Major Events Review

I really enjoyed my placement year and I would recommended doing a placement if possible. In terms of actual work, it gave me an insight of what an office environment is like and the jobs I might be doing in the future. I have also gained relevant knowledge and first hand experience I didn't have before the placement.

I felt extremely valued by my colleagues as I had weekly reviews of how the work was going and they gave constant feedback. I was lucky enough to get the chance to travel to Sweden to train people when my team were over visiting. This made me feel a valued member of the team as people were always open to ideas and listened to what I had to say.

I was given constant support and guidance throughout the year, the only reason for 8/10 stars is that within the first few weeks of the placement it wasn't made clear who my manager would be and who I should report to. Once joining a different team this all changed and I was extremely satisfied with the support I got.

This varied from day to day so rating this was hard. Some days, I would be on constant calls and helping people in the office. Whereas others I would quietly get on with given tasks with no disturbances.If the workload was low I was more than happy to ask for more work and I was given work immediately, but my role was project based so I could be left to my own devices and speak to people to develop my project.

In the first six months of my placement, I mainly did training / shadowing to get to grips with what my department did. In the last six months, I was given a lot of responsibility and was responsible for making choices that would impact the business as a whole. This massively boosted my confidence.

With my course I do not have to write a dissertation, so I have not had to pick a certain area to focus on. However, I have been on several training days such as '7 Habits of Highly Effective People' and the 'Intern Development Program' both that have helped me improved in many areas. I particularity enjoyed the 7 Habits course as I didn't realize how important it was to listen and then sculpt answers.

The general atmosphere was excellent, the desk set up meant you could speak to a variety of people when working. Everyone I have met over the year has also been very friendly so I was never afraid to approach anyone for help. I have also had chance to move departments over the course of the year and I haven't had any bad experiences.

In the first month there was a lack of structure for the first set of interns that arrived (including myself). This meant a few early finishes and lots of reading guides and processes. After a month or so the team in charge of the interns were more organised and we were given work to do. Other than a slow start everything else seemed organised.

The firm invested a lot of time into my personal development and they were quite happy for me to sign up to any training courses I would have liked to attend. I attended multiple training courses all over the UK. I was also given the chance to volunteer for careers fairs and charity events which also helped expand my network.

The graduate scheme looks appealing as you are given the chance to rotate through departments of your choice for one year and then pick a department to specialize in for the second year. I have also heard good reviews from current graduates in the business.

I have made friends for life and will continue to see the rest of the interns after we leave. A lot of effort was put in to ensure that we all mingled and got on well and this resulted in all 31 interns being involved with nights out / intern football teams / cycling clubs / dinners. Plans have already been put in place to meet in October when we are all back at university. 10/10!

The living costs in Lincoln are reasonable with the chance to walk to one of the sites which would mean saving on petrol. No deposit was required with my house either so this made things cheaper, the company was APS. In terms of nights out etc they seemed expensive but this is due to the fact I am used to student prices at university so the prices were reasonable.

The nightlife in Lincoln is pretty poor, however because we had such a large group of us to go out this made things better. There are 2/3 main night clubs and a student option mid week. It is also very cheap to visit other cities on the train. There are plenty of nice bars and restaurants though, especially at the top of the hill.

There were plenty of opportunities to get involved in, however I had other commitments so did not involve myself. Some examples include: football, golf, bowling, cycling. If you are a sociable person and get involved / make plans, I do not think you would have a problem seeing people outside of work.