Vacation Placement Student Review

I very much enjoyed my placement. Obviously the assessment areas of the placement were challenging but the overall experience of working as a 'trainee' would was very useful.

I felt as though I was a valued member of the team. A number of my colleagues were out of the office quite a lot and so I was unable to interact with everyone as much as I would have liked, but of those that I did see, they certainly made me feel welcome and valued.

My supervisor was brilliant in providing me with support and guidance. We were able to sit down and set out some objectives for my time in the department and consequently I was set a relevant variety of work in order to achieve those objectives. I felt comfortable in asking for help if I needed it and had regular catch-up/feedback meetings with my supervisor. I also had a trainee buddy who was equally as helpful. They introduced me to the team, organised where I would be sitting and regularly checked how I was getting on.

I was kept busy during my placement, more so during the first week of the placement but never to the extent where I felt overwhelmed. I was set reasonable deadlines although part of the assessment was to see how I coped with a large workload, so organising my time was a priority. The majority of my work came from my supervisor and I would have perhaps enjoyed carrying out some work for other members of the team, but there were unavoidable difficulties as the majority of the team were out of the office for a large amount of my placement.

I felt as though I was given important and relevant tasks to carry out - there was no filing or photocopying which was a bonus! Being able to produce the first draft of advice notes, letters, agreements and flyers that would be sent to clients was very rewarding. The level of responsibility was much better than I expected.

As I had already spent 12 months working for the firm during my gap year I had picked up a number of skills relevant to working in an office/fitting in with a team. This time round my objectives were focused on skills relevant to becoming a trainee. I felt as though I really developed my research skills, drafting skills and also my ability to pick up on relevant information when reading a document for example. These skills will definitely help me during my conversion course next year as well as when I hopefully return as a trainee solicitor.

The general atmosphere in the office was very friendly and sociable. it was also very professional and people were conscious to help those that were busy

Very well organised. I received an itinerary and information relevant to my placement before I started. As we had to travel to London on the first day of our placement we were advised about where to go/claiming travel expenses etc. I also received an introductory email from my trainee buddy letting me know which department I would be in and a bit about what they do.

They invested quite a lot in us in terms of trying to show us a variety of work and as much of the firm as possible. We were able to get a real picture of what life as a trainee would be liked as well as develop our skills.

I feel as though my chances are about 50:50 as the standard of other students was very high and the competition is huge.

There was a very good social scene. Our social coordinator organised some great events for the vac scheme students and trainees got involved as well.

The cost of living and socialising is probably just above average. Fortunately any social event was paid for by the company but as a trainee, the salary would allow for living and socialising costs.

There is lots of nightlife in the area immediately round the office - loads of bars and pubs as well as in the other areas of Birmingham as well.

Lots of opportunities to get involved in sporting activites as well as the firm's corporate social responsibility scheme. I was able to get involved in an event called Chance to shine that worked with local schools and held regular cricket training sessions and fun games days.