Assurance Associate Review

During my work placement, I met a lot of new people, many of who I will keep in touch with. I had the same opportunities as the first year graduates, and the experience gained provided a valuable start to my career.

The atmosphere within the office was competitive, but in good spirit. Social events were organised on a regular basis, and people regularly visited the pub together after work on a Friday. This made you feel a part of the office environment, and everyone added their own touch.

Due to the nature of the job, I was working with different teams every fortnight or so, which meant the quality of support varied. However, there are underlying structures in place such as a people manager and buddy to ensure there was always someone I could turn to.

There is great variations in how busy I was each week. For some periods I would be working on a busy client working 12 hour days, whereas during the summer, there were times when there wasn't much to do.

I was working on real clients from the beginning of my placement year, which meant the work I did really contributed to the firm.

The skills learnt will be invaluable in my final year, as I feel as though I will be well equipped to have a more structured lifestyle and to be more disciplined, ensuring I get work done in plenty of time.

The atmosphere was generally good. During busy season, the office was fairly busy and people had their heads down. However, for the majority of the year people were generally very talkative, and there was the opportunity to always sit with new people within the 'hot desk' system.

The work placement was well organised, as I was essentially on the same pathway as the first year graduates, spending the same time in college and on clients.

The firm paid for all of my ACA exams, and provided ample training opportunities through e-learns and internal training.

At the time of writing, no formal offer has been received. However, it is common-place for the majority of placement students to be offered graduate jobs and return to the business as a second year to complete the ACA.

There were plenty of events arranged throughout the year offering the chance to go bowling, nights out, meals and even dragon boat racing to provided some examples.

When I moved to the area, I didn't know anyone. However, I was able to secure an adequate double room in a house share for a reasonable price (sub £400 p/m).

The nightllife was adequate. There was a wonderworld, a revs and a few bars. There is also a large 24 hour casino which provided some fun!

There were plenty of opportunities as previously mentioned.