Vacation Scheme Student Review
by CMS
This review was submitted over 4 years ago, so some of the information it contains may no longer be relevant.
Rating
-
The Role
4.3
-
The Company
4.5
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The Culture
4.1
- 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 absolutely loved the placement, particularly as I was made to feel so welcome by members of staff.
Most colleagues were extremely welcoming and despite being very busy, took the time to explain things to me, answer any questions I had and provide me with genuinely interesting and "real" work. The Environment Team in particular, treated me like a real trainee, whcih was great.
One senior associate, who was not in charge of supervising me, took a genuine interest in me and advised me on career prospects and interview technique, as well as filling me in on what it is really like to work for the firm compared to other city firms they had worked for. Lovely to get the opportunity to speak to someone so candid and experienced!
A good balance between having to manage conflicting deadlines and having time to get the most out of the placement.
The Company
Generally there was a good atmosphere in the office, and people mainly had a bit of a laugh/chat if they bumped into you at the kettle!
A great balance between structure and allowing for finding out what a normal day at the office is like. There was at least one talk/presentation for the vac schemers a day, which meant that you got time to catch up with other people on the vac scheme and compare notes!
The vacation scheme was obviously focused on showing you what life at Cameron McKenna is like, but there were also talks on topics such as presentation skills and workshops on negotiation skills, so the benefits of the scheme definitely outlived the scheme itself.
Subsidised Canteen
Company Parties/Events
The vac scheme ended with a half day assessment centre for a training contract. This wasn't compulsary but nobody on the scheme opted out of this. Happily I got a call from the firm a couple of days after the assessment to offer me a training contract!
The Culture
Definitely! We all had our own email addresses which meant that it was really easy to organise for the vac scheme students to eat lunch together. At the end of each week we all went out for drinks together and I have stayed in contact with some of the people I met on the placement.
Pretty standard for the City of London. The trainees were happy to point us in the direction of a nice but not-too-expensive pub they frequented.
Barbican isn't a great area for nightlife, but transport to good places nearby is always fast.
The firm held welcome drinks for vac schemers on the first night and there was a meal out during the first week as well. We also went on a walking tour of the City. I would say that for the amount of time we spent at the firm, the number of opportunities to get involved with things outside work was as much as was practicable.
Details
Internship (1 Month+)
Legal/Law
London
April 2011
