Business Operations Intern Review

I would say overall I have enjoyed my placement year with Eaton. I have had a good variety of experiences and met a lot of new people, the other 3 interns based at my site have become my close friends and so this has contributed in terms of enjoyment. However, the placement is a real job and as you would expect, working has its not so enjoyable aspects also.

I have felt valued by my colleagues, some more than others but over all Eaton has a culture which encourages the wellbeing of their employees. Through organisational change, the team around me has changed a lot and during my 12 month placement I have worked within numerous different teams. Eaton has many policies and initiatives in place to help their employees feel valued at a corporate level.

The amount of support and guidance I received varied throughout my placement, a lot at the start with the takeover period from my previous intern and initial on the job training from my line manager. In the second half of my placement it was less so, you are expected to contribute and be capable of completing tasks independently without regular support. However reaching out to my manager when I needed guidance was always easy.

I found on a daily basis I was not always that busy, especially in the closing months of my placement. As teams around me changed the priorities also changed which impacted on my work. Some days I might have had little planned work to do yet often tasks and challenges would arise throughout the day which would increase my workload. In Eaton these unexpected tasks are referred to as 'Curveballs'.

One of the strengths of Eaton's internship is the delegation of responsibility to interns which relates to real work which needs completing. From the outset I was trusted communicating to senior management and director level colleagues and was able to work with strategic information. I would tend to be issued with responsibility yet I found checks and approvals from management were never far away.

The skills and training I have received whilst on placement with Eaton are very valuable in terms of my future career. I have had a great insight in to a real work environment and have seen the challenges faced on a daily basis. More than anything else, I recognise the importance of life skills in work such as effective communication and the ability to show adaptability. This early knowledge and insight will give me an advantage over graduates with no placement experience post studies.

The atmosphere was interesting. I have experienced the good and bad of an office environment, for example a department whereby the team do not work in line with the management and the negative atmosphere which comes with this. Yet overall the atmosphere was friendly and many people were chatty and full of laughter.

The Eaton Internship is very well organised in some respects but could be improved. The programme has recently been allocated a dedicated manager who is very much working on and improving this. All the events and scheduled milestones are set out from the beginning which means you know what to expect from the start which is good, although how these events are carried out could be improved on the day.

Eaton do invest in their interns throughout the 12 month programme. We attended scheduled training events throughout the year on skills and topics relevant to ourselves. For example we benefitted from training in competencies such as project management and presentation skills. Within reason we were also welcome to business trips and expenses.

The Eaton Leadership Program which is the recognised graduate scheme at Eaton is appealing. It is a fast track to a functional management role and involves placements abroad. There is also a great chance of progression in Eaton and I have seen many managers being promoted internally and moving to other sites around the world with Eaton. My initial line manager is an example of an intern who has progressed significantly so this is encouraging.

Yes! This was one of the highlights of my placement experience with Eaton, I was based with 3 other interns and we all had a good social relationship such as football outside of work. In addition I had the chance to meet up with other Eaton interns based at other sites across the UK several times during my 12 months. This was mostly at training events but also social gatherings.

The area I worked in was outside of any city and so the living costs were very reasonable. Socialising was also of reasonable costs and local venues offered a budget option and some more upmarket. I was based a short train journey away from the centre of Nottingham and so this was easily accessible and a great option for socialising.

Whilst on my placement I lived just outside of a town and a short train ride away from Nottingham. The local nightlife was more relaxed bars/pubs with more bars within the town. Through the week evenings would tend to be quiet with weekends offering lively nightlife if I was to travel in to Nottingham for the evening.

Yes there were many opportunities for involvement outside of work, mainly these would be employee wellness events and activities. For example a team from the office have a weekly jog after work, also I have been playing sport with colleagues outside of work twice a week. The usual Christmas meals and birthday gatherings etc. are also often.