Finance Support Coordinator Review

I really enjoyed my year away from uni in a different working environment such as Volvo Group in Warwick. It was great to both develop existing skills learnt in previous educations but also to learn new skills that could only have been developed through being in a workplace. Volvo provided many opportunities to grow as an individual and very much cares about each employee.

I felt extremely valued as i feel there were a lot of opportunities to the interns to develop and have unique experiences that an existing employee wouldn't necessarily have the chance to experience. Everyone in the company was very willing to help you learn and always offered there help and support if needed. Colleagues were very generous with the feedback they gave and would always show their gratitude and appreciation to my work.

My manager was a very supportive, lovely, friendly person who made me feel so welcome and at ease on my first day, right till the end of my placement. There is an open door policy at Volvo and if ever there is any issues, they are resolved quickly and you never feel like you are on your own. However i would have liked to have the opportunity to have more 1 to 1's with my manager to gauge feedback on how i am doing and talk about how i am feeling towards my work.

This varied through my 12 months at Volvo because some roles were a lot busier than others. Some roles required various different tasks to be completed on a daily basis and these could differ in length and complexity so every day was different. However in different roles I found that you are only assigned 1 task and there is no real time limit that this needs to be completed by, therefore you were in control of your own business depending on the way you like to work. I did get bored at times because i do preferred to be challenged and be kept active and on my toes.

I found that this also varied as i was in different roles. Generally though i was allowed to have a task that was assigned just to myself and this was my sole responsibility to complete. I would have liked to have had the opportunity to take on more responsibility however so that i can take away even more from the experience.

There are a lot of skills that i have developed and a lot of training i have received that will most definitely help in the future. Training courses such as Excel and presentation training will be 100% used again in the future, as well as skills i've learnt on the job.

The general atmosphere was very friendly, welcoming and supportive. I made a lot of friends during my time at Volvo both with the other interns and with the people i worked with in my team. The out of office activities like team building, awards night and Christmas parties were a great way to socialise and network.

I was the first intern in my department and I was disappointed at the lack of planning that went into my role as a whole. The role i was interviewed for didn't really exist when i got here on my first week and my job role was quickly changed into something different. In general though, the planning of the interns as a group such as the induction week was carried out very well.

They paid for me to do training courses if i wanted to take part in them to help my professional development. They also allowed me time away from my normal job role to complete Uni work when needed. I was allowed to take part in project work away from my job role as well which really helped with my development.

Future employment at Volvo is very appealing because everyone who works here seems to be very happy and have been within the company for many years. They have also offered me the opportunity to come back once graduated and will support me with my professional qualification i would like to complete. They are also very keen to progress people and push them up through promotion to where the individual would like to be.

Yes there was a good social scene as there were 25 interns in total that all joined at the same time. Some of these interns lived with each other and therefore had year round socialisation. There was a lot of interaction between the interns at the start of the year when getting to know each other like going to the pub.

The cost of living in Warwick is fairly average for the midlands. It's not cheap as chips but not at all expensive like living in London. There is a lot to do in Warwick such as Warwick and Kenilworth castle, there are also lots of tourist places like Stratford-Upon-Avon nearby. Also you can still get student prices from these tourist attractions which works out at a very good deal.

The night life in Warwick is okay but there is no clubs, just old traditional bars. However Leamington Spa is only a 10 minute drive away and the nightlife there is very good. There is also Coventry about a 25 minute drive away and Birmingham just a short train ride away - both with very good clubs also.

There are volenteering opportunities and many opportunities to get involved in events such as 'Truck fest', there are also opportunities to go out to visit the dealer network and depots to see what the business is like outside of the office. There are also opportunities to visit customers and have conferences.