HR Placement Student Review

I really enjoyed my time on my placement year due to the wide variety and scope of the tasks that I was exposed to. In my HR role, I was introduced to tasks in the majority of areas in HR and there was an extra effort made if there was any areas that I had not experienced yet but wanted to. I also enjoyed working for Cummins generally as they offer a lot of incentives that increase morale in their employees.

At Cummins, I felt like I really fit into the workforce. I received a very warm welcome which enabled me to build strong relationships with everyone. As one of the smaller Cummins sites, I felt that I achieved personal relationships with the majority of employees, including senior management. I felt that my colleagues were comfortable with giving me jobs to do and appreciated the results I produced for them.

Both my manager and supervisor were extremely receptive to my learning needs whilst I was on placement. They were always willing to answer any of my questions and help me with things that I was not familiar with throughout my whole year. They also actively suggested training courses or material that they thought would be useful for me to learn.

My workload varied day-to-day, however, I always had something that would keep me busy. The nature of my placement meant that many of my jobs were on an ad hoc basis and this took up the majority of my time, however, my manager delegated me long term projects that I could do over the space of the year that would occupy my time if there happened to be a quieter day.

I was delegated a lot more responsibility than I initially thought I would have been entering my placement year. My manager entrusted me with many high pressure tasks and my colleagues frequently approached me to lead tasks for them. The level of work I performed made me feel like they viewed me as a regular employee and not a student, who was just learning the ropes.

Although my placement year was much different to what I expected it to be and has now changed my perception on what HR is in a real business setting, my milestones over the year have suggested to me that the training I received have made me a much more confident professional, which I can transfer to my later career.

My office was a fairly small one so it had a very friendly and family-like feel to it. Generally, the atmosphere around the office was very relaxed, the office was open plan which successfully encouraged relationships between all employees. My office also advocated a relaxed dress code and offered incentives that made the environment very approachable and comfortable. I was also regularly invited to activities outside of work with colleagues, which really lightened my transition into the company.

The Cummins placement programme was very well structured. The 6 students in my office were involved in a student volunteering group, whereby we would manage various charity projects, which helped us to develop skills that we wouldn't necessarily have access to in our everyday roles, e.g. leadership. There was also a student development programme, in which we were taught skills that would help us develop in a professional environment, e.g. managing difficult people and presenting meetings.

They were willing to help with any training that I, or they felt would be beneficial to me.

As my office was very small, future employment prospects weren't significant. However, as Cummins is a global company, there are ample opportunities at other branches for graduate schemes in all roles, including my own if you wanted to continue with the company. Although you would still have to apply through the normal process, a successful previous Cummins experience is greatly appreciated, regardless of what business unit or site that you were in.

The six placement students at my office got on very well and a select number of us socialised outside of work on numerous occasions. There were many other social events outside of work, on a regular basis, which other colleagues invited all of the placement students to, although I was good friends with the placement students, I still felt very integrated into the bigger group so these were always very fun.

The cost of living and socialising in the area (Darlington) was very cheap. Although I was a local student, others that I spoke to said that socialising and living in the area was very cheap in comparison to other areas that they had come from and was manageable on the wage that we were given.

The nightlife in Darlington wasn’t great. There are a few night clubs but they are not that impressive. However, there a numerous bars and pubs which are good to go to for a drink. Darlington is also just a taxi ride away from other towns like Yarm, Middlesbrough and Stockton, which have a much more lively nightlife scene and present many more options that what is on offer in Darlington.

My colleagues were very enthusiastic about organising activities outside of work so there was quite a lot to do. These ranged from nights out to go karting so there was always something that everyone would enjoy. All of the placement students were always encouraged and welcomed to attend the activities.