is right next to Warwick university. Therefore the nightlife is quite comparable to most universities, however you do not have quite so much time to enjoy it!

Newnet provided many options to us, but most were self organised events such as site visits and nights out/pub quizes ect, The number of people in the same situation as you means the opportunities for you are endless and even if you choose not to get involved outside of work, inside work there are chances to see something new and different.