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 was given a variety of tasks to complete - from the inevitable photocopying and scanning to legal research, looking at dispositions, filing, looking at contracts to building up maps. I was never bored and always had plenty to do.
I always was made to feel like I was making a valuable contribution to the team.
My supervisor was extremely busy, but he made the effort to have a sit down chat with me to discuss what I was doing, how I was doing and what I wanted to do for the remainder of the placement. He was very approachable.
Never had nothing to do - always kept busy, but not overwhelmed.
Was given the responsibility to look at legal documents and to get information without my supervisor or buddy checking up on me. Was never let out of my comfort zone, and if I needed help or clarification all I needed to do was ask.
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The Company
Was serious when it needed to be, otherwise everyone was up for a good conversation.
Very structured - had lots to do. It sometimes felt like they were trying to jam too much into the fortnight - they should maybe look at extending their placement duration, or reducing the amount of training.
We got presentations on all of the practice areas, as well as from IT and Information Services. There was maybe a little too much training in too short a period of time. Also, I was at a smaller location where training was done via video link with another office - we did not get the slides for this, and so it was difficult to follow these presentations. The IT presentation lasted for two hours and was rather intense - too much information too quickly, would have been better to have been split into small groups for a more interactive session, instead of everything done over a powerpoint, which was difficult to follow.
Company Parties/Events
Around 70% of placement students get a job offer from Pinsents on completion of the placement. I don't think I will be one of them as I messed up the formal assessments.
The Culture
We went on a cocktail mixing class, bowling and frequent lunches local restuarants.
The firm paid for most of the social activities!
Pretty much the same as any other city.
Lots to do.
Details
Insight / Vacation Scheme (< 4 Weeks)
Scotland
July 2012