Sales & On-boarding Assistant Review

My time at ProspectSoft was truly magnificent. I would recommend to all undergraduate students considering a placement to seriously consider ProspectSoft. Not only did they win 'Best Small to Medium-sized employers' for a record 5th time, you're given tons of responsibility and they truly care about your personal development across the 13-month placement.

Being part of a team of four/five, I felt extremely valuable to the team by both my line manager and co-workers. Everyone within the team is concerned with what you're dealing with currently and the upcoming tasks you have. Also, in numerous occasions I found myself interacting with members of senior management and updating them with the progress we were making as a team. If this wasn't enough, the business has a company meeting once a month and updates everyone on our progress and noticeable achievements. Thus, I'd say you're an integral employee to ProspectSoft despite being on a placement year.

During my placement, I was given constant support by both my line manager and co-workers. I’d regularly have a meeting (once a month) with my line manager. In this meeting, we’d discuss my progress over the month, set SMART targets, discuss projects that I’d like to get involved in, and raise any issues, queries, or concerns I was having. In addition to this, if I had any other concerns regarding my placement, my manager made it perfectly clear that I could approach him at any time.

Daily, I’d be extremely busy. Although this may sound rather daunting, I really enjoyed having lots to get on with. If I ever became swamped under with tasks to-do, my team were always willing to chip in and help with any outstanding tasks that needed doing. However, this was quite rare as I was good at managing my time effectively.

The level of responsibility given to you by ProspectSoft is very good. However, with any industrial placement, it’s down to you as an individual to want the responsibility and make people aware of this. I wanted to make a positive impression at ProspectSoft so, if I saw an opportunity that I could get involved with, I’d take it with two hands. Thanks to this attitude and ProspectSoft’s willingness to accommodate my desires for responsibility, I was exposed to a variety of tasks and projects during my placement year.

At the beginning of your placement you’re given in-depth training on the company’s products/services, internal processes, and the chance to shadow an existing colleague for a week before starting your official role within ProspectSoft. Also, the soft skills that I have learnt at ProspectSoft are transferable and will aid me in my final year of study at university.

The atmosphere at ProspectSoft is one of the best things about working here. It has a good balance between being goal driven as well as being relatively relaxed. Many of the current employees are returning placements and therefore, have similar interests and hobbies as you'd have. Everyone is extremely friendly and you’d be surprised how many different people you speak to and socialise with during your placement year.

From attending the assessment centre, you can tell ProspectSoft have a winning blueprint when it comes to the structure, organisation, and overall execution of their placement scheme. From the outset, it was made very clear to us what they expected and they made sure we had all the necessary resources for a successful placement.

At the beginning of your placement, as I’ve previously mentioned, they give you an intense four-week training programme. This sets you up nicely and at the end of it, there are a few assessments that you get tested on. Don’t be too scared though, these are just tests that highlight your knowledge of the company. I wasn’t given any additional training per say however, I was continually mentored by my line manager and given continual tips and advice on how to improve as an individual. Also, Pizza Friday (which sadly only happens once a month) is an opportunity to learn about a new internal process or piece of technology that the company is considering or implemented.

The prospects are looking great at ProspectSoft; especially as they have been invested in by a private equity firm that specialise in growing small to medium enterprises. Being a relatively small business, the opportunity to move up the career ladder is good and you’d be able to reach a senior role relatively quickly if you’re willing to put the work in. And this is shown by the returning placements that are currently in senior positions as we speak.

The social scene at ProspectSoft is good. The placements regularly meet up with each other and go for nights out in Oxford. There are various sporting activities that the placements can get involved in – for example, Badminton, the company’s football team (started by me), football club, trampolining, and games night. Also, various big nights out were organised by the company and were a bundle of fun. Finally, the company hosts 3 main events and this year it was the Henley Regatta, Christmas Party, and the Summer BBQ.

Although my placement was situated in Stokenchurch, we decided to live in Oxford because this was the nearest major city. The cost of living in Oxford is quite expensive – it’s one of the most expensive places to live in the UK (outside of London). For a 4-bed house located in the Rose Hill region, we paid approx. £450 each per month (excluding bills). However, it is a beautiful city and there is plenty of sightseeing to do. Eating and going out overall is quite pricey but Cowley Road (the main student road/area in Oxford) is very cheap and you can eat out in all sorts of restaurants and bars here.

The nightlife in Stokenchurch is pretty much non-existent- it has 3 local pubs and we occasionally went there after work if there was a special occasion; for example, leaving drinks or a birthday. On the other hand, Oxford has several main clubs (Atik, Purple Turtle, and Bridge) which were all good fun. In addition, there is a vast number of pubs and bars which were also good fun- House Bar, The Varsity Club to name a few.

As previously mentioned, there are various activities that go on outside of work. There is regular FIFA Tournaments, Rocket League Tournaments, a work Football team, weekly Football kick around, Badminton club, Trampolining club, bard games night… I was lucky enough to be part of the social committee and to be honest, everyone is open minded and you can put forward any ideas and there will always be on person who is interested.