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
The hours are long at Enterprise, however working with great colleagues in a friendly environment helps your day go by a lot faster. It is a fast moving environment where colleagues do get moved around quickly allowing you to build relationships with many other employees within the company. Day to day however can sometimes become repetitive.
I became very close with my colleagues as they are all recent graduates or interns themselves, meaning we had a lot in common. Banter flies round the office which always kept me smiling and I'm glad to say they will be friends for life.
I had two different managers and two different assistant managers during my 12 months with Enterprise which i found to be interesting. The first set were very experienced in their roles which I felt provided very strong support for myself and the rest of the team. When the second set were introduced they bought a lot of new ideas to the table which helped us as a branch but I do feel they lacked the solid support that was needed on a personal level.
Generally each day at Enterprise was busy but not unmanageable. There were the odd few days where there would not be as much to do out on the road which I enjoyed as it allowed you to have mini training sessions and a catch up on office work that may have built up over the week.
I feel the responsibility I was given as an intern was not as well balanced as other management trainees that were not interns. I did feel towards the end of the year that I had to ok the simplest decision with a manager and was only ever commented on when the decision I had made was a bad one. Every employee is given the same responsibility though in terms of low risk areas such as taking care of car keys/ running the branch whilst busy.
I feel the training session I had whilst at Enterprise were fantastic and I have definitely picked up skills that I can continue to use throughout my career. You learn basic skills in finance, marketing, customer service, daily progress monitoring as well as communication skills and problem solving skills.
The Company
I would say 9/10 days at Enterprise were very fun and jokey! All employees I worked with respected and looked after each other as if we were family which allowed us to enjoy each day. On the odd occasion we were very very busy, naturally people become stressed which changes the mood within a branch, but I would never describe my internship as Dull!!
Generally you go into the same role as graduate would which is great as it really gives you an insight into how the company works. Organisation of daily tasks were seamless however I feel more could have been organised to keep track of training and the learning process within the branches.
You receive the same training sessions as a normal graduate does when starting with the company, however as an intern I think I was overlooked for many of the further training session such as Branch corporate account manager mornings, or being given a task within the branch such as monitoring daily sales and expenditure.
Financial Bonus
Company Parties/Events
Healthcare from home
Although I have enjoyed my time at Enterprise I feel this is not the industry I would like to start a career in. There are many prospects within the organisation but none appealed to me personally.
The Culture
All the students that completed an internship the same year as myself were in other branches so other than training and corporate social event we did not really meet up.
As Birmingham is a very large city the cost of living and socialising very much differs depending on what area you live in and where you socialise. As a student you get many things very cheap anyway and can get some great deals if you shop around for them and take advantage of a student card. Rent was not an issue for myself as I moved back in with family.
Something for everyone!! However its very hard to go out during the week as the hours at Enterprise are very long and you usually had to get up the next morning very early.
Enterprise put on a few social events and charity events which you could choose to get involved in and within my branch we organised evening meals and drinks after work on several occasions.
Details
Placement (10 Months+)
West Midlands
June 2011