Commercial Finance and Project Management Review

I have very much enjoyed my placement. Working for one of the largest, most innovative companies in the world has been an excellent opportunity and I would be very grateful to return. I have been given a huge amount of responsibility and this has added a huge amount of value to my future applications to other employers as well as this one.

I have felt very valued by my colleagues for the duration of my 13 month placement. The reason for this is that I was brought into a very welcoming team who were very willing to give me challenging and significant opportunities despite only being at the company for a short amount of time. My skills were truly valued and appreciated and I have had lots of interesting work.

The amount of support and guidance I was offered during my placement was overwhelming given the size of the organisation and given the priority tasks of senior management. Despite having so much work to do, the management here have been exceptionally supportive, helping me understand my role very quickly as well as being accepting of any mistakes I have made along the way.

I have been very busy at this placement in the last six months, however this was not the case when I started this job. During the first three months I was not very busy at all as there were limited opportunities I could pursue. After I picked up my simple. core responsibilities to a good level of quality I was able to pursue new opportunities that interested me, and became much busier

I have been given a huge amount of responsibility during my placement. I manage the finances of an entire IBM account, and what this has allowed is me being given more responsibility by other areas of the business who have heard through word of mouth the kind of work I already complete to a high standard. I now am almost entirely unsupervised and this has allowed me to demonstrate my initiative and potential.

The skills I have developed that will transfer to my University studies mainly revolve around the ability to work in a team, The reason I believe this is that we have been using an Agile methodology during our projects which allows the team to be especially communicative and efficient in the way that they work. For example, now when I have a group presentation I will suggest that we have daily stand-ups to discuss where we are, what we are working om, and what our pain points are.

The general atmosphere in the office varies greatly. I work in a studio space that has a very relaxed atmosphere, with a table tennis table and mini golf putting mat. Everybody works in casual clothing and the atmosphere is generally happy and calm. In contrast to this part of the company, outside of the studio is entirely suited and the atmosphere is a lot quieter and people seem less happy than in the studio. If you take a mean of both working environments it is still a good atmosphere. (10/6=8)

The placement has been set up very well from the perspective of going through the recruitment process. I was guided through each stage (assessment centre, interview etc.) very, very quickly which I would say is excellent. In terms of the induction, and our first few days, it was good but could definitely be improved. We were taught a lot about the culture of the business but very limited time was dedicated to understanding where our roles fit into the entire mechanism of the business.

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As previously mentioned, there is a split between the studio space and the rest of the building. A return to the business to work in a space other that the space I currently occupy is not particularly desired however working inside the relaxed studio space is a lot more desirable. Despite this, the graduates generally seem unhappy and under utilised meaning many interns are seeking other means of employment. I believe the company needs to focus more on the future of the company and make interns and graduates happy before they move on to other firms. Personally, I'd be happy to return to the studio space.

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Living in London South Bank of course is very expensive to both live and socialise, The cost of trains or tubes as well as rent takes almost all money the company compensates you with for the majority of interns. In spite of this, the company offers many perks to counteract this. Many bars in the area offer a discount for employees from the firm, and the company often pay for parties with open bars. The company also compensates London workers with more money than those in other areas of the country. Despite this extra compensation, it is difficult for many to get by in such an expensive location.

Nightlife in London is very, very good however it is exceptionally expensive. There are lots of opportunities to socialise with the intern community or with anybody else. Bars surround the working space and there are tube lines running all over London meaning there are endless possibilities to have a good night near this work space. Transitioning from many hectic university nights out to nights out in London will be very easy, and there are lots of different opportunities for all kinds of personalities. To sum up, the nightlife in London is up there with the best in London.

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