Consumer Communications Assistant Review

I very much enjoyed my time at Vauxhall. I learned a lot, met great people and established valuable connections. I feel more confident now, adding practical experience to the theoretical knowledge obtained at university. My job was challenging and satisfying but not overwhelming and despite going to work every day I still had enough time to enjoy myself.

My colleagues treated me with respect from the very beginning. Despite being new to the team, they valued my opinion and were asking for my help when they thought it will be relevant. I never felt underestimated, in fact I've always been supported and given opportunities to expand my knowledge and grow. It is a very friendly environment and no matter how busy everyone is, they always have time to answer your questions and help you learn.

Throughout the year, I had three performance management meetings with my line manager. The aim of the first one was to set goals and objectives, the second and the third ones were respectively a mid-year and an end-of-year review to track my progress and receive feedback on my work. Every Monday we had 'catch-up' meetings which were really useful in terms of developing an action plan for the week and outlaying what everyone's responsibilities are. I was also assigned a mentor who is a more experienced colleague who uses their greater knowledge and understanding of the work or workplace to support my development.

What I love about my job is that most of the tasks are ad-hoc and no other day is the same as the previous. However, due to this the work load may vary and I experienced very busy as well as quiet periods. I also had responsibilities to complete on a daily basis which kept me busy every day. Even when I experienced quiet times I used the time to do some uni work.

I was trusted with various tasks as well as given my own projects to complete. I think I was given the right amount of responsibility. I was allowed to participate in all projects which I wanted to be part of. As long as you show dedication and desire to be involved you are given responsibility and a chance to contribute.

I can see a lot of theoretical knowledge being used and applied in practice at work. However, the most valuable skills I gained were team working and organizational. I was allowed to participate in the recruitment process of the new undergraduates which let me better understand what skills employers are looking for in applicants which will be very useful in securing a long term job.

The atmosphere is very friendly, the communications department is quite sociable with a lot of interaction going on between employees which makes it very easy to reach out to someone in case you have a question or need help. My colleagues are very approachable and polite. The general atmosphere is relaxed but professional at the same time.

It was very well organized. From the very beginning, the company put us in touch with local landlords as well as arranged for us to stay in halls during the first two weeks, so called hand-over period and organized events almost every evening for us to get to know each other. Each undergraduate was assigned a mentor to speak to in case they had any issues. We also had quarterly performance reviews with our managers. We were provided opportunities to receive training, as well. I would say I felt looked after.

There were a few internal trainings available for all undergraduates which I personally found interesting and useful, these were presentation training, respect and dignity training and a safe driver course. In addition to this, I attended two external PR trainings organized by MIPPA, as well as received a week long work experience with a partner PR agency.

With the company going through a lot of changes after the acquisition from PSA, it is still unsure what opportunities will be available in the future. The organization doesn't offer a graduate scheme which makes it harder to return to the company after graduation. Very low number of students return after graduation but to be honest we were never promised an opportunity to get back and work for the company after the placement.

I believe this depends on the people and the extent to which they are willing to put effort into finding friends and being sociable. We didn't often organize events for all of the undergraduates. As there were about 70 of us, I feel we split into smaller friendship groups. I met some great people here and used to go out with them a lot.

I can't really provide an estimated cost, however, my observation is that most of the undergraduates were able to cover their rent, fuel and other expenses including for going out and still managed to save something aside. I wouldn't say it's cheap, however, the undergraduates are fully able to provide for themselves with the payment they receive.

The nightlife in Luton isn't great. Although you can find a few places to go out to such as Off The Wall, they probably won't satisfy your expectations of a club. My recommendation would be to go to Harpenden or St Albans which are just 10mins away on a train and offer a variety of pubs, bars and clubs.

There is a venue close to the headquarter which has a gym, squash courts, football pitch and other sports facilities. They also offer different fitness classes. There is a cinema and bowling in town, as well as a trampoline park and a golf center. I think you can find something for everyone.