IT Project Management Analyst Review

Overall I enjoyed the placement and it was a great opportunity to develop - I had a lot of responsibility and greatly developed my project management skills! However, you apply to the general scheme and not a specific role, I was placed in a role which I probably wouldn't have applied for, therefore in future I would look for graduate schemes where the roles are specified so that I can apply to one more suited to my interests.

I was trusted with leading projects and given key deliverables to achieve during my placement, therefore I would say that I was valued by my colleagues. However, sometimes they voiced that I asked too many questions so I'm not sure if they valued my enthusiasm for the details! I think this comes back to the role, as I am more interested in the technical/analytical side of IT, whereas my role was more project management.

I was given lots of support throughout my placement year. For example, I had weekly or fortnightly 1 to 1 meetings with my line manager. In addition to this, I had a contact manager who I met with monthly and a buddy on the graduate scheme who I could go to for additional advice and support.

I would say I was quite busy on a day-to-day basis, however working in a project some weeks were much more intense and some much more relaxed.

I was give a lot of responsibility, leading projects and responsible for achieving key targets. For example, I would lead meetings via Skype with up to 30-40 people from countries across the world. However I would have liked more scope and freedom to make some key decisions within my role.

The skills I have developed will greatly support my final year of University next year and will undoubtedly help me when applying for various graduate schemes in future. I have learnt a lot about myself as a person and what motivates me, this will definitely help when deciding which type of jobs to apply for in my graduate career!

My office was quite quiet and there weren't as many activities as the other offices, other offices were much more lively with more interns and events! However the atmosphere in the office was friendly and there were always meeting rooms etc available which is a luxury compared to other offices.

The placement year was good and there were events arranged with all interns for the induction, mid-year and end of year. There was a lack of alignment/communication across the various placements, for example, the level of support that each placement student received and the level of responsibility they were given varied quite a lot.

I would say my managers invested a lot of time in giving me feedback so that I could develop. For example we had a half-year review which was a good way to reflect and set goals for the next 6 months. This also helped us to prepare for the end-of-year review. However I would suggest that placement students be proactive in seeking regular feedback in between these more formal reviews.

Yes at other offices, but at my office it was limited.

Although the salary is competitive for a placement year, it is still difficult for an intern to live in London on this salary. This is especially due to the upfront costs such as large house deposits and travel cards. Again, my office wasn't particularly social as there were only 2 interns, but the other offices were much more social.

My office is in Kingston upon Thames, there is Kingston University nearby so the nightlife is quite good. There are a couple of clubs in Kingston and also in Clapham which is nearby. The clubs in Kingston aren't too expensive as well! There is also the option to go into central London where there are some nice bars as well.

There were some volunteering opportunities, for example volunteering at food banks and helping out at the London Marathon. In addition, I also played badminton each week with colleagues from my office.