Service Representative Review

I had mixed emotions finishing my placement. The office and people were all great, welcoming and friendly which made working at VFS very easy. The job role itself was something as time progressed that I found I did not enjoy as much. The work is still engaging and I have learnt so much however the line of work just wasn't for me.

I felt extremely valued by me colleagues, when work was done well and on time or early they would make sure I knew they appreciated it. I felt as though I was part of the team not just the intern who has come for a year. They all helped me when I was stuck and this made me feel as though they did care about me learning everything within the job. Even when jobs were done a little late they encouraged me making me feel less worried.

The management team within VFS are great, the Operations Manager for the service centre was a huge help to me. I felt he cared about what I was gaining from my placement and always was happy to help me experience new areas of the company. My manager was hugely supportive in my day to day job, she would always be there to help me and give me advice if needed.

My mornings would be extremely busy, I had deadline every morning up till about 1:30pm. I would work across 4 countries so the work wouldn't really stop, I enjoyed this as being busy kept me focused and made the days fly. However sometimes in the afternoons I did find myself looking for more work, but everyone was always happy to help find me work when needed.

I had a lot of responsibility in my team. Working across all 4 countries meant I was responsible for the contracts of each one. I would be doing the same work as all members in the team therefore I felt as though the responsibility was very even throughout, this was comforting as there wasn't a lot of pressure put onto one person.

Learning and developing my skills in my work placement have been huge. Reflecting back I have seen a huge improvement in many areas that will help me in later life such as my time management, confidence and organisation. These are all skills that will play a vital part in my degree and grad jobs. The training helped to develop all of these skills as well as my day to day routine.

The atmosphere in the office was overall quite quiet. Everyone was extremely friendly and welcoming which made it an easy atmosphere to work in and get along with everyone. My team were all very talkative and we would socialise whilst working throughout the day which I enjoyed. There was also pizza in the office every 1st Friday of the month which helped get everyone together. I would have wanted a bit more of a social buzz outside the office however this didn't take anything away from the enjoyable atmosphere.

The placement was very well set up, when I first arrived all my systems and induction information was set up to start straight away. Throughout my first month there would be regular updates from my manager to any improvements I need to make or where I am performing well. The training programme had been set up prior to me joining so I was ready to start straight away which was brilliant as it kept me busy throughout the day learning my role.

I felt the company invested a lot of time into helping develop me. They spent time to train me and give me the right tools I needed to succeed in the role. I was also given the opportunity to work with the Credit team to help develop my skills and experience further. It seemed as though they would try as much as possible to help me gain exactly what I wanted out of the placement even though sometimes it wouldn't be possible.

There is no current grad scheme within the company which is something I feel should be looked into. However if a management role was to come up once I had graduated I would consider coming back to the company as I found it a nice enjoyable place to work. I wouldn't come back to my current role down to personal preferences however I would come back to the company.

There was some social aspects to meeting the other placement students. We had a meal together when we first started as an ice breaker. There was also a end of placement review where we would all present what we done in our placement year. I found these kind of things enjoyable. I would recommend more of these throughout the year as each student can help one another to develop their knowledge of the company.

I live in Coventry which is about a 20 min drive from the office. I lift shared with another intern who was also from Coventry however the weekly costs of travel were easily manageable within my pay. The cost of living is fine, I would pay my rent and bills from my pay each month without any problems. Socialising was cheap Coventry isn't badly priced in terms of going out.

Being a student in Coventry I was already use to the nightlife. Being around 20 mins away this is probably the liveliest nightlife around the office. They host student nights throughout the week and also have club nights on Friday and Saturday. The clubs are good however there isn't loads of choice (around 3 decent nightclubs). However Birmingham isn't far on a train and that has a great nightlife so there are many options around.

There were a few out of work activates we got invited to. The office play 5-a-side football once a week and they welcome newcomers to join them. There is also a gym onsite as the office which is free for all employees to use. They would also hold activities and days out which if you wanted to go on you could at a fee.