This review was submitted over 4 years ago, so some of the information it contains may no longer be relevant.
Rating
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The Role
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The Company
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The Culture
- 1. To what extent did you enjoy your work placement or internship?
- 2. To what extent did you feel valued by your colleagues?
- 3. To what extent were you given support and guidance by management/your supervisor(s)?
- 4. How busy were you on a daily basis?
- 5. How much responsibility were you given during your placement?
- 6. To what extent did/will the skills you developed, and training you received, assist you in your degree studies and beyond?
- 7. What was the general atmosphere in your office?
- 8. How well organised was the overall work placement or internship set up?
- 9. In terms of personal training and development, to what extent did the company or firm invest in you?
- 10. What were the perks on your work placement?
- 11. How appealing are future employment prospects within the organisation?
- 12. Was there a good social scene amongst any fellow placement students/colleagues?
- 13. What was the cost of living and socialising in the area you worked in?
- 14. What was the Nightlife like in the area you worked?
- 15. Were there many opportunities to get involved in activities outside of work?
The Role
Thoroughly enjoyed it! I was given so much responsibilities and feel like I am actually delivering impacts. We also had the chance to join some Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) groups within the business - I joined the cultural and networking groups, which really add more flavour to my placement experience.
Very much! I was never treated as "an intern", in fact they trusted me with a lot of responsibilities. I also feel very welcomed and included especially in my department, and we also do a lot of activities outside of work, like team day or team curry, etc. that really add the human touch to workng in a big corporation.
Fantastic support was always given to me by my manager and my own team! I have a weekly one to one with my manager where I get to not only update him on my current projects but also if i ever needed any help and support with starting certain work or communicating with the right person.
Really depends on the timing - there are some months where I would have so many projects due at once and there are times where things get pretty quiet. But I always managed to gather some things to do, e.g. streamlining process documents or reports. All in all it's a good balance!
Very much! I get to determine my own campaign (should I have any idea), and liaise with the relevant people to make it happen. Also being in a team of four i tend to also do some work cross-roles (I'm doing ecommerce but sometimes help out with service online booking or teleservice).
I always tell people that I have grown astronomically since the first time i stepped foot in the company. I was very timid back then and did not know how to navigate through office tasks like as simple as driving a meeting, but i can confidently say now that i'm no longer scared of a phone call :)
The Company
Especially in my department (Aftersales Development), everyone was always super friendly and there's this high energy level between us that for sure was contagious. It was never a day without jokes and tea-trains (5min break with us just chatting and getting tea together), it was definitely a close-knit team and the atmosphere was amazing!
There are some dismissable hiccups but overall it has been great and seamless. From the first day until now I always know what to do, who to ask, what my responsibilities are and my boundaries, etc. I also not only had the chance to work in the office but also outside of it, meeting people in different agencies/cities, and representing them in conferences. Overall it was an all-in-one package and I couldn't have asked for more!
As mentioned before, they are investing quite much! I got to attend conferences and events on behalf of them and really gained industry insights from these. In addition, we had some skills training during our time in the office, and also being in the Networking D&I Group, I actually had the chance to liaise with an external D&I expert who will be coming into the office (or online given the condition) to deliver workshop on personal branding, imposter syndrome, etc.
Flexi Time
National Travel
Company Parties/Events
Above 25 days holiday
Working from home
I definitely recommend future students to get a placement or internship at BMW Group UK! They care so much about giving you the best internship experience and would consider you really a part of the team! Everyone is very helpful as well in terms of getting you up to speed with your role so even if you do short-term internship, it will still be worth it! Also having BMW in your CV is surely a conversation-starter.
The Culture
Yes, there is a group for placement students created by the previous students (and we're also doing the same for future students). There are some socials that you can attend should you want to and everyone's generally very helpful since you will probably be working with them in certain projects.
Farborough is a relatively small town without any entertainments going around. If you don't drive it could be frustrating sometimes because you have to take public transport or taxi! But the cost itself is relatively OK, the rent for our house and meals are still very affordable. Overall, it's on that "OK" band, not too expensive but not too cheap.
There isn't any nightlife around here. There are a bar or two and I believe one club/pub but i personally never went to any. From the other interns' story, they usually go to London in the weekends or some of them throw parties themselves to spice things up as it's quite "bland" here in Farnborough.
Of course! Like I mentioned before, you can join relevant events, I volunteered once in the Classic Car Show event in NEC Birmingham and it was such a great experience! There are also agency visits and conferences you can get involved with (I went to three conferences in the past year and had gained so much knowledge!)
Details
Placement (10 Months+)
London
June 2020