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
Working for such a huge company, you are never left short of opportunities to learn new things and work with new people. I thoroughly enjoyed my IT placement at GE Healthcare because it gave me access to the industries finest and more recent technologies allowing me to use the knowledge I built in university and build upon it.
The support and guidance provided from the very first day makes you feel like a team member, not an intern. You constantly get given work that makes a difference to the company and if it’s not enough, use you professional network within the company to get more! You will get a vast array of alumni’s, graduates and managers who will support you through any difficulties or troubles.
Your manager and coordinator will be by your side form the first time you walk through the door. You have multiple mediums on which you can’t contact anyone for support. You manager will also guide you through your projects and keep pushing you into areas where you can learn the most, as long as you’re willing to do so.
There hasn’t been a day in my year’s placement where I thought “what should I do now” because your manager will always have something lined up for you to do. If you still feel it isn’t enough then reach out to others and see where you can get involved, people in GE are always welcoming to extra hands and new ideas. On the other hand, managing your time and workload won’t be done by anybody else but you so make sure find the right balance that works for you.
You will have this placement platform to grow so if you want to scrape by and just to the bare minimum then that’s at your discretion. If you want to grow and becoming an even better team player then this will be the perfect company to do so. If you keep delivering on these expectations and responsibilities, you will find rewards and kudos to follow as hard work is never overlooked.
I loved this because I already had the technical knowledge I needed to understand everything they were talking about during placement. You still have opportunities to get involved in with anything you want so if you want it to relate heavily to your degree then you can do so. If not, you have the ability to learn about new areas in IT and grow your knowledge base even more – this is the option I chose and I never looked back!
The Company
A very positive, lively but professional environment. I worked in an open-plan office so instead of having to booking meetings or call someone, you can easily walk over to their desk, provided they aren’t busy, and have a conversation or discuss some quick topics.
Very well thought out and planned. I had all the knowledge I needed transferred over to me when I started and from then on, you’re comfortable enough to proceed on your own two feet. They would also contact you on a 1 to 1 basis before the internship started to make sure everything was going alright and that you had all your questions answered.
The company was willing to invest a reasonable amount in my training. I didn’t choose to but if I had, I could have done additional, industry recognised courses within GE using their own training platform.
Flexi Time
Subsidised Canteen
Sports and Social Club
National Travel
Very appealing, they have a graduate scheme which is well recognised in the industry called the ITLP program. It’s a leadership program consisting of 4 rotations in 4 different roles. Working through the learn, I’ve learnt more about it and am very keen in getting on-board.
The Culture
Yes, we had regular social events that we did for charity or outside of work with the other interns in the IT group or within the campus I was in. we also had access to a instant messaging platform which could be used at anytime from anywhere.
The cost of living in the area was the same as that in any place on the outskirts of London. The shops and local produce were priced according to the area so local shops would be cheaper but you still had the supermarket and shopping chains which were the usual prices you’d find everywhere.
There's a huge variety of what to do and where to go in London.
We regularly did charity events with local organisations and other charities in the area. The managers and coordinators were favorable to these types of activities because it helps the team bond and gives something back to the community. There was also a football and cricket club set up by those on the same campus for anybody who wanted to get involved.
Details
Placement (10 Months+)
Computer Science
London
June 2015