Logistics Analyst Review

PLEASE NOTE: This review was for a placement at General Motors prior to the amalgamation of Vauxhall and General Motors (The RateMyPlacement Team) A challenging, yet extremely beneficial placement.

Generally, everyone was very supportive and helpful.

I was left to use my initiative and complete tasks on my own on many occasions throughout my placement. Although this proved difficult, I feel as though this helped my development quite considerably.

Apart from one or two occasions, I found myself always having something to do but without feeling pressured or overworked.

One of the things that impressed me most about my placement was the responsibility and freedom I was given to perform my role. I was given sole responsibility for many projects and also given the freedom to undertake these with the minimal of supervision and guidance. I feel as though this has greatly enhanced my confidence and skills that I can now use in both my final year of study and future employment.

I am confident that the skills I developed and training I received will be of great benefit to my degree studies and beyond. I enhanced my existing skills, and also developed new skills such as people management and negotiation skills. I also received extensive training on many computer programs such as Word and Excel, teaching me things that I never knew existed! I also think that working for a multinational organisation has helped me to understand the culture of large organisations and how one should present themselves within a proffesional environment.

The atmosphere in the workplace was very active and friendly. Working in such a hands-on department such as Logistics and Operations meant that people were always running around and answering calls etc. Although most people were always up for a laugh and a joke, there was always a professional undertone to the department that ensured everyone understood their priorities within the workplace. I found this a very comfortable environment to work in throughout my placement.

From my experience, I feel that the placement scheme was very well set up and organised. I found the application process straightforward and easy to follow and I also received regular email updates from the HR team regarding assessment centres and interviews etc. Throughout my placement, HR regularly kept in touch to see how we were doing and always reminded me that their door was open should I be having any problems. I was also allocated a mentor that I met on a monthly basis. I found this to be a great benefit as sometimes it is difficult to find someone to talk to about problems you may be encountering at work. My mentor would always keep things private unless I asked him otherwise. From a manager/supervisor perspective, they had already outlined my work for the year and ensured it was clear who I reported to in the department and who I should see for any particular questions or issues. To conclude, I found the overall set up very well managed throughout my time at General Motors.

While I was on placement, I received training on both Excel and Word, but other training programmes I was to undertake were cancelled due to the economic climate and the position of the company at the time. This resulted in me doing very little training throughout the year, but I was informed that training would be reinstated at the earliest opportunity. I guess I was a little unlucky!

I spoke in depth with my mangers, HR and also current graduates about the GM grad scheme. I found the scheme to be very attractive from both a career point of view and also financially. They aim to have you working as a manager within 5 years so there are great opportunities for promotion and to accelerate your career. You can also work in several departments over a period of time to both fully understand the organisation and gain a better understanding of your strengths and weaknesses. I will be looking to apply for the graduate scheme at the earliest opportunity!!

Throughout the UK, GM employs nearly 100 undergraduates! Around 60 of these were based in the same town as me so there was always trips being arranged and nights out being planned. I also lived with 3 other undergraduates which made the move from university alot easier and alot more fun! From all the undergraduates I have spoken to who worked for other companies, GM has the best undergraduate social scene by far!

The cost of living was average. I didn't see any difference in pricing from other places that I have lived and worked.

The nightlife were I lived, Luton, was rather poor. However, with plenty of undergraduates around there were always parties and nights to St. Albans, Milton Keynes and Watford being planned which are all around 30-45 mins away!

I often played football at least twice a week with the undergraduates and work colleagues. There was also a recreation centre only around the corner which had plenty of sports and activities on offer that people could participate in.