PMO (Portfolio Management Office) Undergraduate Review
by Volkswagen Financial Services
This review was submitted over 4 years ago, so some of the information it contains may no longer be relevant.
Rating
-
The Role
4.2
-
The Company
3.7
-
The Culture
3.8
- 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 would say I enjoyed it most of the time. My team was very helpful and friendly and I learned a lot during the past year.
I have always felt that my work has been valued by my team and my manager when it was to standard.
I have not always been given as much guidance as I would have liked to, but this was due to the changes the department was going through. This made me work a bit more to my self-initiative.
At the start of my placement, the pace was quite low. It got really busy by June time.
I felt that my levels of responsibility increased throughout my placement. By the end of my placement, I was training new members of the team and was involved in all of the team's main activities.
I believe that I have developed my communication and team-work skills quite a lot throughout the placement. It will assist me mostly in future graduate positions as I could potentially be one step ahead of other grads.
The Company
We used to have fun moments on a daily basis, however it was still a working environment. I would say it was definitely a good balance.
The overall placement was quite well organised. It was really good meeting everyone prior to starting the job. Also, HR has organised a day out to meet other interns but also to figure out accommodation. Really helpful!
I received plenty of training opportunities. The most important were my Prince2 Practitioner qualification and an Advanced Microsoft Excel course. I would say they both helped me in performing better and understand more in-depth what the department does (reference to the Prince 2 Training).
Flexi Time
Subsidised Canteen
Sports and Social Club
Company Car
Subsidised/Company Gym
National Travel
International Travel
Financial Bonus
Company Parties/Events
Staff Sales/Staff Shop
Above 25 days holiday
Working from home
Healthcare from home
Healthcare/Dental
Travel loan
Future career prospect with VWFS do look appealing, mostly because it is a growing organisation.
The Culture
Yes, we used to have dinners and nights out from time to time.
Cost of living was quite high, as Milton Keynes is fairly close to London.
Not very much choice, I'm afraid. Just 3 or 4 clubs in the are and a few pubs in the main city centre.
Yes, there were quite a few volunteering and sports activities that you could get involved in.
Details
Placement (10 Months+)
Business Operations, Business Management, Financial Management, Information Technology
London
August 2015
