Finance Analyst Review

I loved my year at Hewlett- Packard CDS and it has been my most valuable year to date. The role of a Finance intern came with great responsibilities and all the necessary support and rewards. My favourite thing about the role was the team that I worked with, all of whom were friendly, supportive and added some fun to the working day. The role also allowed me to develop all the necessary skills that will be very valuable in my future career. I would recommend this placement to anyone.

There was never a day where I did not feel valued by my colleagues. My colleagues were always kind and supportive. I quickly became a very valued team member and my thoughts were always considered in decision making. The team also socialised outside of work, often going out for lunch, dinner or into town. I also felt valued by my colleagues in team building and charity days, where we worked together in a different environment.

I was provided with a one month handover period at the start of my placement year which was a great opportunity for initial guidance. Whenever I had any questions or issues then support and guidance was always available from my manager and all other members of the team. I was never afraid to ask for help and everyone at HP CDS was always willing to help no matter what. My manager and I carried out fortnightly one to one sessions which provided a great opportunity for praise, improvements, support and guidance.

On a daily basis I always had work to do, whether it be a part of my day to day role or a particular project on behalf of the team. I quickly learnt to manage my time and tasks through prioritisation and I never felt like I had more work than I could cope with, but just enough. Month end close is an extremely busy period for the team, but the work is evenly spread throughout the team to ensure it is completed in a timely manner.

The role provided great responsibility and both a supportive manager and team to assist with any uncertainties where necessary. Responsibilities were varied and consisted of either the individual roles and responsibilities or additional project work. I always felt like I had an important task to complete which would be valued by someone else in the business.

I can say with confidence that the skills I learnt during my placement year are invaluable, having already helped me to secure a first class degree and a role at a top Accountancy firm and I can be sure that these skills will continue to be useful in the future. The skills learnt not only included technical accounting and analytical skills, but I also developed time management, Microsoft office, team work, presentation, and communication skills whilst working in a busy and complex environment. I will continue to use these skills as I progress in my career.

The office itself is small with a relatively small amount of employees; therefore everyone knows each other on a personal level which is great. There is rarely any negative atmosphere within the office as everyone is friendly and up for a chat in between work. On Friday’s we are allowed to wear casual clothes giving a bit more of a casual atmosphere once a week.

The overall work placement was very well organised and set up providing sufficient handover periods at the start at the end of the placement to ensure that the best possible training and guidance is provided. The work placement is also set up well in terms of interaction with other placement students to ensure there are several people to live with and share experiences with.

Hewlett Packard CDS were always willing to invest in training and development for their placement year students through from the start to the finish of the programme. There were always several internal training opportunities, including quarterly Finance training with the entire EMEA Finance team. Training opportunities may be either business related or specifically role related and some are even run with other large companies. For example, during my placement I attended a training day at Microsoft.

Despite having obtained a graduate job in an Accountancy company starting in September 2016, I was keen to return to Hewlett- Packard CDS for a year in the meantime to further develop my skills and confidence in an environment in which I felt comfortable. Where there are job opportunities available, I would say the employment prospects are very attractive. There are even opportunities to undertake professional accountancy examinations with vast support from the company in relation to the cost and study days.

The Finance team itself are a young team and enjoy socialising outside of work. We have a good intern connection with our parent company Hewlett- Packard and there are several opportunities to meet and socialise with other placement students. For boys, there is even an intern football team. In general, there is a great work life balance and a social scene outside of the office.

I personally lived at home during my placement year and therefore incurred much lower costs of living. Although, I know there are several options on the market in relation to renting houses and therefore there is something to suit everyone’s budget. The cost of socialising differs depending on days of the week and location. But again there are restaurants and bars to suit the budget of all.

The nightlife in Reading is great fun. There are several pubs, clubs, bars and restaurants to choose from with something to suit everyone. Due to being in close proximity with several other large companies and also Reading University, there are many other students and young professionals also enjoying the fun nightlife. The cost of the nightlife is also relatively cheap, with many locations offering deals on different nights of the week. Reading also has great train connections to London if you fancy a great night out a bit further afield.

Hewlett Packard CDS offer many great opportunities to get involved in outside of work. This varies and includes corporate volunteering events, team building events, training days, charity days/events, celebrating successes, leaving do’s, end of year parties and many more. The company has a social committee who try to regularly arrange events to keep employee’s motivated and reward them for their hard work.