Customer services intern Review

Throughout my time at Eaton I was given the opportunity by my department to work on several projects which were often very demanding. The department I was based in was very supportive in terms of my development. However, the site as a whole was under going several extreme changes whilst I was there, this impacted how much I enjoyed the placement and if I had worked with a different department my overall experience would have been worse.

My colleagues made my placement for me. They were supportive, friendly and welcoming. I felt valued as a member of the team and my opinion was always listened to and considered. My department consists of around 20 people and it is extremely close, I socialised outside of work with my fellow team members. Similarly, when it was my birthday they surprised me with presents- the customer service team is like a family and It was great to be welcomed in to that.

The management team in my department are extremely busy and as such I did not receive the traditional support such as one to ones and I struggled to have meetings with my manager. However, when I questioned my work and place on the programme my manager was extremely supportive and took the time to listen to me. Similarly, I was sat with the other managers, this allowed me to easily reach out to them when needed. Although they are busy they provide the right level of support- in no way is your hand held, but guidance is always available when needed.

My workflow throughout the year was not consistent. I went through periods of time where I had very little work to do, in these moments I would ask for more work. However, there was also times I was ridiculously busy and it was only around march that my level of work began to balance properly.

I was given the most responsibility I've ever had. I was responsible for reporting crucial figures to the plant, but I was also the project manager on the companies biggest order in history. My manager allowed me to be very independent with how I worked on this project and only stepped in to help me when I requested it.

My degree is not directly related to my role, as such there is not much that can be taken from an education standpoint. However, I learnt a lot of transferable skills and business knowledge. The placement gave me a great insight into a large corporation and the role of customer services. My excel skills also improved massively.

The office was very welcoming and friendly. There was a massive community feel that was shown throughout. For example we had a Christmas tree at Christmas where we put the presents for secret santa, people also bought in cakes for their birthday! In addition to that people were very chatty and willing to help when you were struggling with work.

Initially, the placement was not well organised. Even after attending the intern day I still did not really grasp what my role was, furthermore, there were no progress checks in place for me in terms of checking on my work load or when I would start my projects. But the organisation of the training days and meal were great.

The company itself made effort to invest in teaching the interns basic skills such as presentation skills and project management. My manager and the team leaders I worked in invested in me a lot, they made a massive effort to help me with my work and developing my skills. My manager also spent a lot of time with me discussing what I want to do in the future.

I have spoken with members of the organisation about my future and I have been advised to apply for the grad scheme as I would likely get a place. However, I do not think I will apply for the grad scheme. But I have had many opportunities to network and will keep in touch with the management at my site.

The social scene amongst the fellow interns at my site was awful. They were extremely quiet and did not want to do anything socially, however the scene amongst the whole intern collective was good and we went out a few times. At most of the eaton sites the majority of the staff are old so there isn't much of a social scene, but at mine there is a larger mix of ages so I went out quite often with the people at my site who were a similar age to me.

I lived in Mansfield and the rent ranges in price between £300-£450, my rent was £433 as I wanted an ensuite. However, there is nothing to do in Mansfield so you have to travel to Nottingham, most of the social scene there is normal prices and there are some student deals.

My site was based in Sutton in ashfield, there is nothing around it but A roads and other manufacturing sites. In Mansfield where I lived there were clubs and pubs but they were awful, so I travelled to Nottingham when I wanted to go out. I would recommend living in Nottingham due to the social scene and commuting to work instead.

There were no official opportunities apart from nights out that we arranged between us.