Change Analyst Review

I enjoyed my placement so much more than I expected and everything that was promised was completed. I originally thought I would be giving out teas and coffees , however I did not have to do that once. It was a opportunity to gain real life experience on real projects, I was also given a lot of responsibility and was treated as if I was a employee and not just a student. It was quite possibility the best decision I made due to making some great friends, no matter what level they are in the business as everyone is friendly and willing to help.

I felt valued from the moment I walked in, through a structured and well thought out induction to ensure I understood everything. Then through out my placement I was given high value work to meet senior employees of the business. This made me feel more valued as well due to being trusted in a room with such senior people. Their was also weekly and monthly meetings with my manager and mentor to ensure I developed as much as I could. Just the investment that the company gave me from the beginning shows the extent to how valued I was as an employee.

I was given support wherever needed, I would give something my best go and if I felt it was not as suitable for the high level I wanted to show, I went through the presentation or piece of work with my mentor to ensure it was correct. I was also guided in the beginning to ensure I understood everything through my 'buddy' to know small things like where the meeting rooms are etc. Overall if I needed support on anything the opportunity for support was there from everyone and anyone. Which provided me with great reassurance through out, especially in the beginning when I was learning everything.

There was a great balance, as there would be some days to which I had back to back meetings to achieve the overall goal. The beginning of my placement I was trying to show my worth and demonstrate how I could be useful to the people in my team. After my handwork in the first three months. I was given loads of projects for me to work on with very senior managers asking for my help. Which was very pleasing, however I then needed to ensure I prioritized my work and learnt that it is okay to say no sometimes, even if you really want to help someone. Overall I worked hard which meant on days I had less work to do I could work from home, even leave work earlier if I had completed everything, or even learn new things and develop new projects of my own interested when I wanted.

I was given a incredible amount of responsibility to work with such senior mangers and work on some real projects that would be for the entire business (16,000 employees) or to one of our key clients. I was given responsibility like creating the website for the entire sales force to use as well as being the only point of contact to our two suppliers to ensure they were completing all their tasks and that our project would be delivered on time. I was also put in charge of the training and communications work stream as well as having to meet the executive of the business and arrange videos for the website which was a great experience as well as a high amount of responsibility to ensure they were happy and said all the right things for the video.

I received such great training from the moment I started as well as throughout my placement. I had training in all of the Microsoft office programs to ensure I understood the correct use in the 'business world'. I also learned about SharePoint and then found that I was quite a quick learner in this and my manager wanted to make me a specialist, therefore invested in me to become a power user (being able to control company wide sites) and then further developed to be a site owner and 'super advanced user'. This developed a skill I had no knowledge in therefore was very helpful and will use it in further jobs. For university I have completed PRINCE2 Foundation and Practitioner course (all paid for by Computacenter) this is a project management qualification, which will help me significantly in my final year of university due to my project management module. I also completed my ITIL Foundation course (also paid for by Computacenter) this is a IT based industry accreditation, which will help me in my final year due to the computing and IT based modules I will be taking in final year. I also had sometime with the Cyber Deference team, to help with my cyber security module. Overall I have been helped so much in terms of university by all my courses that I attended provided me with real business skills or accreditation I can then carry on into my future jobs.

The atmosphere in every office is amazing, friendly and full of fun and jokes. I managed to create a lasting relationship with people in my teams as well as the people around me at my desk. This meant that I could go to any of the offices around the UK and have someone who would want to take me out for lunch or would create a good conversation and joke around with me. The joke around the office was that I had a full family at work as I had a dad and granddad at work (due to jokes) which really meant I felt like I was going from my house to my home. Family to Family. I also got the opportunity to visit my other team members in France and Germany, even there everyone was so friendly and managed to create new relationships and friendships with my colleagues abroad.

The entire placement was very well organised as I was on a induction to ensure I understood everything, I then spent the next weeks being introduced to my teams in the UK and abroad. This was a great opportunity to use new software and learn how the business communicates abroad rather than travelling out every week. I also also was assigned to one project from the moment I started and contacted before I started to give me information about what I will be working on. I then had more projects given to me due to my work and therefore was given more and more responsibility due to my output. The future talent manager was always there to answer any questions and help me develop to gain the best opportunities at university and in the future. I was also given a buddy and mentor as to help me develop from a business and personal level, as well as have a buddy I can talk to and gain advice on anything else.

Computacenter invested in me way more than expected or even needed. They saw what modules, I will be doing in the future and put me on courses that would not only help me in the my job for the year, but also that will help me in university and in achieving a job in the future. I was also provided with a mentor who worked on my soft skills and personal development as well as with my line manager to ensure I had a review each week/month to ensure I was gaining the most from my placement. I also received some tests such as Myers Bridges and a behavior test in conflict and what motivates me. To ensure what my weaknesses are so I can work on them in the future.

I have spent time with my managers manger to help understand what they think I would be good at and then they also helped me in terms of getting in contact with senior people in that part of the business to be able to get my foot in the door early. I also had insights from graduates and other people in the business to understand their route to the position they are in now. This helped me understand what I need to do to be successful. I have been given a huge support from my line manager, mentor, buddy, managers manger, as well as the future talent manager who has provided me with so much help and support in developing myself and thinking about what I can do in the future.

The other placement students were amazing we had weekly nights out to have fun and still be students. I also developed my relationships with colleagues to go play them in sports as I am quite a sport enthusiast I managed to persuade my colleagues to come and try new sports as well as play me in their favorite sports which was fun and competitive, it was good seeing them outside of work. The placement students also celebrated birthdays and special events together to ensure everyone was included and had the best time. We even went on adventures together to visit new offices and go on trips together as well as go do fun outside of work activities such as Go-Ape, bowling, golfing activities you name it... we've done it. The social scene was flawless.

The cost of living was less for me due to being able to live at home, as well as the fact that Computacenter pay for all of your expenses to different offices and in some cases your food if you are off site or abroad. Therefore the expenses were quite minimal. I was quite a social person it cost more for me as I wanted to ensure all of my friends and colleagues had the best time as well as myself. Which meant that the socialising was more expensive as we was in central London which is expected to be more expensive anyway.

The nightlife was good, there is a club in the town that the main office is located, which is a student club. Therefore the drinks were cheaper and the people who were out are the same ages as the placement students, this offered a good opportunity for us to still feel like students and not miss out on that lifestyle.There are also three other clubs in surrounding areas which are good as well this would mean we could have gone there which we did on some occasions. However we are only 20-30 minutes train to London. Therefore the big events and socials were done in London and just worked from the London office as well to ensure we had everything sorted before going out.

There were a good amount of opportunities to get involved in activities outside of work I participated in many sporting events for charity and socially to create new relationships with my colleagues and the other placement students even went to the gym and trained with some of my colleagues and friends. There was also loads of opportunities to do work social events and activities after work with colleagues and have food and drink to socialise on a different level and understand people better, this was great.