Management Trainee Intern Review

When beginning my placement with ERAC, I was thrilled and excited to be part of an international organisation. The 5 day initial training program is impressive - with all aspects of the business being explained. However, once in the office - it is impossible to deliver all the training which was delivered in the training because of the extremely fast pace environment. It is too busy to complete any tasks and most offices are short staffed - therefore it is difficult to turn to help. I enjoyed the first 4 months of my placement but unfortunately the end was just too stressful - resulting in me leaving my placement two months early.

You work with so many different people at Enterprise, which on one hand is great; you get to understand different ways of working, you get to experience working with different levels of managers etc. However, there is a constant fight to the top; with most people it becomes too important to get promoted, that they forget how to value their colleagues and their team. The sales culture in the branch is very competitive, and often people will forget you just to get to the top.

The support from my Talent Acquisitionist was great - he was always on the end of the phone and often gave up his time to meet me and discuss any issues. However, because he hadn't worked in a rental branch for a few years, I believe he was quite out of touch on what the office environment was like and how much it had changed. The managers were averagely ok - but quite often, any problems I reported were not in confidence and often resulted in confrontation.

Too busy! The pressure we received as a branch, to perform and reach targets was significant. The amount of tasks that needed doing would often be forgotten or rushed because there wasn't enough time or people to do them. Every branch is short staffed and the retention is embarrassingly low. The working day started at 7.30am and often ran through until 8.00pm - without lunch breaks.

At the beginning my responsibilities were fairly low - however once I built confidence in my role, I began to build up my responsibilities. Towards the end of my placement, the lack of interest I got from the company reduced my productivity levels. I therefore was less keen to take on new responsibilities. Any responsibilities or tasks taken on, often go unnoticed and no appreciation is shown for a good job.

The only thing I can take away from Enterprise is life skills. I have learnt how to work under pressure, I have learnt to work with difficult and incompetent team members and I have experienced working very very hard. I now know what working life is like and what it is like to be part of a large organisation. One of the most important factors I will take away from my experience is the knowledge that I will do more research into companies I apply for. Should I have known how Enterprise run their company - I would have taken a few steps back and re-evaluated my decision to apply.

Although our manager tried to make it fun and vibrant, the whole team were often so tired to even hold a conversation. The whole Enterprise ethos is 'Customer Service is our way of life' - when a customer walks through the door - everybody has to be enthusiastic and friendly, the minute they leave it turns into a dull and depressing environment.

The training was very well organised - having to attend every three months, however the implementation of training into daily practice was almost impossible.

The development seemed important at the start of my internship, however once you become part of the team and know what you are doing - you very much fade into the background and personal development seem unimportant.

Never!

Everybody was too tired to socialise outside of work! And plus - who has the time when you work over 60+ a week?

This is inapplicable in my situation.

Good area - busy city.

Not unless you were a male and wanted to take part in the odd football game.