Programme Management Office Support Review

During my placement I have gained some excellent skills and exposure to different areas of the business, working with Analysts to Senior Managers.

I have become a 'go to' person for project managers and other project team members to ask questions and give support throughout the project delivery lifecycle.

I was given excellent support from my manager at the beginning of my placement, and she was very focused on my personal development which was great. Towards the end of my placement there was a restructure and my manager changed, and I felt less support was given, although I felt more confident in the workplace in a way that I required less guidence in my work.

I learnt that I had to prioritise my work, so even when I was extremely busy, I knew what was needed first and could focus my attention on the more important tasks.

During my placement I took on more and more responsibility, and by 6 months I took ownership of the tollgate process and other processes within the PMO, giving me full responsibility of them.

At GE I was offered some excellent training courses, including Facilitation and Workout Skills, Presentation Skills and Influencing Skills (offered to all interns at GE Money Home Lending). I was also put on other courses, more inline to my career path, such as ESI Project Management Fundamentals and CAP Coaches. My transferable skills improved greatly and I feel completely ready to progress my career from here.

It was a fun office to work in in general, although towards the end of my placement when the restructure happened the general moral of staff went down.

All interns were offered great support from HR Reps and we organised monthly meetings to discuss our roles within the business. Interns are also given a 6 month and 12 month review, allowing us to identify our chances for improvement to achieve the best experience we could.

My manager was focused a lot on my personal development which was great, allowing me to utilise every possible opportunity. Training wise, I was sent on multiple training courses to help my transferable skills develop, as well as my career focused understanding of the job.

Although I would like to come back here, I would also like to work in other locations accross the UK, but it will definitely be an option for when I start applying for graduate roles.

We tried to set up social events with all interns, but many did not attend. As I lived with 3 of the other interns, the social aspect was good, and I had a good relationship with many of the interns.

London is not the cheapest place to live in the world, but it is fun and a great experience. I believe the wage here has gone up now, so it would become more affordable for many.

Watford and London both have a wide selection of bars and clubs.

There were not many social activities, but many opportunities to get involved in charity events and the christmas party and summer fun day, all funded by the business, were great.