Application Support Analyst Review

I did not particularly enjoy my placement, however it must be said that this is largely due to a lack of fitting to the role rather than any large issues with the way placement was run.

The people at M&G are all very friendly and are easy to get along with. I felt valued as a member of my team and as an employee from those above me during my time at M&G.

During the first 8 weeks the graduate team were very involved with my placement, we had numerous sessions and socials designed to help us get the most from our time at M&G. Once the initial 8 weeks were over and the Summer Interns had left I had little interaction with the graduate team and no further sessions or help in getting as much as possible out of my placement. My manager had semi regular catch ups with me during my time working for him and he did offer support and pointers at these meetings which I found useful, however when I raised issues I was having with my placement I was rarely offered the opportunity to correct them.

For the first 3-4 months of my placement I found myself with a large amount of free time during my day due to a less than full workload. However as I became more familiar in my role my workload picked up considerably. By the end I was performing a full workload matching anyone else in my role and therefore had something to work on 85%+ of my time.

Initially I was given very little responsibility in my role as I was expected to first become more familiar with the systems we use. Over the following few months my responsibility was slowly increased until I was treated exactly as a normal member of the team would be taking on the full expected responsibilities of those around me.

I have gained minor insight into some skills that are useful in the business world around my area of study (Computer Science), however this was largely around best practices for certain processes which would be picked up at any work place which used similar systems. While I certainly noticed an improvement in my soft skills during my placement I was never offered any particular opportunity to improve them outside of one presentation during the first 8 weeks. In terms of hard skills I feel less prepared for my next year of study than if I had not done a placement at all, the year in between only degrading many of my skills due to lack of use.

M&G has a very relaxed workplace in general far removed from the atmosphere one would expect in a City of London based Financial firm. The people around me were all very helpful and friendly and I never had any large issues with any of them.

From the Intern team's perspective the first 8 weeks were run extremely well but then fell off from there, all of the sessions and opportunities we had enjoyed in the first 8 weeks did not continue throughout the placement. I would not expect them to continue in the same manner as the first 8 weeks but more opportunities and interaction would have been appreciated. From my Role perspective it felt as if there was no plan for my position in the team or for my transition from new starter into productive member of the team, and it seemed more like this transition happened by accident than via any sort of structure

As discussed the first 8 weeks were very helpful with regards to the opportunities afforded to the interns. For the rest of the time I was offered little direct opportunities to develop beyond my normal working role. My department manager did organize a chance for me to present to a number of people from around the IT area which I found very useful.

M&G is a nice place to work and its grad schemes do seem very well run and planned, giving real training and real work. However personally I have no interest in returning to work here but this is due to my own goals rather than M&G seeming unappealing.

When the other interns were around in the first 8 weeks there were a number of socials run by the intern team and a large amount of pub trips and nights out organized by the interns ourselves.

Its central London...

London has a nightlife for every person, from hardcore clubbers to jazz aficionados

My team ran semi regular lunch time outings and after work meet ups, and I know of several other teams which regularly ran sports outings and nights out.