Purchasing Assisstant Review

I enjoyed my placement year to a large extent. The office was friendly and enjoyable, and the work was rewarding. At times it was challenging and the pressure was vast, but it is these necessary experiences which are vital for my future career. Being involved in some key projects and understanding procurement as a career, has helped shape my future ambitions.

I felt as though I was valued by my colleagues. Often colleagues would inform me of my good work and say thank you for completing tasks for them. By the end of the year I was able to help lots of colleagues with questions which increases the extent to which I felt valued by my colleagues.

At first, I had a temporary manager. As the Director of the team he was often busy, but did make time for me. Once I had a permanent manager who was dedicated to leading my specific area, the support and guidance I received was excellent and I will always be grateful for that

I was often extremely busy, but at a very good level. The work was not as constant as some other colleagues in the team, but if I wasn't receiving any emails, I'd had projects to be working on. The monthly routine of the department saw some key days of the month especially busy.

During my year in industry, I was able to take on a lot more responsibility. Certain vacancies in the team saw me have the opportunity to step up and assist in many different projects. This has been great and been one of the best things about my placement year, I didn't feel as if I was there to make coffees, I was a key and integral part of the team.

Some of the attributes of the work life that have assisted me in my final year, is the want for a routine. My attendance has improved and I am often up early. The skills I learned will assist me more in my future career as following a career in procurement is something I would like to do.

The general atmosphere in my office was professional but also relaxed. Everyone was very friendly and it was a really enjoyable place to work. This made it much easier to settle in and also for me to learn the system. It helped me feel less nervous to ask question also.

Due to the team being quite stretched, I think the placement was not as structured as maybe it was for other placement students. However, this was better for me as it has allowed me to have a more realistic approach for when I start working, so for me, this wasn't a problem.

I was provided with extended training for the role. Standard handover period is 2 weeks, whereas I was provided with 6. This is something i also reciprocated at the end for my replacement. Giving me the opportunity to travel to other sites pushed my development and allowed me the opportunity to understanding various

Certain aspects of the future seem like they could be good options for a career. The graduate scheme looks like an amazing opportunity to develop, and work abroad for 2 years in a country of your choice. Domestically, there is also good opportunities for careers, but the main aspect is the graduate scheme.

All of the placement students got along very well and would sit together during lunch breaks. Everyone was busy so there wasn't too many nights out afterwards but generally speaking everybody got on very well, and when we did meet outside of work hours, it was a great laugh.

The cost of living where I worked was not too expensive, but earning the wage I did and having to relocate made it hard financially. Visiting friends at University and home for 2 of the 4 weeks meant I didn't have a lot of extra cash. However, I did manage to mix seeing my friends and working on the wage so it can be done

The actual town where the office was located wasn't great. But we were advised to live in Southampton where the night life is great. There is lots of good events, and lots of pubs and bars all within walking distance from my house. Overall there was a great nightlife where I lived, but not where the office was.

From my experience I would say there wasn't too much out of office hours activities, especially within the team. Regarding the other placement students, 5 - a -side football was organised once or twice but due to our schedules it didn't continue. There may have been other activities occurring but none to my knowledge