Strategy Planning & Operations - Readiness Review

I really enjoyed my placement. With my degree background being solely in Mathematics, this placement opened my eyes up to the world of business and working in an office. I enjoyed the high level of responsibility, fast working environment and the recognition that came with it. My team were all friendly and more than willing to jump on a Skype call to help me.

I felt very valued by my colleagues, I would get approached by colleagues all over the business in different sites and in different roles to complete work for them or to assist them in some way. Throughout the year I built up strong skills in online tools and Excel which I used to assist others in work they had to complete or work they asked me to complete.

I was given support by my manager whenever I was stuck or had a question. I had one to one meetings with my manager every week where I had a chance to ask questions and was given additional projects to work on. I would also send regular emails once I had completed the work to gain feedback.

Very busy! I had regular tasks that would recur every day or every other week. In addition to this, there were monthly tasks and quarterly processes which caused busy periods. Naturally throughout the financial year, my role became busy due to asks from WW and any additional adhoc tasks that would come via Skype or on email increased the work load.

A lot, I was the only intern in the United Kingdom and Ireland to have the access that was needed to load data at the start of the financial year into an online tool. I also owned a master file which had a lot of necessary information for my whole team and parts in it needed for different teams throughout the business.

This placement is completely separate to my degree as I study mathematics. However, the skills I have gained and developed throughout the year will assist me a lot in a graduate role. I have learned a lot of Excel and gained skills in universal online business tools like Sales Force which I am sure will help me in a future role. The way that this placement will help my studies is the hours I choose to study, from being so used to working 9 til 5.

In the office, I felt very happy and comfortable. I never felt uneasy and I felt that everyone in the office was very approachable. The office is open plan and no one has their own office or room. Each team sits directly next to another one which allows for easier communication also.

It was very well organised with lots of one to ones planned with my manager, team meetings scheduled for the whole placement and also regular training sessions. Whenever a new topic was raised or a new event needed to be planned, calls would be scheduled in my calendar to discuss the work that was needed.

They invested lots into me! I was in regular contact with WW employees who were experts in the online tools I was using and they would regularly teach me more about them. I also received first aid training and was offered to complete sales training just like the sales employees needed to complete.

They are very appealing, if a graduate role opened in the part of the business that I want a future career in then I would definitely apply. The business values and friendly atmosphere is very appealing and would make a great company to build a career in. The company is WW and you get to network with a lot of people!

Yes, there was an intern committee who would schedule regular social events to take place after work or on the weekends. In the first few weeks of placement, most new interns go into University halls to make friends and then find a house together from this. There is also an intern ball at the start and end of the placemnt to welcome the new interns and to say goodbye to the old interns.

In Bracknell/Reading the cost is quite cheap in the bars and clubs as Reading is a student town. The cost of living is fairly average and similar prices to any student area. I haven't heard anyone complaining about the prices of liiving or socialising here. There is also great public transport links.

It was good, there are several clubs in Reading. In Reading there are also a lot of pubs and bars and then in Bracknell itself there are also a lot of pubs and bars. Bracknell has just renovated it's town centre and Reading has also had the Oracle built recently.

Yes, once you have mastered your day job you are encouraged to see what other opportunities are open to you around the business. There are employee resource groups which you can become a part of and help to run / lead events. This is a great way to improve skills already gained from University.