Placement Year Review at Enterprise Rent-A-Car

The Role

Role Description

Serving customers
Writing tickets
Selling
Providing customer service
Marketing (delivering doughnuts)
Vehicle maintenance
Cleaning cars
Driving cars

1. To what extent did you enjoy your work placement or internship?

★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

Rated 3/10

There were a lot of aspects to the placement that were enjoyable, such as driving good cars and making contacts, but the hours were long and there was no structure to how the work was laid out, so you never knew what time you'd be finishing. I left the year-long placement after 6 months.

2. To what extent did you feel valued by your colleagues?

★★★★★★★☆☆☆

Rated 7/10

I got on really well with most of the people I worked with, but not the management.

3. To what extent were you given support and guidance by management/your supervisor(s)?

★★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

Rated 2/10

When I agreed to take on tasks 'above' me, I was given no support by my manager, who decided to spend the day out of the office, leaving me to struggle most of the day. The management in this company is not structured or built around looking after its employees.

4. How busy were you on a daily basis?

★★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

Rated 2/10

There was always too much on, and there was never a day where everything 'got done'. On busy days when there were lots of customers I would have to stay an extra hour, just to get extra jobs done.

5. How much responsibility were you given during your placement?

★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆

Rated 5/10

Mixed emotions. Sometimes I was given too much to do and was responsible for too much - other times I felt I had to take the bull by the horns and offer to take on additional responsibility, which was never appreciated.

6. To what extent did/will the skills you developed, and training you received, assist you in your degree studies and beyond?

★★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆

Rated 4/10

I have not built any particular skills for life, but I felt I have gained experience in sales and customer service.

The Organisation

7. What was the general atmosphere in your office?

★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆

Rated 5/10

Dependent on the sort of day it was - if it was a busy day everyone would be stressed and it would not be a good place to work - but on a quiet day we were able to get jobs done on time and it would be a better atmosphere.

8. How well organised was the overall work placement or internship set up?

★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆

Rated 5/10

By admin - fantastic. Lots of training days at head office. However, my branch manager did not give me the time to complete my training folder and had a terrible attitude towards the idea of me being a placement student.

9. In terms of personal training and development, to what extent did the company or firm invest in you?

★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆

Rated 5/10

Again, very well organised by admin. There were training days where interns were taken out for meals etc. But the actual branch I worked in had the approach of the job is more important, then the student.

10. What were the perks on your work placement?

★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

Rated 1/10

• There were no perks with this placement year

11. How appealing are future employment prospects within the organisation?

★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

Rated 1/10

Flexitime would have been a perk, but it was never implemented as we were always too busy! If you complete a placement with them they are likely to take you on again when you graduate, but this is something I will not do.

Other Information

12. Was there a good social scene amongst any fellow placement students/colleagues?

★★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

Rated 2/10

I spoke to other placement students occasionally, but they were all in other branches.

13. What was the cost of living and socialising in the area you worked in?

★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆

Rated 5/10

Derby is where I live, but Enterprise offers placements across the country.

14. What was the Nightlife like in the area you worked?

★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆

Rated 5/10

Derby is where I live, but Enterprise offers placements across the country.

15. Were there many opportunities to get involved in activities outside of work?

★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

Rated 1/10

There were often 'mandatory' company training events outside of work, but these were all after 7pm (when you'd already been working since 7.30) and went on til around 10pm! And you were expected to be at work early again the next day.

In addition to these questions, is there any extra information you would like to leave about your experiences on your work placement that other students may be interested in?

If you are the sort of person that is happy to devote your entire life to a job, then Enterprise is a really good company to work for. To be successful you need to be happy to work 12 hour days every day, racking up 60 hours a week, to not be paid much. You never know what time you'll be finishing or when you'll start the next day, and may have to cancel plans if they request you to! If you're a normal person however, and you spend time around family regularly and have plans outside of work, I wouldn't recommend Enterprise. If you want to devote yourself to it, you'll succeed. If not, it's a waste of time.

Review 129/130 for Enterprise Rent-A-Car

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