Placement Review

My placement at TPP provided me with invaluable experience that I don't believe that I would've got anywhere else. It allowed me to become more confident in myself and my ability, along with developing as a person and my skills set in a job I enjoyed.

Due to the flat hierarchy, everyone is valued the same. Regardless of whether you have been here 10 years or 10 days your work is seen to be equally important. This is emphasised by the fact you're allowed to just walk into a meeting room if you need someone.

Company policy is that if you are struggling with your work, you just shout up to the room and ask for help. Chances are that someone will be able to help you, and if not you'd be able to work through it together. Everyone is really helpful!

There's a reasonable balance with how busy you are. Work is shared out between the placement team fairly. The work is varies across different business disciplines so you don't find yourself bored or clock watching. I also found that I was never clockwatching.

You are encouraged to take ownership of all the tasks you do. On placement, if you were given a task it was your responsibility to ensure it was done properly. The scale of this varied from monitoring the recruitment process to planning company wide events.

My time management and organisational skills have drastically improved while on placement. I always thought I was good at this, but this job made me see otherwise! In the ever-changing workplace, you need to develop these skills and work out what needs prioritising and how to adapt when new tasks come up. TPP really helped me with this.

The atmosphere is generally very friendly. There are times when it's a bit stressed but I think that's natural within the working environment. They also promote socialising through regular social events, and pub Fridays!

There is a handover period between each placement year. This means that when the new placement students start, they work with the outgoing students to learn about the job. This means that you are learning on the job and there's someone there to support. The only downside is that not everything can be handed over - but you can overcome this and figure a lot of it out!

There aren't any specific training courses you can go on. However, if you want to get involved in different projects there are opportunities to do so. This might be getting involved in recruitment events and learning more about that sector, or working more on the finance aspect. The options are not exhaustive.

The placement role is exactly that - specific for placement. If you wanted to work at the company following graduation, you'd have to apply for one of the graduate positions. I think this is more personal preference as to whether you want to do that specific job following your graduation.

The company promotes socialisation! The placement role in particular is a sociable role as you interact with pretty much everyone in the company. There are also house events periodically through the year, pub Fridays and a Christmas event. Definitely the most social company I've seen.

The cost of living is okay. I lived in a rented house share that was reasonably priced for what I was looking for. There are also cheaper and more expensive options if your budget differs. The cost of socialising and living is pretty standard for city prices, especially if you go into Leeds on a night out. Headingley is a slightly cheaper option if you're looking for bars.

Living close to the city, there is pretty much something to please everyone. Leeds nightlife is great, with Call lane and the Headrow having multiple bars you can visit. There's also the option to go out in Headingley which is gives off more of a student vibe. My personal favourite places were Rev's and Stone Roses.

As with any city, there's plenty to do outside of work. There are different clubs you can get involved in, whether this being sports or leisure. You're also in the perfect location where you close to a vibrant city but also the Yorkshire Dales are a short drive away. You have the best of both worlds.