Business Planning Support Review

Jaguar Land Rover is a great place to work, there are many opportunities to see different roles however I was initially put into a role that was not related to my area of studies at uni. However I managed to visit and work with other teams in the company, seeing other departments and tasting various jobs.

I had great respect from colleagues even though I was an undergraduate, I was able to participate in various tasks and projects around my team, with others willing to help me and listening to my opinions. I had a good friendship with many of the colleagues which I would also see outside of work.

I felt that I was not given sufficient support and guidance in terms of developing my skillset and widening my view of engineering, my area of studies. Although I was given freedom to learn, I felt I would have liked a more structured guidance from my manager. It was easy however, to ask questions and with a keen attitude it was easier to obtain feedback.

Due to the area of the business I was in, there was not many projects going on at a given time. This meant that tasks were usually short and my daily business varied widely.

I was given a few areas of our team to look after and my input was taken into consideration however I would have like to have more responsibility.

As I was put into a 'business' team with my degree being in Mechanical Engineering, I did not develop my technical skills as much as I would've liked. However I received lots of training in various commercial skills which will definitely be useful for jobs in many different industries for my future.

The atmosphere in the office was always very easygoing. Everyone was very friendly and easy to get along with. This made working feel less stressful and enjoyable to get in to the office every morning. I felt comfortable in the surrounding and was able to approach anyone for a friendly chat or work queries.

The company is very keen on getting graduates back into work. This means they are active in keeping contact with students who have done placements and a lot of opportunities do arise in terms of jobs or graduate schemes. The graduates are treated well and are given good perks when working.

There was good communication between the placement students and as many people lived in similar areas, it was easy to socialise outside of work. Many of the students during the yearly placements house shared with eachother which made it easier to get to know eachother and often car share to work.

Coventry is a fairly cheap area to live, our rent between housemates was around £450 pm in a fairly new estate. Although Coventry is not the safest of places (I would not recommend walks alone at night) the student social scene is active, especially during term time. Going out was relatively cheap, with various spoons and clubs to go out at.

Many teams organised sports events amongst each other such as football matches out of work. There are also opportunities to see other areas of the business such as the Classic department or factory tours, to see how our cars are built. There are often many people keen to organise activities if you do want to do something different.