Customer Account Representative Review

I thoroughly enjoyed my time at Cummins. Going into the role I did not know what to expect. I am shocked by the amount of exposure I had across the plant and the amount of experience I have had the opportunity to gain. There were roughly 24 other students taking part in a placement over the course of the last year, which has lead me to make new great friends and have opportunity to take part in many social activities.

Very valued. From day 1 of my placement my colleagues have made me feel welcome and helped with any issues I may have. Once I was more settled into the role, I was able to contribute to improving processes. This is something that was always acknowledged and something everyone was always grateful for.

Throughout my 13 months at Cummins I was given ongoing support. I had regular 1 to 1's with management where we could discuss my progress/go over any issues. They were always more than happy to help no matter how busy they were and no matter what kind of question it was. As well as management being supportive, my collegues were always more than happy to help aswell. If I was struggling I never felt like I had to tackle an issue on my own.

Once settled into the role, I was very satisfied with my work load. As expected, the start of the placement was the most stressful part of the year. After a month or so once I was familiar with my day to day tasks and processes, I was comfortable with my workload. After a few months I was even able to take additional workload to help out my collegues and improve processes.

I was given a lot of responsibility on my placement. As I was a Customer Account Representative in the Supply Chain, I was responsible for my own customer accounts. These accounts were from all over the world, meaning I had daily contact with a wide range of people. My main role was to act as an Order Management Rep, meaning I had to manage customers' orders from the moment the order was placed to when the engine was leaving the plant.

I feel the experience I have had is so unique that it has allowed me to develop skills that will put me at an advantage throughout life. I feel that when I apply jobs after university, whether it be at Cummins or elsewhere, the skills I have developed will put me ahead of all other candidates. I feel that this placement has given me solid foundations for a successful career.

The office I worked in was open plan meaning I had easy access to everyone in my department and other departments. Everyone was generally up beat and laid back yet very professional. There's a very comfortable atmosphere in the office which has meant I have never once felt anxious or nervous about coming into work.

I feel that my placement was very well organised. I was lucky to have a 1 month crossover with the previous years placement student which I found really helpful. Here I was able to quickly learn the basics and have a 'tutor' he could guide me through day to day tasks. Throughout the year we had monthly student meetings and meetings with HR meaning the students voices were heard.

I was involved in professional training from week 1 of my placement. In order for me to be comfortable with processes, I was involved in training sessions which enabled me to get up to speed with the rest of the department. As well as this, I had often meetings and sit downs with people in my department to familiarise myself with processes.

From the experience I have had so far I can see a lot of potential for future employment. Although there may not be the opportunity for me to work in my current department in the future, I feel that the experience I have gained will give me a good chance at other departments throughout the plant.

There were 25 placement students in total during my time at Cummins. We very often went out on student events/nights out/meals meaning that we had a very good social life. As well as this, I often went out for social events with my department. I like to think I have made life long friends thanks to this placement.