Placement Year Review at ProspectSoft Ltd

The Role

Role Description

I had an extremely varied role within ProspectSoft, however if I was to highlight my core role, it was to be our many partner's first point of contact should they need anything at all. This varied enormously from offering sales advice; to liaising with our development team about specific technical queries, discussing potential bespoke requirements for a customer, providing demonstrations of the product, booking appointments with prospective end-users - chasing up for feedback (allowing me to discuss our pipeline at weekly Sales meetings), but most importantly, chasing in orders, and if need be, negotiating discounts with my team for quick deals. I was constantly dealing with people of high seniority (MD's, FD's, SD's etc), which gave me invaluable experience and developed my professionalism no end. I had the opportunity to take on a sale myself, which involved many meetings with the customer and delivered first hand experience of a business-to-business sale, not to mention getting the deal! Another of my core roles was managing the placement recruitment process from start to finish - a very interesting, challenging, enjoyable and rewarding experience having been on the other side of the fence only a year prior. I was genuinely shocked by the level of responsibility I was given as a placement student, and as you can imagine, it was a very welcome surprise. All in all, some great stuff to put on my CV!

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

★★★★★★★★★★

Rated 10/10

As I have alluded to previously, I gained an inordinate amount of experience during my time at ProspectSoft, and really got stuck in to activities that often directly impacted the company’s bottom line. This gave me huge potential to really excel, stand out and make a name for myself at the company. There is a well-known stereotype that if you work in a smaller company, you're likely to get broader, more in-depth experience. From my experience this couldn't be truer, and this belief has been cemented through subsequent conversations with my friends who have been on placement at the big corporates.

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

★★★★★★★★★★

Rated 10/10

At ProspectSoft, you very quickly become part of a close-knit team, which really helps you learn how to develop working relationships. But you really aren't treated as a 'placement student', you are given a proper job and if you want it, the responsibility comes in spades. There were some times during my placement where my colleagues/management really needed me to pull it out of the bag, failure to perform could have had some very negative effects on whichever activities I was involved with at the time. With this is mind, I'd say it was hard to feel more valued.

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

★★★★★★★★★★

Rated 10/10

I know it's a cliché, but honestly, my Director's doors were always open - literally. I could walk in and have a chat with any of them about anything at all without feeling nervous/anxious etc because of their positions. My other managers were all situated in the same open plan office, so when you’re in need of some help, you’d be pretty unlucky if one of them wasn’t available. Because of ProspectSoft’s strong ethos of employing placement students into graduate positions, many of my managers and senior colleagues were previous placements, and as such, could relate very easily to everything I was involved with. One of the first things my manager said to me when I started was that I was always to ask him questions. He was constantly very busy (as you’d expect), but he and my other managers would always stop what they were doing and make time to help me out. Not only was this very reassuring, but it also helped me to become more talented and proficient at more role, a lot quicker.

4. How busy were you on a daily basis?

★★★★★★★★★★

Rated 10/10

As you might have guessed, I had a lot of work to do during my year! However, no day was the same, I had so much variety in my role that gave the whole experience a perfect balance. As you'd expect, there were days where perhaps I didn't have as much on my plate as others, but there were also days were I needed to fire on all cylinders! This was great for developing my time management skills.

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

★★★★★★★★★★

Rated 10/10

I'm pretty sure I don't need to comment here...

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

I genuinely feel that what I learnt and the experience I gained over my year will benefit me no end, especially in the immediate future. If you're looking to do a placement, a lot of people will tell you that they're great for putting theory learnt at uni into practice. In my experience, I'd say they’re even more beneficial in your final year at helping you to relate theories from uni, to the real working world. As you can appreciate it makes understanding these theories a lot easier. Oddly enough, I was just in a lecture, which explored the positives & negatives of a Sales Channel while also looking at other important Value/Supply Chain decisions (thrilling!)- All stuff that would have gone straight over my head in previous years, but because of the nature of my year at ProspectSoft, it was a breeze! The other really important thing to note with ProspectSoft is just how much help they give you with your final year studies. Doing a placement provides an incredible primary resource for dissertations etc, something I’ll be taking full advantage of!

The Organisation

7. What was the general atmosphere in your office?

★★★★★★★★★★

Rated 10/10

It was a great atmosphere to work in. I'd say there was an underlying professionalism in the Sales & Marketing office, but due to being a small team and everyone getting on so well, there was always some great banter!

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

★★★★★★★★★★

Rated 10/10

As I was responsible for the recruitment, perhaps my score is a little biased! But seriously, ProspectSoft have been recruiting placement students for nearly 10 years, so they know what they're doing. Also, they have now invested further in creating a structured graduate programme for returning placement students.

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

★★★★★★★★★★

Rated 10/10

As a Sales placement, I started with two weeks of classroom based training, followed by two weeks of on the job training, 'shadowing' the previous placement. This was great for getting me up to speed and allowed me to hit the ground running after my placement student left to go back to university. Along the way I recieved various different bits of training depending on the tasks I was involved with. There is also a structured appraisal scheme which took place quarterly with my manager to discuss my progression & development.

10. What were the perks on your work placement?

★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆

Rated 5/10

• There were no perks with this placement year

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

★★★★★★★★★★

Rated 10/10

I was offered a job to start in July 2010 after I have graduated, I have accepted and couldn't more excited about going back and earning some proper money!

Other Information

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

★★★★★★★★★★

Rated 10/10

As the average age at ProspectSoft is relatively low, there is a great social scene and there are many opportunities get together and have fun. That's one thing I loved during my placement, anyone can organise anything, so if you have an idea and think others might like it, just send an email round and gauge the response. I lived in High Wycombe during my placement, however I would recommend to anyone needing to relocate to work at ProspectSoft, live in Oxford! The majority of ProspectSoft staff now live there and it's got much better night life!

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

★★★★★★★★★★

Rated 10/10

I came from Oxford Brookes so I was used to paying over the odds for living and socialising! That being said, considering High Wycombe is so close to London, housing and living costs are very reasonable.

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

★★★★★★★★★★

Rated 10/10

High Wycombe has some great pubs & bars with one major club. There is also a great Vodka Revolution just down the road in Beaconsfield, but as I've said, my best nights out with work happened in Oxford.

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

★★★★★★★★★★

Rated 10/10

As I've said, there is always something happening socially, but if you fancy doing something specific one evening or one weekend, you can just organise it yourself!

Review 22/30 for ProspectSoft Ltd

Previous Next