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
I really enjoyed my work placement - all my days varied a lot and I got to see how the entire business works. Everyone was always so friendly and I never struggled with finding help or someone to talk to. My manager and team were really great! BMW is a huge company that comes with lots of additional benefits, that I enjoyed a lot, e.g. Puppy Day or a chance to see MINI Factory and Rolls Royce assembly line - I loved it all!
I found my relations with colleagues really nice - eveyrone was always very friendly and chatty. The building was huge and I also made some friends during workshops - not only among interns. I really enjoyed it and I never felt like a stranger. I always felt valued and respected.
My supervisors were always there when I needed them, I never had any troubles with finding help or long e-mail replies. Whenever I occured any struggle, there was always someone to help - and it was ususally my manager. I really liked that I could count on someone! It made the entire experience totally different.
It depended on the day - sometimes I was very busy and sometimes I had time to get to know the other departments. I was never bored, BMW is really big so there was always something to do - it all depended just on my creativity and how much I wanted to do.
It depended on the task. I felt trusted among my team so it all depeneded on what was there to do. I never felt like someone was constantly checking what I'm doing, which was really great. I feel I did quite a lot things that I truly enjoed and that were nice.
I chose placement that was slightly different than my degree, however it taught me a lot anyway. I learnt how to have working life balance and how not to become a Netflix zombie. I also understood how important it is to network. Being an international student, it was an amazing chance for me to adjust to the working culture. I learnt so much!
The Company
Amazing! The office was great. Facility is amazing - with restuarnts, cafes, small park, fun room, etc. There were also many interesting days like Puppy's Day or quarterly catchup. I really enjoyed it because I could feel the part of the company. I never felt any differnce between being an intern and 'a real employee'.
Very smooth! Even when I struggled with some paper work, it got solved within a few days. It was very well organised and it never gave me a headache or so. I was always well informed about everything and my manager was great help. BMW also has an amazing system of handover where you spend a month with your previous intern, so you can actually learn about your role much more then.
A lot! There are lots of personal training and development programmes to attend. From on campus to online ones. I attended quite a lot and I really enjoyed them. There were also a couple of compulsory ones about ehtics & how to work with clients, which were really educating and fun!
Flexi Time
Subsidised Canteen
Sports and Social Club
National Travel
Company Parties/Events
Staff Sales/Staff Shop
Above 25 days holiday
Working from home
Healthcare/Dental
I feel it's quite hard to get a job after placement - there is an additional programme I would need to go through that got a bit changed in terms of COVID 19 sitaution. BMW is a big company and people stay there for very long so I feel like there are not many job openings.
The Culture
It was pretty okay, depending on what you like to do. For me, I really enjoyed spending my time with fellow placement sutdents who were also international students. They were so full of ideas and interesting topics! There was also a Coffee Club for all employees that was a lot of fun!
Typical Southern prices - I lived close to London so the prices reflected it a lot.
I have lived in a very small city so there was no nightlife possible here. We were going to London whenever we needed some more fun. Otherwise, to go to closer pubs or clubs, we needed a car to go to other cities around - it was a bit of a struggle.
Living in a small city, it was quite hard to get involved in activities outside of work. The only fun thing was gym and bowling. Oother activities were more far away and given I don't drive, it was quite a struggle to get involved in many things at the same time.
Details
Placement (10 Months+)
South West
June 2020