Customer Operations Undergraduate Review

I have enjoyed my placement year at E.ON so much. I can see how I have grown incredibly in self-confidence and developed a range of skills, compared to the start of the placement. This year has been really beneficial and I got an insight into so many different areas of the business.

My colleagues have been amazing, to say the least. They have helped me in finding new projects I can work on that will be a great experience. Although I had limited experience when I started, they have been super supportive and encouraging right from the start of this year and have been pivotal in my personal development.

Both my scheme supervisor and line manager provided great support and guidance throughout this year by finding placements that I will gain the most from. Having fortnightly meetings with my scheme supervisor and weekly meetings with my line manager meant that I was able to address concerns or questions. Also, they have helped me when I have reflected on my progress this year to form coherent examples to use in interviews.

Towards the start of my placement, I didn't have a busy workload. I spent my time mainly attending meetings and adjusting to the team. After settling in, my workload starting increasing to a level that was manageable but also so that I was being challenged. At times when it got too busy, there was plenty of support available.

I had a good amount of responsibility. I was assigned tasks of significant importance, which made me feel valued. An example is when I co-led on a project to launch a new process into a business area. For this, I was responsible for effectively delivering it and meeting vital deadlines.

When I think of how much I have grown in confidence and the number of skills I have developed this year, it proves how vital it is to gain experience. E.ON has been a great company to work for and they genuinely support everyone's personal development. I know I can use all the skills and confidence I have gained throughout my life as well as degree studies and career.

The office was a very good atmosphere to do work. It was quiet enough to be able to concentrate on the tasks at hand but also promoted a collaborative approach. My team sat together which made it easy to help each other. I looked forward to coming into the office as it made work enjoyable!

After completing the first placement as an advisor, it took some time for my next placement to be arranged. I feel this could have been improved. Also, the placement set up could be improved to have a consistent workload. However, I had the support of my scheme supervisor if I encountered any problems.

I received basic training to ensure that safe practices are used at work. Other than that, with my role, it was more about learning on the job rather than being trained for it. However, I had access to many free e-learning courses that could be completed if it was of interest. For personal development, I had frequent meetings with my scheme leader and line manager to see what new opportunities to take part in that would aid with this.

I’ve seen that there is a good opportunity to progress within the company, so I will definitely return to EON if there is a role that I am interested in is available. However, I'm unlikely to return on a graduate scheme as the schemes offered by EON aren't appealing to me.

Yes! We had a community made up of those on undergraduate schemes across all of EON's UK sites. Also, we had community days to meet up and get to hear how our placements are going and just to catch up in general. Also, we had days out with those on the graduate scheme to find out more about their experience scheme.

I was based in Nottingham and as there are two universities, socialising was fairly easy. Also, Nottingham is very student-friendly. In addition, the cost of living was at a manageable level, allowing you to be able to still save up some money - which will be a huge help for final year!

The nightlife in Nottingham is very good, especially since there are two universities. There are plenty of night clubs and bars that cater to a range of music preferences and atmospheres. For those who aren't too interested in nightlife, there are lots of other interesting activites you can take part in!

Yes! There were often activities that were organised where we were able to socialise with those in other teams. For example, there were charity events that you could take part in such as marathons. So you could contribute towards making a difference as well as having the opportunity to get to know each other.