Finance Placement Student Review

I thoroughly enjoyed my work placement for many reasons. For example, I built great relationships with my manager and other colleagues so we worked very well as a team from the start and supported one another during busier periods. I also enjoyed working in the Finance department and am now more excited to pursue a career in this function.

Throughout my placement, I was treated as a real employee and given real responsibilities. When managers and other colleagues asked for my help/advice, it boosted my confidence and made me feel like my opinions and ideas were always valid. As I was encouraged to work to the best of my ability at all times, I felt a huge sense of accomplishment when completing a task.

Since the beginning of my placement, my manager has taken a great deal of interest in my personal and professional development. They put a significant amount of time and energy into delivering my two-week handover and I felt extremely comfortable asking as many questions as I needed to as I lacked confidence in myself towards the beginning.

Although I had a reasonable amount of work to complete on a daily basis, I believe I could have taken on even more responsibility than I was given if I had continued to work for the company. This is because at times I struggled to find things to occupy my time with.

The tasks I was responsible for were detailed to me during a very thorough two-week handover period. These were separate from the tasks carried out by my manager so I was responsible for my own workload that included key finance-related activities. This helped me to develop my independence and decision making skills.

The skills and knowledge I have gained during my placement will act as a crucial foundation for future development in my career as I have had the chance to use key software such as SAP and Microsoft Excel on a daily basis. I am now feeling far more prepared to enter the workplace.

The atmosphere was quite varied at times because my department were under immense pressure to complete their work to a specific deadline such as during month end closure. However, this can be the case in any office and the most important thing for me was that my colleagues were very friendly and always helpful no matter what else was going on.

I would consider this placement to be very well organised. Each student participates in a very thorough induction programme before their placement commences. For example, they meet students from other plants across the UK during an Induction event, participate in a shop-floor experience for 1 week and complete a two-week handover with the previous student.

I think the company invested a lot of time and energy into my personal and professional development as I received a significant amount of training at the beginning in order to complete my tasks to a good standard and I have continued to learn new things and to be given extra responsibilities throughout.

The company has many opportunities for students who choose to continue working for the company upon completion of their degree, including their own graduate scheme. There is a clear opportunity for progression and we are given the chance to meet previous placement students who now hold permanent positions with the company in order to gain an insight into what this will entail.

One of the best aspects of my placement was spending a great deal of time with the other students on a daily basis. For example, during our breaks and outside work. This meant we got to know each other very well during the year and will continue to meet up and socialise afterwards.

I would consider the cost of living to be quite expensive as I had to purchase a car in order to travel to and from my place of work. In comparison to other places I have lived, my rent was also more expensive. However, I believe the cost of socialising is significantly cheaper in comparison to the southern regions of the UK.

Washington is relatively close to Newcastle and the nightlife here is infamous for many things especially the clubs and bars. I would consider the location of this placement ideal in terms of opportunities to go out. However, due to the long hours I was working during my placement, I rarely had the chance to.

There are two social events organised specifically for the students which take place during the placement induction and wrap-up. They consist of, teambuilding activities, Q&A activities and lunches. These events were highly enjoyable and allowed me to get to know my fellow placement students in a more laid back setting.