Placement Year Review at Vauxhall

The Role

Role Description

Each month I had to reconcile internal accounts, ensure that the internal budgets were correct and not been overspent, post debits and credits to the balance sheet, produce financial reports to senior managers showing the months figures.

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

★★★★★★★★☆☆

Rated 8/10

PLEASE NOTE: This review was for a placement at General Motors prior to the amalgamation of Vauxhall and General Motors (The RateMyPlacement Team)

It was really good and valuable experience and during my time there I was given the opportunity to take on more work. However sometimes my job became very repetitive.

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

★★★★★★★★☆☆

Rated 8/10

The people I worked with were really great, it was quite a quiet department anyway but amoung the few of us that were there we got on really well, and on a few occasions went out for dinner or drinks.

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

★★★★★★★☆☆☆

Rated 7/10

After a month my manager was promoted and not replaced, they couldn't decide whether to make the senior manager or the senior finance analyst the person I report too, eventually this was cleared up.

4. How busy were you on a daily basis?

★★★★★★★★☆☆

Rated 8/10

Generally I always had work to do, if there was ever a day when I had finished all my tasks I would ask other memebers of my department if they wanted me to do anything.

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

★★★★★★★★☆☆

Rated 8/10

I had to create the internal budgets and also make sure all debits and credits were posted correctly to the balance sheet, so I feel I was given quite a lot of responsibility.

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

★★★★★★★★★☆

Rated 9/10

I have never used a computer based programme for posting debits and credits before so I will be able to take this to my next role, I also improved on my excel and presentation skills which I have been able to use at University.

The Organisation

7. What was the general atmosphere in your office?

★★★★★★☆☆☆☆

Rated 6/10

At first it was very fun, but when GM began to trun sour people thought they were going to loose there jobs and the atmosphere became very disheartened.

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

★★★★★★★★★★

Rated 10/10

The organisation was excellent, they had a list of roles/tasks for the student to do and regular meetings were available if you wanted to discuss anything with your line manager or a mentor. They also allowed us to meet everyone 2 weeks prior to moving down so we got to know all the other students and pick houses to live in.

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

★★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆

Rated 4/10

Unfortunately due to cost cuts they had to stop all of our training, we were suppose to have microsoft office training, presentation skills and a few other sessions but we never got to experience them.

10. What were the perks on your work placement?

★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

Rated 3/10

• Subsidised/Company Gym
• Company Parties/Events

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

★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

Rated 3/10

Due to the nature of the company and the possibility that more job cuts might be made I would not choose to work for them.

Other Information

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

★★★★★★★★★★

Rated 10/10

Because there were so many undergraduates we were always doing something every weekend. It is fair to say that this helped make my placement year even better.

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

★★★★★★★★☆☆

Rated 8/10

Rent was about £250 per month, and the clubs on a Thursday and Friday night always had cheap deals on.

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

★★★★★★★★☆☆

Rated 8/10

The nightlife is very much a personal opnion, the main club, liquid, was totally trashy but we always managed to have a good night. And when you wanted to go somewhere else Milton Keynes and Watford were not oo far away.

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

★★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

Rated 2/10

Only the gym that I knew of.

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?

Despite the bad press GM are having, they really were a good company to work for, plus you get to meet lots of other undergraduates.

Review 22/62 for Vauxhall

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