Managment Trainee Review

Enterprise is a busy and involved working environment, I am always pushed to work harder and achieve ambitious targets both regarding sales and customer service. I enjoyed the opportunity to spend time outside the office, picking customers up from home or work and visiting important corporate partners to extend our business links.

This is the one of the best things about working at Enterprise. My team at the branch made me feel included from day one, celebrating achievements and giving advice if I was struggling with anything. There was always someone on hand and I never feel isolated. At the initial training some of the Head Office managing staff met us and gave us their direct contacts details. This meant that if I ever had a problem that I couldn't solve within my branch team then I always felt comfortable that there was someone else on hand.

I have monthly PDM (Personal Development Meetings) with my Branch Manager to formally discuss my progress and the progress of the branch as a whole. Aswell as this the managing staff were always present in the office if I had any day to day queries or queries about my longer term development. Enterprise encouraged me to take part in an MQI (Management Qualification) whilst I was at the company, this gave me step by step guidance on how to progress and a structured programme for developing my skills.

One of the most difficult factors of this internship so far for me is the busy schedule. Compared to University life or 9am lie ins, being in work for 730am and often not being home before 7pm (depending on how long your commute is) come as abit of a shock. Enterprise offers a 50hour a week working contract over 5 or 6 days. Some branches operate 7 days a week, others 6 and any weekend work will always be recompensed by a day off in the week. This by no means is a negative reflection on the placement and is imply an adjustment that students need to be prepared for, managing staff are very understanding and will try to work your weekly rota around social events or commitments you have during the week.

As I progress through my placement I will reach a point were I am running the day in an Enterprise branch, this means that I have full planning control over operations within the branch. Being given significant responsibility from early in my placement makes me feel more confident in my own ability, management staff are always around to supervise if I have an problems. Immediately after the initial training I was preforming tasks effectively, reaching impressive sales and customer service targets from day one.

The skills I am learning at enterprise have given me new perspective on how to apply my skills in the real world. Sometimes when studying it is difficult to see where the material learnt will come in useful, now when I return to University I will be able to focus my studies on areas that I can see having a direct positive impact on my future career choices. Furthermore I have learnt important business management skills, something I would not ordinarily have come across in my studies, whether I work with Enterprise or another business in the future I will have an extra dimension of perspective from this experience.

The atmosphere was almost always fun and competitive. We worked well as a team, laughing and joking as friends but also maintaining professional relationships. We also recognized the times when we needed to work the hardest, getting tasks done to meet deadline. There was often a overwhelming sales based atmosphere which was something I underlined as a failing in our particular branch when I undertook at SWOT analysis for my MQI; we were encouraged to get good sales figures and are rewarded with paid days off/out if we hit certain targets.

It was very well organized, the talent acquisition manager talked me through all of the process from day one with my telephone interview all the way through the development process. We had a printed and bound folder set up for the qualification that gave us direct guidance. I also worked closely alongside people that were in the same position as me, other interns and graduates that were also working to complete their MQI. This helped enormously and was a credit to the set up of the placement, we were encouraged to switch to work at other branches so we could meet new people also in our position.

A huge amount, I never expected the vast amount of support and training that would be provided for my future. Enterprise seem to really want their interns to succeed and are willing to provide intensive support if we want to do well. Financially the company invest heavily and a recognize and reward process with incentive not only to perform but also to excel in other part of the business such as risk management and acquisition.

Working with Enterprise-Rent-a-Car is something I will seriously consider in the future, they have given me an insight and perspective on working life and allowed me to experience an area of business that I wouldn't have been otherwise able to do. Furthermore there is huge potential for progression within the business, providing appealing opportunity's to progress not just within the rental branch but also within an array of other areas such as Business Accounts and Acquisition.

Living from home was one of the main plus points about my internship. Not only is it a paid internship which gives a welcome break from student financial woes but it also allows me to live at minimal expense with my parents. One work or advice is don't always expect to make life long friends in your branch, sometimes the last thing you want to do at the end of a long day is spend it discussing work with colleagues. For me it worked well to live in an area where my school friends lived so I could have a number of social circles.