Projects Placement Review

Generally speaking I had a great year working at TNT. My role enabled me to meet a variety of different people across both TNT and FedEx UK and get involved with different initiatives. However some work could be repetitive at times. People were generally very helpful and supportive, making the transition to a corporate role much smoother. The head office is also a very good working environment.

The colleagues close to my working remit were very good in encouraging and supporting me with any queries, aiding with any questions. I was often left to tend to myself which suited my working style, and most of the time I was told a 'job well' done or was recognised for my contributions.

I generally felt that there were always people I could reach out to regardless if I needed support. People were often very busy, including my manager, however most of the time I felt I could reach out to these people for support or guidance with my work, which was good .

Work balance was often very good - always things to get involved with if you have the right attitude and I was given reasonable time to complete tasks. However workload could fluctuate, and sometimes I found myself looking elsewhere for tasks to do. Sometimes it felt like there was no middle ground.

I feel the role I was in gave me a lot of responsibility at times throughout the year. I was involved on a project that was very much a milestone within the business, and you could see from the reaction at management level the impact - it was a privilege to say I had an active involvement in the project. I also did some tasks that had coverage for senior stakeholders, such as analysing and producing important management information or aiding business critical tasks.

I know I can take many good tendencies from this placement year with TNT. First of all, I feel the presentation skills developed throughout the year will be invaluable for final year at university but also further afield in the world of graduate roles. I also feel I have developed my stakeholder management, data analysis and communication skills. All useful for the future. Lastly, the team-based initiatives I have been involved in will further aid my ability to effectively work with others.

Generally it was a good working area, mostly quiet and plenty of facilities, such as an on site canteen. However TNT could improve culturally with their approach in terms of offering fun for colleagues within the office to boost rapport or employee motivation. Overall a good working space where people are generally helpful.

Generally, it was well organised as we joined shadowing the previous intake of students to learn more about the business and our role, and it allowed the opportunity to be eased into the business and the responsibility we would soon undertake. The interview, selection and then induction process was relatively smooth in my experience.

We had a 13 week induction which I felt offered a breadth of training opportunities, such as the opportunity to develop presentation, communication and negotiation skills. I also had the opportunity to visit hubs and depots to further understand both TNT and FedEx's product and service offering, and develop my process knowledge. However past the 13 week induction, formal training and development became less frequent and learning was very much 'on the job'.

The integration with FedEx offers a host of new opportunities, with potential to move into global roles. Moving around into different parts of the organisation is welcomed and I met many people who had done this within TNT and FedEx. They make an effort to retain their employees, despite not offering a structured graduate scheme.