Customer Operations Undergraduate Review

Overall, I did really enjoy my placement year with E.ON. Its a great multinational company to work for, with really strong company ethics, friendly employees, a great talent development program and lots of opportunities to get involved in. I found EON to be a great place to spend my placement year.

I felt really welcome from the moment I started at EON and I always felt part of a team. Although, it took a while to set in and given meaningful tasks, I did feel very valued by my colleagues. Having the opportunity to take part in and lead projects, I felt very valued by my colleagues, as I was trusted with such responsibility given my experience. Regularly receiving feedback on the quality of work I've produced also made me feel very valued - like i was making a difference.

My placement manager could not have done more, he went out of his way to ensure I had the best experience at EON. He very proactive in my learning development, practicing presentations and interviews with me, as well as mentoring me as an individual. My line manager was also very supportive, giving me guidance on the job and ensuring I had access to as many opportunities as I could that would enhance my placement year.

Depending on the projects I was working on, some days I was really busy with a long list of tasks to complete and other days I had little work to do. I had little work at the start of my placement and had to actively go and look for work myself rather than being given things to do. However, this did provide me with the opportunity to explore other parts of the business.

I was given quite significant responsibility during my placement, working on a project that has a huge impact on the future of EON. I was responsible for doing certain tasks and providing information that was sent to the senior leadership team. I felt that I had full support behind my work so the responsibility I had was not overwhelming as I could always ask for help.

I have gained basic work skills, including soft skills and software knowledge that will help me when I go back to university and when I start my career afterwards. I gained so much knowledge that will definitely help me in my final year of university, a placement year really does make a difference .

The general atmosphere in the office was good, everyone was really friendly and chatty but at the same time you could get on with your work and make sure all your tasks were done. On Fridays, lots of people tended to work from home so the office was a lot quieter.

The first week or so was unorganised as it took a while getting all my IT equipment set up and getting me settled in to my role. However the rest of the placement was very organised, my placement manager is very experienced with handling undergraduates and HR handled the transition well.

E.ON has a very strong training and development program for employees. Both of my managers had a strong commitment to my personal development, I had fortnightly 121s with my placement manager and weekly 121s with my line manager. Also had the opportunity to take art in a mock assessment centre. The E.ON undergraduate scheme also allows a fast track opportunity to the graduate scheme.

I am keen to continue working for EON, to come back after finishing university and start my career with the company. I've learnt a lot about the company and the energy industry and want to put it to good use. I'm unsure what the graduate scheme will be but I'm interested in remaining with EON.

The social scene is what you make it, if you want to organise socials with placement students its up to you. As all the placement students were based in different offices around the country it was hard for us all to soacialise together. However, HR provide regular 'Community Days' which allow all the undergraduates from various E.ON locations to come together, socialise and take part it team building activities

I at home during my placement so only really paid for petrol and car parking. EON subsidise the car park but its still £100 a month which is quite pricey. Cost of socialising and living in Nottingham is pretty reasonable, a lot cheaper than places down south - pretty good.

Nightlife in Nottingham is really good, its very lively, especially considering there are two uni's in the city. There loads of night clubs and bars that cater to all music tastes and atmospheres. There lots of stuff to do in general really, Nottingham full of interesting places and things to do.

There aren't really any opportunities to get involved in activities outside of work. I know that there were a few male football teams. There seems to be more opportunities to get involved in things outside or work at the head office in Coventry, I believe there was a choir. My team did have regular team evenings though were we would go out for food and drinks.