Assistant Project Manager Review

I very much enjoyed the placement, as it was in an industry that I'm interested in, and I also had the chance to work with some really great people, so overall it was really enjoyable. The placement was in central London so I also liked that aspect as well, and the opportunity to get out of the office by visiting various sites.

I felt very valued by everyone I worked with. Even though everyone was busy and getting on with their working day, there was always someone around who was able to help and answer by questions. I was given responsibility and ownership from the very beginning even though I was just on a 10 week placement, so I felt like a valued part of the team.

I had a change in line manager within the first couple of weeks due to their commitments, and the person who was my line manager for the majority of my placement was really helpful. During any reviews that we had she was really good at helping me to set targets that were SMART and helping me to further my development. She also gave me lots of positive feedback and was able to address any queries I had on a regular basis.

Due the nature of the project, there were definitely times where I was more busy than others, Mondays and Fridays tended to be the busiest days but I came to adjust to this. Obviously in the first few weeks there was less that I could do but as the weeks went on, my technical knowledge and confidence increased rapidly so I was able to take on more tasks.

I was given responsibility from the very start of the placement and the importance of the work I was doing was always communicated to me which helped me feel like a valued part of the team. I took ownership of several trackers and I had to update and circulate these, as well as arranging or chairing meetings in reference to them. Furthermore I was responsible for collating the weekly report which was an important piece of communication to the client.

I am from a non technical background therefore the technical knowledge I gained (of which there was plenty) won't help me in my degree, however it will help me in my career as this is an industry I definitely want to work within. In addition, I've been able to develop skills such as team working, analysis and independent working which will certainly help me in my final year at university and throughout my career.

There was a great atmosphere in the office. The open plan nature facilitated conversation between everyone and I never felt like I couldn't ask someone for help. Being quite a young company, there were lots of other people around my age or just slightly older which I really liked. Everyone was chatty but at the same time they got on with their work and were committed to their roles.

The placement was really well organized right from when I first applied. We were kept fully informed throughout the whole process and never kept waiting for too long to find out if we had been successful/what the next stage was which was really great. We had a one day induction with all the other placement students and on our first day within our teams, had a mini meeting to find out about the projects we would be working on, as well as getting a tour of the office and meeting many other members of staff. The emerging talent team were on hand throughout if we had an queries and we had a catch up call in week 5, as well as a placement close event.

At the start of the internship we had a days induction and a few days after of online training programmes which really helped my development. In addition there was ample opportunity to attend site, and go on training courses throughout the placement. The recruitment process obviously takes serious time and effort from the companies side, and it was clear that they cared about and were interested in everyones development and experiences.

Despite Brexit, I remain positive about future job prospects within Mace, and this has been echoed by correspondence from management which says that the graduate programme will be continuing unchanged. Their grad programme is well structured and popular, and I feel I have received some good feedback from team members about my contributions and efforts over the course of the placement. We find out at the end of September whether we have been recommended for the grad scheme.

Within the first few weeks I had already been invited to a number of social events with people in the office which helped me to feel included, these included leaving drinks for someone in my team and a boat party. All the interns stayed in contact throughout the placement and we arranged catch up drinks and a closing out event at the end of our placement independently. Lots of other staff members met up outside of work too.

Being in central London, going out in the evenings was fairly expensive but that couldn't really be helped. There were lots of food outlets around so you had loads of choices for lunch times, and a canteen at the office which was also helpful and useful. In terms of the evenings we went to some local pubs/bars, and these exhibited typical London prices.

Nightlife was really good as expected for London, but obviously expensive. We mostly went out for a few hours in the evenings after work, not to nightclubs, but we always had a really enjoyable time. Had we wanted to, there would have been plenty of opportunities, and other staff members often recommended places for us to go out in the evenings.

Our department organizes lots of socials and 2 took place in the 10 weeks that I was there! We were often invited out to events, not just socials but also just for lunches and birthday events which was lovely to be included in.