Placement Year Review at SC Johnson

The Role

Role Description

Make and maintain access cards for employees, liaise with agencies to fill current vacancies, organise the intern recruitment process, help arrange interviews, handle ad-hoc tasks as part of the HR function and much else besides. Have a look on the Facebook page for more details on the roles...

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

★★★★★★★★★☆

Rated 9/10

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

★★★★★★★★★★

Rated 10/10

Small team so very personal and approachable

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

★★★★★★★★★★

Rated 10/10

4. How busy were you on a daily basis?

★★★★★★★★☆☆

Rated 8/10

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

★★★★★★★★☆☆

Rated 8/10

Lot of pieces of work just handled by you with no manager looking over your shoulder every 5 minutes, and some larger pieces of projects given to you with help from colleagues, so you're pretty much "running the show" yourself!

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

★★★★★★★★★★

Rated 10/10

Skills like time management, work prioritisation and general skills for offices are obviously trained, but you also get a great insight into the whole of the department beyond what your own role, so you aren't limited in what you can get involved in

The Organisation

7. What was the general atmosphere in your office?

★★★★★★★★☆☆

Rated 8/10

Friendly atmosphere, everyone's willing to help if you get stuck. Some team social events like bowling and meals out.

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

★★★★★★★★★★

Rated 10/10

Starts off gently with getting to know the basics for a role you've likely never done before, then the work begins to increase as you become more confident with your own skills, and the manager helps you to judge where your personal skills are and tailors some of the work around that to help nurture your existing strengths and develop those new skills.

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

★★★★★★★★★☆

Rated 9/10

Went on a training course within the first 2 weeks to get up to speed with the Microsoft Office package (certificates and the rest!) and they run regular training sessions for a variety of business projects like how to present with passion and how to think charitably.

10. What were the perks on your work placement?

★★★★★★★★★☆

Rated 9/10

• Flexi Time
• Subsidised Canteen
• Sports and Social Club
• Subsidised/Company Gym
• Company Parties/Events
• Staff Sales/Staff Shop

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

★★★★★★★★☆☆

Rated 8/10

They recruit graduates who have been interns before, provided they have the skills the company value. If you show yourself to be a valuable member of the team, you may well get rewarded! Still yet to see how my placement goes, but it's the sort of place I would love to go back to work for after I graduate.

Other Information

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

★★★★★★★★★★

Rated 10/10

Close team of interns who go to the pub every week after work and do various social activities like pub crawls and so on, all organised by ourselves.

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

★★★★★★★★☆☆

Rated 8/10

Rent is much cheaper around Frimley than Guildford, and there's a lot of flats/houses within a 30 minute walk from the company (or about a 10 minute drive max). If you're stuck, the subsidised canteen offers all meals including dinner, so you can eat at work before going home to save more!

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

★★★★★★★★☆☆

Rated 8/10

Quite a few bars in Frimley/Camberley, but Guildford is only about 25 minutes down the road so that's much better for the night life

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

★★★★★★★★☆☆

Rated 8/10

Football team, free gym, golf/tennis lessons etc

Review 4/4 for SC Johnson

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