Vehicle Forecasting Analyst Review

It was very enjoyable, it provided a lot of insight into the automotive finance industry. My team was friendly and supportive, the many undergraduates form a nice community, there is a lot of opportunities to learn and develop, and the environment is nice too, with a modern, recently built office building.

My team was happy to have me on board, they relied on me taking part in the work that was assigned to the team, and they were expecting me to contribute fully, as a permanent member of the staff. They were also easy to get along with either during breaks or in external events.

It was stressed many times that if I need any help, I only needed to ask, and when I asked, I did get the help. However, the on-boarding process was slightly disorganised so it took me longer to pick up everything than if someone had explained things more thoroughly in the beginning.

There are a couple of 2-3-week periods during the year when it is quite calm, but apart form those, I was always busy. There is a lot of work to do and a lot of responsibility, but only to an extent you can handle, as if any time you feel overburdened, you can tell your manager who is happy to spread the workload among the team to help you.

Surprisingly high responsibility. I was even taking part in checking permanent people's work. Although there is usually a final check done by our manager, you are still expected to check you own and others' work and submit a final output without major mistakes that actually affect the whole of the business, for many months or even a year.

I'm not sure how useful these skills will be in my studies for my final year, I think most of my skills I gained here will help me in my career mostly. However, my time management skills should be useful next year to manage my assignments, and my placement year put some of my studies into context and allowed me to see the relevance of some of my modules in the real world.

It is open office, there are always some people chatting here or there, and you too can take part in the conversation if you want to. But if you want to get your work done, you can do that too. It is suitable for both an introvert and an extrovert.

Starting form the assessment centre, through the familiarisation day before the placement starts, up to the actual work, everything is well organised. They have had undergraduates for years now in each position, they know what to expect and how to handle the situation, and events and requirements are communicated in advance.

Heavily, there were numerous training opportunities. A two-day workshop on how to do presentations was probably the best workshop I have ever attended in my life, and their Excel training was directly useful in my job. We also learnt soft skills like networking, creating LinkedIn profiles, performing well in interviews, etc.

Very appealing, I have been told and I am welcome to come back to a permanent position some time in the future, like many previous undergraduate have done too. A graduate scheme is also possible. The year is good reference if you want to go to Volkswagen Group too, which is close to our office.

Yes, we spent our lunch breaks together for the first few months, and then smaller circles of friends formed but everyone still got along well with each other. There were birthday parties organised and a final leaving party as well. We also played pool during lunch breaks in the refreshment area of the office.

Relatively cheap, obviously much cheaper than London, but still slightly costly. I paid around £500 for the rent and utilities each month, along with one flatmate in a two-bedroom flat. There are a lot of grocery stores around, and pubs can be cheap too, unless you go the town centre. Meals in the office canteen cost between £3 and £4.

There are nice pubs in the residential areas outside of the town centre, with good prices and a good atmosphere. There are also clubs in the town centre which are a bit more pricey. Distance is a bit of a limitation as the town is quite spread out so if you want to go out somewhere you will definitely need a taxi, unless you get a flat in the town centre.

There are opportunities to get involved in charity events, such as Tough Mudder, or you can do your own fundraising. There are also quiz nights and a lot of interactive sessions either online or in the workplace, such as talks by industry experts or the Learning at Work week (which this year even had an escape room).