Events Officer Review

I thoroughly enjoyed working at Vauxhall Motors ltd as the company provided me with several opportunities and experiences throughout my placement year. My job was full on and exciting at all times, there was rarely ever a dull moment. The role has given me sufficient skills which I am using at University for my final year. Although my placement year was cut short due to Covid-19, the job has given me a greater insight into an everyday business environment.

As I worked as part of a small team in the events department, I felt valued by my team especially only being a placement student. Although I found it tricky to feel involved within the team at the start, by the end I did not want to leave. I felt comfortable when speaking to my team and felt especially valued when my colleagues came to me for help, it made me feel a part of the business surroundings.

My manager was very understanding and helpful at all times. I felt I could reach out to her when it was necessary. I also had a mentor however this was only organised towards the end of my placement. I enjoyed speaking to another person within the business however would have appreciated this one to one mentoring more if it were at the start of my placement. I felt I needed help more at the beginning of my placement rather than the end where I was already settled into the business and my team.

As I was working a 9-5 job within an events department, 9 times out of 10 I was always busy doing a job. Whether that was onsite at an event, attending a meeting with my manager and the rest of my team, or just working through emails in the office. I was always busy doing something which I thoroughly enjoyed. I work better when I'm constantly busy rather than being bored finding things to do.

As previously mentioned, I worked as part of a small events team therefore at times I felt I was given just as much responsibility as my colleagues who had been with the company 20 plus years. This made me feel of value and also gave me experience for my future career within events. The responsibility given gave me an insight into how I would work if I were to in this sector, in the future.

I am currently studying an event management degree and the skills I developed whilst on placement have sufficiently helped me so far in my final year. I can see how my degree links with the practical elements carried out whilst on placement. In regards to the future, the training and skills I received were almost enough to help me set up my own events business in the future. I feel if I were to complete my placement, despite Covid, these skills would have been sufficient enough for my future.

As Vauxhall is part of Groupe PSA, I was lucky enough to get the opportunity to work across two offices which meant I was networking with a sufficient amount of people. The atmosphere between the two offices were different to each other but I thoroughly enjoyed working across the both of them. It was also nice to sit with my fellow placement students allowing me to create a new friendship and bond with people from other universities.

In general, the work placement was well organised. At the start of my placement year we were given a hand over period, this was carried out by the previous placement students. This made me feel at ease as they were in the same position as me at the beginning of their placement. Despite being organised at the beginning, as mentioned before, we werent given our mentors until towards the end of our placement, this was unorganised and therefore I would have benefitted more from speaking to my mentor at the start of placement.

As mentioned before, I was given 2 weeks of sufficient training right from the start of my placement. This gave me the opportunity to ask as many questions as I needed to. I didn't feel the training given to an aspect of my role was carried out very well as it was rushed over. Although I was constantly learning on the job, I felt the company invested in me especially when starting my placement job.

As I wasn't sure about the type of events I wanted to pursue a career in in the future, doing a placement has given me the option to work within automotive events which I will consider when looking into future employment. I am interested in potentially carrying out a graduate scheme with Groupe PSA as I enjoyed working with the different brands on my placement year in industry. There are sufficient opportunities to be carried out with this company.

Yes definitely! It was great to meet such an amazing bunch of placement students as well as my colleagues. I enjoyed having a work/social balance on my placement year. Alongside this, I have made some fantastic networks which I will continue to keep in contact with in my future career. All the placement students got on really well and at times met up outside of work to give ourselves a break from only speaking in a work environment.

I was lucky enough to live at home on my placement year in industry therefore my only main expense was to run my car. However having spoken to my fellow placement students, the overall reaction was the cost of living was a fair price however there wasn't much to do in the surrounding area in which they lived. Luckily most of them lived together and were able to keep themselves occupied outside of work which was great.

Again, because I lived at home I went out with friends from where I live however we did organise a night out with the majority of the placement students, however had to go further afield as the nightlife in the surrounding area was pretty dull. At times, those who lived in the area would go to the local pub and at times we would go for a few drinks after work but overall nothing special.

Having worked in the events department I was lucky enough to work alongside an agency who were great in organising different activities to do whilst we weren't working. For example, I attended a dinner which was lovely, it was great to relax and see people in a different perspective other than a working environment. Although I was nervous I thoroughly enjoyed it. As well as this, we organised different things as placement students which was also great.