Placement Student Review

I found the internship interesting at times for example during busy periods. However I had lots of days where I did not have any work to complete despite asking for tasks. I achieved many skills including Microsoft Excel, Word and Powerpoint as well as plenty of organisation and communication skills. I found the work force a little older than what I had anticipated, therefore I did think it was difficult to make friends. The were no social events for graduates or placement students and I felt Caterpillar could of done more to introduce fellow placement students (to have a friendly face in the office)

I felt that many employees didn't really bother with me which was a bit disappointing. However there were a few who did make effort to get to know me and make me feel welcome...this did not go unnoticed. I also thought that it was weird that other employees got a yearly bonus in April and the placement students did not despite working for the company for a 12 month period. All employees doing the same type of work should be treated as equal.

The initial induction meeting was very strange from my point of view. I was taking part in an induction with members of staff who were going to work within the factory. I was one of three office employees (dressed in smart work wear) and there were five factory employees dressed in hoodies and sweatpants. It just seemed very unusual to have an induction going through safety such as how to lift things correctly. The induction seemed very focused on the factory staff members and I was going to be working within an office doing office-based tasks. I think Caterpillar could do a lot more to accommodate the placement students for example discussing with supervisors regarding having a plan in place for the student when they arrive and going through exactly what the job entails as what I experienced was very different to the job description I applied for.

Depending on the time of the month. Usually at the start of the month I was very busy and towards the end of the month I had a lot of spare capacity. At the start of the placement I had very little work to do, my laptop took a number of days to arrive and I also had a lot of IT problems. This didn't get my year placement off to the best of starts.

I would say I was given a lot of responsibility as I asked to gain experience within other departments meaning I had to stay on-top of work myself. I did this by making lists and prioritising certain tasks. I felt that it was important to have responsibility and to feel some-what time pressured at times during the job.

I think my placement has assisted me in organisation skills which I can use in my final year of University as well as my future career. However I don't necessarily feel that I am going back to University confident that I have a lot of experience in accountancy. This is due to the tasks I was doing during my placement year being mainly admin type tasks.

The offices were a bit old, dull and could do with a bit of investment. Very cold during winter months and very warm during the summer months. The office environment was relaxed enough, I enjoyed the flexible working hours and being able to work from home on days that I couldn't get to work during the snow.

I do think this aspect needs to be worked on. I did not have any sort of a plan in place until I asked for one. I don't necessarily think that the department I was based in needed a placement student because I didn't have a huge amount of work to do.

I completed all my training online courses as well as other ones I was interested in. I wouldn't say that Caterpillar 'invested' in me however I have gained a bit of experience working within Caterpillar such as organisational skills and communication skills which I needed to work on prior to joining Caterpillar.

Having worked for Caterpillar for 12 months, I don't think I would return as I didn't get as much out of the placement as I would of hoped despite the job description of the role looking very interesting to me. I think the company could have done a lot more to make me feel like a valued member of staff.

I was a bit disappointed that no graduate/placement student socials were organised as it would have allowed me to meet people of similar ages, get to know them and have someone to eat my lunch with during lunch hours. Caterpillar could have done a lot more for example having a meeting with all the new graduates and/or placement students in each location

It is a cheap enough place to live and socialise.

I had friends who were on placement elsewhere so I was able to go out with them at the weekends. It was expensive to go out during weekends however it was much needed.

There were a few activities for example a weight loss programme after Christmas, a marathon relay team and a number of others. However again I would have been much more inclined to participate if I had known other placement students/graduates to befriend and therefore could sign up to these activities with.