Fleet Sales Review

Overall this year has been an enjoyable as well as valuable experience, and I feel that I have developed a variety of professional and personal skills, that will be useful both back at university and in future job roles. I was made to feel welcome from the start, and the two week handover period helped me get used to the role.

The office in general has a friendly atmosphere and my colleagues were always happy to help me if I needed it or wanted any advice. I definitely felt like part of the team whilst working at Vauxhall.

My manager was almost always available for support or advice when I needed it, and I could easy sit down with them to discuss any problems I had. You are also assigned a mentor at the beginning of the placement, who you could go to for impartial advice or guidance if you need to.

I had several reports to do on a daily basis, as well as requests from colleagues and people outside the business, therefore there was always something that needed doing. Occasionally if there was not much work to be done I offered the assist my colleagues with their projects, worked on improving my existing reports or could ask my manager for additional work.

My manager sat down most weeks with me to go over my main report and explain the implications for the business. In team meetings I could clearly see how my work was used to analyse business situations and provide guidance for problems and future planning. I wasn't given any specific projects of my own though.

I feel like the skills I’ve developed over this year will definitely be useful beyond my placement. In particular I found the 'Who am I' presentations given to managers three times over the course of the year, really helped me build confidence and get used to speaking in front of others.

The general atmosphere in the office is relaxed and friendly. Everyone is happy to chat and help you if needed. A great part of the placement is that it has such a large intake of undergraduates, which was especially nice at the beginning, because there are a lot of people to discuss your experiences with and it also meant there was plenty of things organised outside work.

I felt my placement was well organised and I was able to settle into my role easily. The first two weeks of handover involved the previous person in my role teaching me the basics of the job, as well as several presentations with different departments so I could get an overall view of the business. You live in student halls in those two weeks so everyone can find houses and get to know each other, and there are plenty of social events organised.

During the first few months I was given Excel training to help assist with my role, as well as safe driver training. I was also given job specific guidance for some of the software I use for my role, by either someone inside the company or the software company setting up training at Vauxhall.

Vauxhall do not have an graduate placement scheme so people can be hired back if there is a job role avaliable.

There are over 80 people on the Vauxhall undergraduate scheme, so there are plenty of nights out organised between everyone. There was also the department Christmas party, as well as a few other events over the year. The two week handover at the beginning and end of placement also includes several social events.

I lived at home for my placement year so didn't have many living costs, but the cost of nights out and socialising in Luton is pretty inexpensive.

Luton has a few places to go, but the surrounding areas are much better; St Albans, Watford, Milton Keynes, and Luton is pretty close to London on the train.

There are plenty of sports activities organised within Vauxhall, as well as opportunities to get involved in events for charity. They also organised several quiz nights over the year.