Placement Year Review at Enterprise Rent-A-Car

The Role

Role Description

The management trainee scheme allows the placement student to experience every aspect of running a business. If studying a business management degree the placement at Enterprise covers all areas of the different modules. The hours are very long and it is definitely a job that you have to concentrate on why you are doing a placement in the first place.

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

★★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

Rated 2/10

Working a 65 hour week as a placement student, getting paid minimum wage and having to complete university work outside of office hours made this year very difficult. Whilst i never took a placement year to make money, I certainly struggled to motivate myself at times to do exactly the same job as others in the office yet in the knowledge that i was receiving significantly less just because i was there on a placement.

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

★★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆

Rated 4/10

My colleagues in my branch were the only reason i was able to complete my placement. In such a large corporate organisation however, there are obviously several levels of employment and those who weren't in the branch were often less than helpful/friendly. Employees who didn't work at branch level often didn't understand/appreciate how the daily operation ran and this made working conditions very difficult. Had i been placed in a different branch other than the Oxford branch i would have really struggled as it was my relationship with my immediate colleagues that made this placement bearable.

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

★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

Rated 1/10

In terms of colleagues at branch level, in such a huge organisation, there is often very little that they can do without approval from a higher power. I had a fair amount of correspondence with area managers, general managers when i was having problems at work and this was unfortunately answered, more often than not, with people doing their utmost to avoid confrontation and ignoring any real problems there might be.

4. How busy were you on a daily basis?

★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

Rated 1/10

At the start of my placement year, the Oxford brach was the biggest day rental branch in the country with over 300 cars running out of the branch. This led to a ridiculous work load every day, including saturdays. With a company policy of ten employees to every thirty cars in the branch, the Oxford branch was understaffed by at least 5 staff. Compared to other branches in the group the oxford office was always the busiest, with no breaks or even lunch breaks taken into account during the day it was often too much.

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

★★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

Rated 2/10

The responsibility was really up to the individual. In the office there was often new starters as the turnover of staff was very high, which meant that there was always training to be done, which was normally left to the next newest starter. In terms of daily responsibility, it was a rental car company so from the start of the second working week you are given the responsibility of driving a range of brand new cars worth thousands of pounds. I became an out of hours agent for the company which meant being in the office on my own and dealing with customers out of office hours.

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

In terms of work experience, and C.V content, this is certainly a placement that will prepare you for the working environment, and give you a taste of a busy office atmosphere. I am about to start my final year so whether or not i will be able to use my experiences in my modules remains to be seen. However i am confident that when i leave university i will be in a very strong position to get any job that i am after with this specific placement on my CV. Whilst the year was certainly difficult this placement will give me the edge over others in any interviews i have after university simply due to the demanding workload and hours completed.

The Organisation

7. What was the general atmosphere in your office?

★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

Rated 3/10

In general I was in the office for less than half of each day as i was out on the road either picking up customers of delivering cars. This made things very difficult as not only did i have targets to meet for Enterprise i had a large amount of work that i had to complete for my university. There was a good relationship between the staff in the branch as it was a young office.

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

★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

Rated 1/10

My university set a lot of work for me to do whilst on my placement not appreciating the work load or hours spent at the branch. Due to the lack of staff in the office i didn't get a minute to do any of my university work in the office, so it all had to be completed at home in my own time. This was very difficult as i was less than motivated to complete some university work after having worked a 65 hour week.

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

★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

Rated 1/10

There was compulsory training at the company for all employees, however other than that there was little that the company did with regards to personal development.

10. What were the perks on your work placement?

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

Rated 0/10

• There were no perks with this placement year

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

★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

Rated 1/10

Enterprise bases its training scheme on the promotional promises that are on offer in the company.

Other Information

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

★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆

Rated 5/10

There were no other placement students in the office, however there was a social scene amongst the staff.

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

★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

Rated 3/10

Oxford is one of the most expensive places to live in the UK, however as i was at university there i didn't want to be anywhere else, as i had already organised my accommodation for the year.

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

★★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆

Rated 4/10

Oxford nightlife is fine, but not extensive.

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

★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

Rated 1/10

There were no activities outside of work other than socialising drinks.

Review 130/130 for Enterprise Rent-A-Car

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