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 really enjoyed my internship. GE provide you with plenty of opportunities within the role and outside of the role. I was always challenged but given help if needed. GE also organised a lot of fun events to help us network outside of work, such as team BBQ's, 'fun time friday' etc which added to the fun of working at GE. I really enjoyed the work I was doing as it was related to my degree and I could see how the knowledge learnt in University applied to real life situations but I also enjoyed the environment I was working in.
I felt really valued by colleagues. I was treated as a valued member of the team and my colleagues always appreciated my work. I was also supported well and help was always available if I needed it. The people in my team became my friends as well as my colleagues.
I feel I was always given support and guidance by my supervisor. If I had a problem with any of my work she was always willing to help and set up regular meetings with me to ensure I was happy with my placement. My other colleagues were also always willing to help me, specifically the members of the team who had been in my position previously.
On a daily basis I was busy. I had a list of daily duties which I had to complete which kept me occupied. If I ever had spare time I looked for extra tasks to take on to ensure I gained as much knowledge as possible from the placement. At month end I was a lot busier than usual but being busy helped me to manage my time better and I think it helped me to improve many of my skills.
I believe I was given a lot of responsibility during my placement. I was treated as a member of the team and people relied on me. The work I had to do was needed by other members of the team so I was responsible for making sure my work was accurate so that it didn't effect anyone else. I was also responsible for going to meetings and feeding the information back to the rest of the team.
I think a lot of the skills and training I received will help me in later life. The training will help me in my degree studies as I have a much better understanding of things such as direct/indirect labour hours, account recs etc. I also learnt a lot of skills that will help me in life. These are skills which may not apply directly to my studies such as communication skills, time management, excel skills, how to be professional and a lot more.
The Company
The general atmosphere in the office was always very relaxed and friendly. I always felt comfortable in the office. The office was quiet enough to work but if you wanted to have a chat you were able to. On a Friday we have an half hour of 'fun time' where we play a game to build on our team work and help everyone relax ready for the weekend.
I think my internship was set up very well. On my first day everything was set up for me such as my log in details and my access so I could get stuck in straight away.
I think I received a fair amount of training in order to develop my skills. If I was struggling with a particular topic there were always calls I could join to help me understand better.
Flexi Time
Subsidised Canteen
Subsidised/Company Gym
Company Parties/Events
Healthcare/Dental
As GE is such a massive company I think there are lots of employment prospects for me. I look forward to seeing the possible opportunities available to me.
The Culture
There was a very good social scene among other interns. We had a Facebook group set up and there was always some sort of social event taking place such as nights out, white water rafting etc.
The cost of living in the area I worked in seemed normal to me as it was where I grew up. To the other interns I think it seemed about average, for those coming from London it was a lot cheaper but from those coming from other parts of Wales Cardiff may have seemed more expensive. There are a lot of different places that you can live if you work at GE which all vary in price.
I think the nightlife in the area I worked was brilliant, Cardiff has plenty of clubs, pubs and bars to go.
There were a lot of activites that took place outside of work. We had regular outings for lunch, we had night outs and random team days out.
Details
Placement (10 Months+)
Accounting, Banking, Financial Management
Wales
November 2014