Mobile Owner App Specialist Review

I believe my year at Vauxhall has accelerated my personal development and has made me much more employable for future jobs. I have learned so much this year and my confidence has grown considerably throughout the year. However, I have also become aware that this specific role is not for me and I would keep that in mind when applying for graduate roles.

We had a very new and on average, very young team in my department. This made it a really nice working environment as we all got along very well with each other. In my close team we all helped each other when needed, I felt my input was valued as a normal employee, and not just a placement student.

My manager has a lot of global experience in large companies, so was a very knowledgeable person to talk to and gave me great guidance for my personal development and future career. The only thing I would've liked more of would have been some more specific feedback about how I was doing in my role.

Due to large company restructures and things that were out of my managers control, during the first 6 months of placement I wasn't as busy as I should have been. However, in the last 6 months of placement my workload picked up dramatically and I was given a lot of responsibility on new projects.

During my placement I feel my manager trusted me with a lot of tasks that were fairly significant for Undergraduates to be doing and he always valued my input on things. I was allowed to make some decisions and deal with tasks alone. I would then always update my manager on these or ask for his input if I felt a higher level input was needed.

During my placement I have had a lot of exposure to global platforms that will look good on my CV or to talk about in future interviews. I have also learnt a lot about digital technology which I believe will help me in my final year modules on this subject. However, we were not given any external training or qualification opportunities like I hoped we would have been.

Generally the atmosphere during my year was full of a lot of uncertainty because of the huge changes that were happening in the company. We did move buildings during my time on placement and when we were located in the technical centre it was a nicer atmosphere to work in- with lot's of cake and treats most days!

The actual structure of the work placement was very well organised by our HR apprentice and she communicated well with us throughout the year. However, I do not think it was always clear to managers about what Undergrads were entitled to, the performance management process and our university work etc.

I didn't feel there were any opportunities for personal training and development during my time at Vauxhall. A couple of Skype training's were available for tools we used within the business but no external training days etc were. I think this would have been really beneficial for our placement year.

Personally, I would not come back to work at Vauxhall as I think I want to work in a more creative industry than automotive. Also, as there is not a graduate scheme it makes it less appealing to come back as I would like to be on a graduate scheme after university.

There was a good social scene in the first couple of weeks as we all stayed in halls and Vauxhall organised events for us to attend. However, as I lived at home and it was quite a drive from work I did not get involved in many social events after this.

Luton can be quite expensive to live as it is so close to London. But prices in the actual town aren't too expensive.

I didn't ever go out in Luton, but as it is so close to London, London is accessible for a night out.

There were lots of opportunities such as rounders, clay pigeon shooting, go ape, trampolining etc for people to get involved in.