Finance Placement Student Review

I really enjoyed my placement at Nissan, however I would have been grateful for a higher workload as during some period I did not have a lot. I would definitely like apply to come back to Nissan on a Graduate Scheme as I have had a very good experience overall.

At the start of my placement I felt slightly valued but not much, I think this was because I did not know a lot, however as the year has progressed and I have taken on more responsibilities, at the end of my placement I definitely feel more valued and have developed good relationships with my whole team.

I was given a lot of support by my supervisor. I had a mentor who was separate from my line manager (my supervisor) who I took on a lot of work from and she was there to support me constantly. My supervisor organized multiple meetings to ensure I was supported and I also had an appraisal half way through my placement.

Due to working in the finance department there were period where I was busy every day (the first week and last week of the month). For the 2 weeks in between I still had a fair amount of work to do but I would have liked to have been busier.

Understandably, at the start of my placement I did not have a lot of responsibility as I did not know much about the business. However, my supervisor ensured me that as time went on my work load and therefore responsibility would increase and I found that this was the case. By the end of my placement I was given a lot of responsibility.

The skills I have developed and the training I have received will definitely assist me in the final year of my degree. When I go back to university I will be able to apply everything I learn in my final year to my experiences on my placement which will make the year easier for me. The skills I have developed will also help me with my future after university as it has given me the experience I need to hopefully secure a graduate scheme or job.

In the department I was working in there was a lot of change happening and it was very stressful for everyone therefore I found that there was quite a negative atmosphere in the office. Workload is extremely high for everyone and although everyone was very friendly, it was very stressful for them.

I found the placement to be very organized. The induction process was organized well and my hand over of tasks and my training were also well organized. When I arrived on my team I was given a list of tasks I would take on and a schedule in which I should take on each task which I was impressed by.

There was a project going on in my department and I was quite involved in the implementation for this therefore I feel like, to a certain extent the company did invest in me because I helped out a lot with this even though the project would not be complete until after I left.

Nissan is a brilliant company to work for and I will definitely be applying for the graduate scheme. The perks/benefits of working for the company are also higher as a graduate compared to a placement and the pay is higher than a lot of companies in the same area therefore future employment prospects are very appealing.

There was some social gatherings with other placement students but these were not organized by the company. There was a page on social media put together by one of the placement students (this was advised and encouraged by the company) and some social events were organized through this page but not many throughout the full year.

I have always lived in the area therefore I lived at home with my parents so the cost of living for me is reasonably low but I know that the area in general has a low cost of living and socialising compared to other cities.