Placement Year Review at Perkins Engines

The Role

Role Description

Managing the day-to-day activities of the recruitment team. Responsible for all internal recruitment including setting up interviews, assessment centres and testing.

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

★★★★★★★☆☆☆

Rated 7/10

Working for Perkins Engines was definitely a good experience. I learnt a lot over the 12 months and enojyed working with the people there.

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

★★★★★★★☆☆☆

Rated 7/10

All employees on site are very friendly. Within my department my colleagues made me feel very welcome from day one and I felt part of the team striaght away.

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

★★★★★★★★★☆

Rated 9/10

I had weekly desk reviews with my manager where I could bring up any concerns I had and also let her know what I was doing. I felt very supported and feel that I could still ask for guidance even after my placement.

4. How busy were you on a daily basis?

★★★★★★★☆☆☆

Rated 7/10

When I was dealing with recruitmemt I was very busy however this encouraged me to learn quicker and I feel benefitted me in the long run. When i was working on project work my workload was managable and I felt incontrol of what I was doing.

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

★★★★★★★☆☆☆

Rated 7/10

I was responsible for all internal recruitment in my placement, at one point this was 90 vacancies. Once there was a recruitment freeze I managed my project work myself however there were usually others on the projects who had ownership of them.

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

★★★★★★★☆☆☆

Rated 7/10

I attended employment law updates and targeted selection interview training at my time at Perkins. Perkins also promotes the use of 6 Sigma is a lot of their projects. My knowledge of the business and it's processes will help me a lot in my final year as I will be able to compare theory to actual situation that I have been involved in.

The Organisation

7. What was the general atmosphere in your office?

★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆

Rated 5/10

The department changed a lot throughout my 12 month placement has many people joined and left. It was also effected a lot by the amount of work that was going on. Overall the office was a good place to be and there was always food!

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

★★★★★★★★☆☆

Rated 8/10

The induction was set up very well, as well as social events. The work placement itself was structured as any other role in the business using PDPs. In my role I did not feel like a placement student, I felt like one of the team as this is something Perkins mains to do from the beginning.

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

★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆

Rated 5/10

I went on some training in my placement however in my role in the recruitment team there was not much time for this. I know that Perkins do provide a lot of training for their employees however I did not have the time to fit this in.

10. What were the perks on your work placement?

★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆

Rated 5/10

• Company Parties/Events
• Staff Sales/Staff Shop

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

★★★★★★★☆☆☆

Rated 7/10

A lot of placement students return to Perkins for there graduate schemes, however Perkins do not run a graduate programme for HR every year.

Other Information

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

★★★★★★★★★★

Rated 10/10

Once a place has been secured an accomodation day is arranged for all new placements where you get to meet each other and choose houses you want to live in. Your 2 week induction consists of many nights out with fellow placements and from then on this happens most weekends.

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

★★★★★★★☆☆☆

Rated 7/10

The cost of living is not too bad, I lived in a (nice) house with three other placements in the hampton area. This cost about £250 per month.

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

★★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆

Rated 4/10

Peterborough has a few clubs and quite a few bars if you want them. Stamford is about 25 minutes away and offer a lot nicer night out.

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

★★★★★★☆☆☆☆

Rated 6/10

Although I was not involved in any activites myself I know that other placements got involved in football and other clubs they were interested in.

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?

I enjoyed my placement at Perkins my only advice would be to get involved in as many things as you can inorder make the best out of it.

Review 2/4 for Perkins Engines

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