Industrial Placement Student Review
by Atkins
This review was submitted over 4 years ago, so some of the information it contains may no longer be relevant.
Rating
-
The Role
4.2
-
The Company
3.4
-
The Culture
2.8
- 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
My placement challenged me (in a good way) and helped me to develop myself, whilst maintaining a friendly and supportive atmosphere. It was a pleasure to come into work every day.
I worked closely with several team members and members of the business who were all helpful and genuinely interested in my success and the success of Atkins. Everyone was also very friendly.
My line managers helped to focus my developmental goals through reviews and informal discussions and when one accompanied me for a formal presentation at my university he gave me constructive feedback.
Some days were very busy and kept me active throughout the day. Other days I needed to wait for colleagues to complete work for me to continue. Initially work was slow to arrive for me, but work was eventually allocated to me adequetely.
Halfway through my placement I was put in charge of a team of external testing consultants on a vital testing project that impacted real, business critical systems. This project is currently still continuing and has yielded useful information that the business has utilised.
More than anything the experience of working has given me a certain discipline when it comes to my own development and career goals. The technical skills I picked up whilst working will also be important in my degree and beyond.
The Company
Colleagues often shared jokes or had informal chats occasionally during the work day. We also had several days where we would go out for a meal as a team and this kept the atmosphere professional, but also informal and friendly.
It seems as though I might have been the first placement student in our department, but my line manager did his best to accomodate me and after some time my placement had become quite organised.
My line manager pointed out areas of development that would be useful to me and offered me resources, such as books and an online learning platform, to develop myself. My development was left up to me to carry out though.
Company Parties/Events
Above 25 days holiday
Working from home
Atkins seem happy to consider me for a graduate role, which I will be applying for after I finish my degree.
The Culture
N/A - I was the only placement student in my department
Most of my placement I spent living in my university accomodation with my university flat mates. I could socialise without costs and my living costs remained the same as usual.
Again, as I spent most of my placement in my university accomodation in central London there was no shortage of night time events that I could enjoy.
Several charity events were offered and some social events were also mentioned on the company's classifieds/community pages.
Details
Placement (10 Months+)
London
August 2013
