Connected Customer Analyst Review

My placement has helped me understand both what i paths I may want to take going forward as well as what options i do not want to pursue - this is surprisingly different to what I imagined before starting my placement!

I felt like any other member of the team, with many people I worked with during my placement not even knowing that i was on a placement year.

My manager and team was very supportive. I was also provided with a mentor who was exceptionally helpful during my placement and helping we prepare for my final year of university, helping me decide of module options and find a final year project.

Because i spent my year working on many projects my work load was very sporadic. At times I was pushed to the limits with my work load, and at others i had very little on, spending my time preparing as well as completing training courses offered by GM - This suited me well, however may not be everyone working style

I was very quickly given responsibility being treated as a full member of the team from the offset building up to running my own projects by the end of the placement.

I completed many training courses with GM which will be useful going forward. However the biggest skills i will take away from my year is a greater work ethic and an much better understanding of what i want to do in the future.

The part of the office i was working in was quite the majority of the time - However this is not as bad as it sounds as it allowed you to get on with work while you were in the office which meant having to work extra time was kept to the minimum.

My placement was organised well. We where helped in getting housing and finding people to share with - there are around 80 other undergraduates in the same location so that part was easy. Activities were arranged to help you get to know other placement students for the first two weeks.

I received training related to my work as well as being able to select course to complete in my less busy periods via a online training medium.

Vauxhall offer many jobs to previous undergraduates, however there are many more yearly undergraduates then jobs available. As such this depends on your leadership approval and availability of jobs when you are leaving university.

Being so many other placement students there was plenty of opportunities to get involved with. After the initial couple of weeks of organised activities you will be left to your own devices, so make sure you get involved early as this will help you find people to live with as well as getting involved with the social scene whilst you are on placement.

Living in Luton is very cheap, this also goes for activities and nights out. However sometimes things are cheep for a reason...

Very cheap and got fun a the start. However during your placement you will probably want to start going further afield to get a more variety in nights out. This is easy however with travel connections with London, Watford and St Albans on your doorstep.

There are sports clubs to get involved with at Vauxhall, but be prepared to be proactive to get involved early.