Quality Integrator Review

The initial 6 months were a struggle. That was due to the role I had been put into and the mismatch between that and my degree/previous experience. The latter six months were far more enjoyable. The calibre of staff is extremely high and the culture at the company ensures that it is a friendly environment to work in.

The placement students at Lilly are fully integrated into the company in a matter of months and, as long as it's earned, get the the respect and support they deserve.

I was fortuntate enough to get an incredibly hard working, understanding and helpful supervisor who had the patience to grow my skills and character throughout the placement.

Workload was never an issue. I wasn't swamped but there was no shortage.

The first half of the placement it could be argued I did not get enough responsibility. This was in part because there had not been a placement student in my role for a considerable number of years. The second half of the placement allowed me to pick up a good deal of responsibility.

Something I found difficult to grasp at the start was the vast difference between my job role and the degree I was doing. It was only months in that I realised the placement would only last a year and what was important was the skills I was learning would stand me in great stead for the future. In the year I've been working I've grown vastly as a person and have found the whole experience very beneficial. In relationship to my degree it has caused me to switch (just the final year) to a degree that is more business oriented. I see this as a positive.

At times the atmosphere was a little dead, however it's really what you make of it. There's no shortage of great people to talk to.

It has been running for a considerable amount of time and as such is well organised.

There's a big effort in terms of time and money to grow the students (myself included) whilst on the placement. This is done through mentoring, training (both internal and external) and the responsibility given.

Currently they aren't re-hiring many students - however this looks like it could change in the near future. However mostly as contractors.

The IT placement runs alongside the marketing placement and consequently there's a good social scene.

It's not considerably more than I was paying at University in Portsmouth.

Basingstoke isn't known for a good night life. However like most places it's who you're with not where.

Between the events run by students and the social club at the company there was a good variety of events including comedy nights, sky diving, theatre, film etc.