Supply Chain Analyst Review

I thoroughly enjoyed my work placement with Johnson & Johnson. I was exposed to all different areas of the organisation as a whole and given a lot of responsibility which improved upon my transferable skills. The culture and ethos of Johnson & Johnson is very focused on their own employees which made me feel valued and very much part of the business itself.

I felt very valued by my colleagues from the moment I started the placement. They were very understanding of my lack of experience and the time required to complete tasks would be longer due to lack of training. I was quickly welcomed into my team, involved in all social events and overall, very much felt part of the team

My manager was extremely helpful and understanding of any challenges I faced when starting my placement, whether that be nervous before participating in calls or not having the relevant knowledge on certain areas of the business. She also ensured I had access to all training links and contacts to make sure I had all the capability of reaching my potential at Johnson & Johnson.

My workload would vary day on day and week on week depending on business cycles. I was never finding myself with little to do or bored which was great for motivation. If I was ever too busy at a given time, my team would delegate tasks to ease the workload which helped.

I was given the perfect amount of responsibility on my placement. I never felt undervalued from having too little responsibility and I also never felt out of my depth from having too much to manage. I was also given more and more responsibility as time went on and this incremental approach helped in managing to successfully complete all my assigned tasks.

For technological skills, they will assist me significantly in my degree and future career as they are applicable in almost all professional environments. As for business soft skills and transferable skills such as time management and problem solving, they will definitely enhance my learning at university and be of good use in future job roles.

The office atmosphere is always very cheerful and all members of staff are very friendly and welcoming.

The placement was very well set up. My manager had a roles and responsibilities sheet ready for my arrival along with future projects outlined in detail. My workload was expected responsibilities was always known and any changes were clearly explained to myself. I had scheduled calls with team members abroad which allowed me to get to know them which was also very useful as I worked closely with them over the course of the year.

I was enrolled on a few courses during my placement which were very beneficial for my understanding of the company as well as my own personal development. The skills improved upon were time management and collaborating with other functional areas within a business. I was also given all necessary training and the option to pursue various other courses throughout the placement.

Within my role, there are not many UK roles available due to restructuring within the business. The existing graduate schemes are more marketing and finance focused which sound very interesting. They sound appealing as the organisation are willing to invest a lot in their graduates and give them dynamic and interesting work.

There was a good social scene with the other placement students but this was organised by themselves. My initial idea of a placement would be that the business organised periodic events to encourage placement students to meet up and be more exposed to the other job roles. Having said that, all students got along very well and met up outside the office regularly.

The cost of living and socialising was not very high and the salary provided enough to live and spend comfortably. Inevitably, the nearer into London meant the price increased but there are few social events in a year that require this travel. The canteen is cheap and provides good food at good value.

There is very little nightlife surrounding the office but Reading is only about 30 minutes away where there is an abundance of pubs and bars.

There were many opportunities to get involved socially outside of work, these opportunities included sport after hours or meeting at the pub for dinner/drinks.