Financial Analyst Review

I have thoroughly enjoyed my year-long Industrial Placement at National Grid. I really feel that the company genuinely care about their employees and they invest time into developing our skills through training and 'learn and shares.' At the end of my placement I noticed a significant improvement in both my soft and technical skills.

I felt very valued by my colleagues and by National Grid in general. From the very beginning, my team involved me in every social night and took the time to explain things mentioned in team meetings that I hadn't come across before. At no point did I feel like 'just an IP student', I felt like a valued member of the team throughout.

I had fortnightly one-to-ones with my Line Manager to discuss workload and the team. I had monthly meetings with the Business Coordinator for my scheme to explain Graduate opportunities after my Industrial Placement and giving me the opportunity to raise any concerns I might have had. Then I also had a formal review every three months to rate my performance and capabilities. I found these to be very well structured and incredibly useful for driving personal development.

I was given plenty of opportunities to keep myself busy in the office. The work given to me was challenging and a stretch at times but at no point did I feel overwhelmed by the amount. I knew that at any time I could speak to a colleague or my Line Manager about managing my workload.

For the first few weeks I spent my time shadowing and learning about my area of National Grid and the basic skills I required. But soon I was given the opportunity to take sole-ownership for projects, lead team meetings and host training sessions. I underestimated the amount of responsibility I would be given as a year-long Placement Student.

At National Grid you will go on several compulsory training days at the Training Academy and there are plenty of further opportunities for additional training you can get involved in. As an IP student you will take part in volunteering days, fundraising for charities and networking events. All the skills learnt can be applied to my future career and my time remaining at university.

The atmosphere in the office was very relaxed. The Warwick office in particular is hot-desking so you might end up sitting next to someone new each day - which is a great way to network. Everyone was really friendly and would go out of their way to help you if you had a question.

I think that this placement was incredibly well-structured. And talking to my friends currently on their own placements elsewhere, I think that National Grid excels as a company when providing a structured scheme that allows students to develop their skills and get the most out of their placement. We have regular reviews and compulsory training that means every student has equal opportunities.

This is probably one of the biggest selling points about the IP scheme at National Grid; they invest heavily in improving the skills of their employees. Over the year I have been on countless training courses and even had the opportunity to gain external accreditation for performance excellence. The culture of mentoring within National Grid is strong as well; each of your colleagues will happily sit with you to explain what they do and how their area of the business works.

You can treat the Industrial Placement year at National Grid like one year-long interview. They often look to the Summer Interns and Industrial Placement Students for their Graduate roles rather than looking external. Majority of the IP students do get actually get offered Graduate roles and the majority of those accept it.

I think in previous years the social side of placement was better because most people all either lived locally or together so meeting up was easier. However, in my year some commuted from further away and others lived at their family home so meeting up wasn't as simple and took more organizing. Despite this, we went on countless day trips together, met up for badminton matches and all went out for meals/clubbing throughout the year.

I was based in the Warwick office and since this is close to Warwick University there are some surrounding areas that are 'studenty' so often relatively cheap. The cost of living during your Industrial Placement ultimately depends on where you choose to live for the year. Places like Leamington Spa have student nights.

As I mentioned before the Warwick Office is near Leamington Spa which has a few bars and clubs which you can go to. A short bus ride away is Coventry and that has a larger selection of places to go on a night out. Warwick University is not far away and so some surrounding areas are 'studenty'. If this isn't what you want then there are plenty of areas that don't have a high student population.

There is a group called the Corner Club at National Grid where people put up posters about social groups, sports clubs, discounts to the theater etc. And these are all opportunities that even the Industrial Placement students can get involved in. This depends on the team you are placed in, but you will often get the opportunity to socialize with your teams as well.