Graduate Trainee Review

I was placed in a department completely irrelevant to my degree, therefore I did not find it anywhere near as interesting as some people might have. If there is an area you want to work in make sure the company knows it, don't just apply for a department hoping that the area you want to work in is within that department. If you really feel the placement isn't for you, you can always speak to your manager or the HR to be transferred.

all teams are different. Mine did not feel like a family at all - although some of the people here are very nice. Overall I think there is a huge lack of communication between team members. Also, it makes a huge difference when there are women in the team - mine only had myself and another female intern.

It depends greatly on the individual. I have heard from other interns that their situation was a lot better than mine. My supervisor was relatively new in the team an did not feel supportive at all. Thankfully there are always other people to ask for help. Obviously, don't expect to be spoon-fed, but I heard that some other teams are a lot more suppostive, especially at helping you getting trained etc.

The first 5 weeks (I am now on the 6th week) out of 12 weeks were very boring. I wasn't expecting to do much the first 2 or so weeks but by the looks of it I won't have much to do all summer. It depends a lot at what stage you join the team. I simply joined when they were releasing parts so all the design and engineering work was already done. Although the team still seem to be busy, I feel like I could be doing and learning a lot more. The key is to ask everyone, not just your supervisor for things to do. Or if you still feel bored, have a chat with your manager - they are very understanding.

Most of the things I have done so far only involved supportive roles therefore not much responsibility at all. I had to call people a lot of times to ask for information, attended a few meetings etc. However you are never left on your own to work on something, which is good in a way that you can always ask someone for help but you don't get much responsibility.

Although I would never consider a placement in this department again, I still gained a valuable experience. I have improved my determination and communication skills a lot. I am now much better at prioritising my tasks and going out to get what I need/want. I don't think the experience will benefit my degree, as I have not learnt anything engineering-related at all (as I hoped I would), nonetheless this is a stepping stone to get me the job that I want.

Overall the atmosphere in the company is really good. As far as my team goes it was a bit dull sometimes. Most people just seem to be always to themselves, some even sit with their headphones in. However don't be put off - I heard some teams even organise social activities together so that can be fun.

It was well organised in terms of the assessment centre and applying for the position, however the company doesn't seem to be very good at dealing with so many interns. I found that only a handful of supervisors/managers actually knew exactly what they want the intern to do/to achieve. Mine, on the other hand, was completely clueless what to do with me. Therefore it is always important that you tell them what kind of things you want to do/learn.

There are a lot of free training course available to book on Catalyst. However make sure to book as early as you can since there are limited places. However, I personally expected that the team will put some effort to help me train to use the software they use or to get up to speed with what is going on. However unless I kept on asking a lot of questions and help, no one seemed interested at all.

I have already arranged a placement with my preferred team/department for next summer and really look forward to starting it. Although I haven't enjoyed the current placement, I do like the company overall and I am sure there are a lot of areas I would find very interesting. Overall it is very easy to work here. If you only applied for one summer placement there is an opportunity to come back next summer as well. If you've done a placement with them it is also as easy as giving a presentation to get onto the graduate scheme. There are a lot of possibilities and areas to work in therefore do not hesitate to ask for more information.

All undergraduates were invited to join a facebook group where we could easily arrange accommodation. From there on, most of us lived in Liberty Park in Coventry so the atmosphere was really nice. It also made the first few weeks a lot better living with other interns. Overall, very satisfied.

Socialising in Coventry is average on my opinion. Some of the pubs around are actually quite cheap. There are also plenty of shops nearby. At work, food is averaged priced and there is a vide range of dishes. There are plenty of places to get coffee and there is a shop on Gaydon site ( not sure about other sites). Since I work at Gaydon, it is about 35 mins car journey one way to work every day. With 5 of us sharing a car it is about £10 a week at most. The company also has shuttle busses between sites that you can use.

This depends on the personal likes and dislikes. There is a wide range of places to go out to in Coventry and you can always head for a night out in Birmingham or Leamington Spa. A lot of interns go out together so you won't be left on your own.

I have heard there are some, however we were not informed of any of them. I am sure there are some charity activites to get involved in with the company but you need to ask about them. Activities outside the company: there are plenty of things to do in coventry. There are a few cinemas, gyms, an ice rink, a lot of shops. The train to Birmingham also costs just a few pounds - a good day/night out.