Client Services Assistant Review

I was given a wide range of jobs whilst on my year at ProspectSoft. Some included booking meetings for my colleagues, others involved creating quotes and leading sales strategies for different customers.I was also given the opportunity to work really closely with the major projects team, including the chance to run a couple of my own projects. My job's therefore varied greatly, no two days were the same. The one thing that was constant throughout my year was the high level of contact I had directly with customers which is something which has given me an invaluable insight into business.

The account management team is a very close team, I worked particularly closely with 2 account managers helping them to ensure their customer base was happy and benefiting as much from the solution as possible. I never at any point felt they were trying to fob me off with jobs simply because I was a placement student,I was treated like any new employee of the company regardless of grade. This idea of equality and respect also extends to the management of the company, who listened and respected your opinion. For example there were a couple of occasions where I thought the business processes in place could have been made smoother, and I felt completely comfortable with approaching the director and expressing my thoughts on how it could be improve, which he was then able to action.

ProspectSoft has a long tradition of taking on Placement students, and this means that the majority of the full time employees at the company have come through this process and been hired back. To me this meant two things, firstly everyone knows what you are going through as a placement student how nervous you are, for a lot of people it's their first time office job but also everyone understands there is a lot to learn and you will need to help and support to be able to do your job. Secondly, because the placement scheme is so intertwined with ProspectSofts history and it's growth, they know how to support you and guide you through the year to unlock your potential. The months training at the start, whilst a little tedious by the end, was invaluable and I would have really struggled with my job if they hadn't invested the time in the early stages.

I was really busy. But it taught me the art of time management, learning to say no and spinning a number of different plates at once . And whilst I was busy, I very very rarely worked any additional overtime, apart from when it was absolutely necessary. The one thing I would say is that you are as busy as you would like to be, if you demonstrate that you are keen and also capable of taking on more responsibility they will give you the opportunity to take on more, if however you sit back you will miss the chance.

I was given massive amounts of responsibility. I was responsible for helping the account managers hit sales targets, as well as making some deals myself. Likewise by the end of the year I was given the responsibility to lead my own projects.

It has given me a raw insight into the way in which businesses works on a day to day basis. The soft skills I have learnt such as time management and communication have been brilliant. And whilst I have learnt an incredible amount about businesses and the differing ways in which they are run it's hard to comment on how it has affected my studies as I am yet to return to University.

It was great fun. I worked with a great team of people, all who were young and fun. There were definitely days when I would come home wondering if I had spent my whole day laughing or working.

It was really well organised, the training at the start was invaluable. The rest of the year was much more flexible to accommodate the individuals own career desires and skills. This meant I was able to focus more heavily on areas that I would like to pursue after University.

They invested in me as an individual, not necessarily in the forms of qualifications and pieces of paper but in developing my soft skills.

If they like you they will try and find you a job that fits your skills and long term careers aims to help you achieve them.

There was a number of socials throughout the year and the first months training was greating for mixing with others. However, because the office is not in a central location we all lived in a wide area so team nights out did not happen that much.

I lived with my friends from Uni which was close enough for me to commute hence the cost was not to excessive.

Stokenchurch is a small village, the pub is good though.

There wasn't really any activities out of work.