Design Manager Review

I thoroughly enjoyed the job i was doing at Morgan Sindall; I had the opportunity to experience both on site and office based roles of my job. I would have like to work on a larger job but was extremely pleased to have the experience i did.

To start with i felt like i was just a temp in the organisation but after a month or so i was included in all of the office goings on. It took time for my work to be valued, particularly by the commercial department but once I had proved myself the challenge was overcome. By the end of the placement I felt at home with Morgan Sindall. My colleagues working along side me on my projects saw me as an equal, so I couldn't have asked for much better.

When I asked for support there was often someone available to give guidance. I was pretty much left to do my own thing from the day I started. This helped me grow as a person and helped me to become an indipedant member of the team. I was always able to have support if it was needed but there was no one showing me the path; this could have been done better at the start of my placement but by the end I couldn't have asked for a better outcome. It enabled me to do the job i wanted and continue doing it once I was able to prove my competence.

Day to day I usually had tasks to complete. As my experience and competence rose I was able to take on more and more tasks. I was once told I should stop volunteering to take on extra work but I saw it as a challenge and was happy to take on more providing I had the capacity. If I was ever short of work there was always someone I could lend a hand too.

By the end of my placement I had completed 3 projects and was working on another two. I was the lead design manager on 4 simultaneous projects and was happy to be creating my own tasks and taking the responsibility.

My degree failed to focus on the technical side of building; I learnt mostly theoretical skills. my placement enabled me to boost these skills which has boosted my knowledge of the industry and even improved the way I look at problems for my degree. It has really improved.

the office was well organised and there was a great atmosphere. As everyone knew everyone work was completed and everyone had a good time whilst doing it.

When I arrived my letter had contradicting information; my mentor was in Cambridge (and had left MS), my line manager was based in Ipswich and I was to report to Welwyn Garden City. Upon arrival no one knew I was coming. Once I was given a job and I had learnt how the company works I was able to set goals to work towards which were reviewed 3 monthly. I was asked to complete tasks over my placement; my line manager gave guidance on how to complete these.

I was given the opportunity to attend CPD seminars set up by other team members and an internal training course. Any other training requested I was informed that the company would not provide for temporary staff.

If there is relevant work within the company upon finishing my degree the company will do their utmost to give me a job.

Socialising during lunch breaks was great, the team would go out to lunch and invite eachotehr for walks into town. After working hours there was little socialising, although this picked up around Christmas and the summer.

Both living and socialising in Welwyn Garden City was far more expensive than I could afford on my salary. Due to the lack of employees my age there would have been very little socialising opportunities. However, this is due to the location of the office rather than the quality of the placement.

I did not live in the area I worked however the nights i did go out with work colleagues were fun and enjoyable.

Due to the nature of the job, not many people were in the office every day. We would all be travelling to different places and therefore it was difficult to get involved.