Change Analyst Review

I was with Computacenter for a little over 14 months and had a very enjoyable time. There was a very good social side to working with the business, with monthly networking events where you could engage with other employees, partners and customers. The project I was working on was very active during my time and there was never a dull moment.

My manager put a lot of trust into me, giving me a high level of responsibility. The work I was delivering was of high importance and I felt like a normal member of the team as opposed to a placement student. I was encouraged to get involved as much as I could, even in meetings with senior directors at the business.

I was given the level of support I needed to do my job and was encouraged to undertake as much training as I could. During my time I completed the PRINCE2 project management accreditation, something that is not cheap and an investment for the company considering I was only there for a little over a year.

At the beginning of the placement it was a little bit quiet, as you would expect needing to get settled into the company and understanding the job. However, shortly I was given a high level of work to complete that increased over time, both in terms of quantity and importance. Coming to the end of my placement there was never a day when I had nothing to do.

I was given a high level of responsibility during my placement. My manager had trust in me to complete work for senior directors in the business, and deliver it directly to them. I was also given the responsibility of leading German works council negotiations for the project that I delivered - this in itself should show the level of responsibility I had.

Completing the project management accreditation has given me skills that can be transferred into almost any job I go into. On top of this accreditation, I was able to attend presentation training, something critical both at university and after. Just by undertaking the placement year I gained skills to help me work effectively in a business environment - exactly what is required for a graduate job.

There was a fairly relaxed atmosphere in the office, depending in which office I worked. Everyone was friendly and was happy to have a chat and joke about, however when work needed to be done this was accepted people would be more serious. Overall, the atmosphere was as fun as it could be considering you are there to work.

Going into the transformation department I didn't have a complete plan set out for my placement year as it was just not possible to do this. As the project is constantly changing my role was change with the project. This in itself made the placement very enjoyable as I had a lot of variation in my role.

As stated before, I was able to undertake in a number of training programmes and accreditations. The PRINCE2 project management accreditation is a nationally accredited qualification and is highly valued. If I were to go into a project management role this is one of the first things they ask for - most graduate project management programmes will include the completion of PRINCE2

I believe I could get a job in the department I completed my placement. In terms of entering other parts of the business there are not too many opportunities, as a previous employee you get fast tracked to the assessment day if you were to apply for another role within the business.

Social scene with other students was great, there were 19 of us. There were also monthly networking events where you could meet other employees, partners of the business and also customers. This was a great way to meet new people not only within the company, but also the sector we worked.

I lived at home, so the cost of living was nothing, however if i did not live at home it would have been very expensive. The office was in London so it was typical London prices - more than the rest of the UK. This is something you accept working in London as you get paid more to compensate for this.

The office was in London, there was more than enough places to keep you entertained for a year. There were plenty of pubs and bars around the office, and if you fancied a change of scenery the tube was at the end of the road to take you anywhere else in London.

There were't too many activities outside of work to get involved in. As placement students we organised activities once a quarter which included football and rounders matches. It was down to you as employees to organise anything if you wanted, and if there were activities you had to actively make an effort to get involved.