Data Analyst Review

I thoroughly enjoyed my placement year with FDM Group. I enjoyed great responsibility whilst gaining an abundance of skills and experience in the field of Data Analysis. I made many friends during my time with the company, many of which is maintain to this day.

I was based in the University Partnerships and Recruitment team, where I provided management with information to aid decisions based on team performance. I worked closely with many colleagues within my team in addition to members of Marketing, Business Innovation and Sales; the fact I was trusted to provide reports viewed by the board of directors tells you everything you need to know about the extent to which I felt valued by my colleagues. I regularly spent time with my colleagues outside of work too.

Every report and piece of work given to me during my placement year came with the correct information for the work to be completed. Whenever I was presented with a large project to carry out, my line manager would sit with me to go through step-by-step what is required, areas to look into and the time frame in which it should be finished. I enjoyed working on these projects because I could always call on my manager for support if needed.

My day to day activity varied due to the nature of the role. Since I reported for internal teams, who were looking to gain more information to support their individual roles, I was often required to adapt and prioritize my workload. I helped out in various sectors of the business in addition to my job role, so there was always something for me to be doing whether it was providing management with information for various purposes, promoting the graduate program at careers fairs or setting up databases for Marketing to assess the success of their strategies.

As aforementioned, I produced work and reports for colleagues at all levels within the company. I was regularly providing for my team and managers in order to improve performance and reflect on the team's success as a whole, however I also worked on projects with senior staff who reported directly to the CTO. I was even required to pull figures surrounding performance in our global offices in North America to be discussed by the board of directors.

I have gained an abundance of skills and experience working for FDM. My role required high attention to detail, strategic thinking, expertise in technical analysis, open communication with management as well as the ability to acquire a wealth of knowledge within a one-week induction. My position emphasized high standards of integrity. The skills gained from my time with the IT services provider have bettered my organisation in my final year and has given me an advantage against other graduates when competing for graduate positions by providing evidence of my skills in the place.

The atmosphere in the London office was open, friendly and encouraging. It enabled any queries surrounding your work to be answered straight away and it offered the chance to reduce the stress in pressured situations as you are surrounded by supportive colleagues.

My placement ran very smoothly. The necessary paper work was completed very early into the year and I had no issues in correspondence with the HR team.

I received a two-week long induction where my predecessor transfers his wealth of knowledge to me. From this, the majority of training and development was on the job after I had joined the first week of a graduate training program within the FDM academy to make sure my skills were of the desired level in the areas of Excel, VBA and Salesforce.

I would love to continue my personal development within the FDM Group. I have spent a year working in Data Analysis so I am intrigued to explore other areas of business which I may show strengths in. During my final week with the firm, it was made clear by my manager that there will be a position ready for me if needed and I am intrigued by this.

I was one of several placement students in the London office, and one of many throughout all three UK offices. There is a lot of encouragement to socialize and get to know fellow placements and summer interns, and I made solid friendships with many of them. FDM Group values its placement, viewing their contributions in real terms, and this set a positive attitude among the internal staff.

I lived at home in West Sussex which required a 50 minute commute to work (on a good day!). I paid little rent at home which was a bonus, however the train ticket itself was dear. London Bridge is not going to be the cheapest of places being in the city, however the office is well positioned near many shops and food stores so the chance to save money on lunches etc is definitely an option.

The Nightlife in London is endless. There are countless opportunities to enjoy the night whether in bars, clubs, escape rooms, restaurants or many more. The only issue you will face in terms of nightlife is deciding on where you want to go!

I enjoyed many activities outside of work. I played 5-a-side football once a week and there are many other areas to get involved with whatever your interest.