This review was submitted over 4 years ago, so some of the information it contains may no longer be relevant.
Rating
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The Role
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The Company
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The Culture
- 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 enjoyed the variety within the job role which made every day different, with different challenges to master. Working in rental can be demanding at times, due to the fast paced nature of the business, and the hours are long. However, the people that work for the company are brilliant and definitely made the long days bearable.
At Enterprise, you are valued as an employee and you are rewarded for your hard work. There are regular 3 month reviews to monitor progress and offer advice on areas that you are struggling on. Something the company does is offer ‘mentor vouchers’ to new employees. This is simply an opportunity to meet higher management within the company for lunch and discuss areas of the business you are interested in, something that is great if you are on a placement.
I could not fault the amount of support I was given on my placement; both my manager and area manager were always there to help me if I needed it, even with work from university. The three month reviews and mentor vouchers added to this support, I knew what was expected of me at all times and they gave me guidance on how to get there.
Within rental I was very busy on a day-to-day basis; however I was placed within one of the busier branches within the west midlands, this would vary depending on branch. This did make the days go faster, however it did mean I was unable to concentrate on the management trainee folder that is given to you when you start with the company.
I was given large amounts of responsibility within the company. Employees are assigned accounts to monitor and look after, including chasing payments from them, as well as the responsibility to eventually co-manage the branches fleet and tasks that need to be done
The placement did not necessarily help me in my studies as there was very little theory within the job role. It did however help me with my core competencies and general management skills that will help me in the future. The placement has provided me with numerous examples to talk about in future interviews.
The Company
The people that I worked with definitely made the job more exciting and a lot more fun, I have made some brilliant friends over the year. The atmosphere in the branch I worked in was electric, we all worked hard and still had fun together, something the Enterprise is notorious for.
When working for the company you are given a management trainee folder, this is basically a guide of what you should be doing and a rough guideline of when it should be done for. The only thing that made this difficult was I worked in a very busy branch and so was not always given the opportunity to go through my folder with my manager and tackle areas I was doing well at.
Whilst on placement, you are given the same training that people on the graduate scheme are given, so Enterprise do invest a lot in placement employees. The intention of the company is to hire you as a graduate, so if you do well within your placement year the offer is open to you.
Flexi Time
Company Parties/Events
The opportunities within the company are vast if you work hard, however the nature of work may not be to everyone’s tastes.
The Culture
I did not necessarily meet all of the placement students that worked for the company whilst I did, due to the vast amount of placement students they hire. There was however a great social scene between all employees, with company parties both at Christmas and in the summer. Additionally there were always nights out planned between staff that all were invited to.
I lived at home during my placement so this didn’t really affect me.
Again I lived at home so it was what I was used to. The nightlife in Birmingham though is brilliant.
There were opportunities to help at graduate fairs and Universities.
Details
Placement (10 Months+)
June 2011