Recruitment Consultant for Finance Review

I really enjoyed my placement, as I felt like part of the team. I was treated like any other consultant, and enjoyed the pressures that came with the job. The only thing that didn't give it full marks, was that I had to hand over in the last 6 weeks, to ensure clients had a smooth hand over to another consultant before I left.

I was given a lot of responsibility, helping consultants with their jobs in their absence. This meant that I had the responsibility to choose the best candidates to be sent for roles. I also, took part in major client meetings, where I would have to sign discretion forms to ensure what was discussed remained private.

Due to a lot of changes in the company it could be quite difficult to get the support you needed. I am the type f person that likes this to some extent, but due to the nature of the job you want to ensure you were doing the right thing and needed a second opinion.

There is always something to do in this role, and can never leave at the end of the day feeling like you have done everything you needed to do. Some times certain tasks would need doing mroe than others though which coud be monotomous.

I was given a lot of responsibility, because you can't do the job properly if you don't. You would regularly be writing letters to clients, or go on big meetings, where you would get someone to check over your email or gow ith you for support or to assist.

In terms of the accountancy side this role hasn't really helped my skills, however, due to working in finance I have a much better understanding of the career path in finance. I have also developed my business accumen and feel that I have gained a lot of comemrciality through working in this role. My computer skills have developed and my communication skills have improved massively. I feel a lot more confident and am able to make important decision when under pressure. Having to complete tasks by demanding deadlines and working under pressure will significantly help my with my assignments. Also, my time management skills have developed which will assist in the same way.

There is a real sales buzz in the office, especially when marketing. I think there could have been more of it though. The atmosphere can be tense when trying to clinch an important deal, but most of the time it was really fun and light hearted.

The training and development team wer really good at setting up training programmes to help me take back essential skills on desk. There were also, days where all placement students would meet up which was brilliant, as you could see what everyone else was doing. I think there should be more informal discussions and updates however, throughout your time in placement though, as for someone who had never worked in an office you do need support. In the office I was treated as another member of staff, so thrown in at the deep end. I liked that but for others it may be too pressurised.

I was given everything a consultant would have been given which was fantastic. No one knew I was a placement student unless I told them which I loved. I think that on the graduate scheme you may get more in depth training however, which someone in my position may have benefited from.

The company as been looking at me working part time for them whilst I continue my course. I have also, been asked to stay in touch for when I finish my degree for a future career with the business.

There were opportunities to socialise in London but I was situated in another office so didn't get any interaction with the other placement students apart from organised events.

Watford was reasonable in terms of socialising, however the head office is in London which could be expensive.

There was a reasonable amount of night life but everywhere was the same.

Not really, as everyone was coming from different areas so couldn't go out for too long. Organising everyone was really difficult so going out was rare, however, when we did we would have a really good time.