Placement Week Student Review

I really enjoyed the experience during this placement. It has allowed me to grasp a better understanding of what it is like to work within a company like Citi. It has also opened my eyes to what I would be required to do if I was to work at Citi and also an idea of what is required from me in order to get to where some Citi workers are now.

Even though it has only been a few days each work I have met has been very welcoming and helpful. This experience really has shown me the value Citi as a company and also the workers there put on each other. No one seems to want to see anyone fail or be lost. There is always a helping hand there for you. Each worker has been so friendly and open towards us over this week and it really has helped make us feel welcomed into the company which has made this experience, especially at the start of the week, more enjoyable and worthwhile.

There has been constant support and guidance around me throughout this week. From the security at the front desk, those that have welcomed us into their teams, the placement students there and other those leading a presentation. Everyone I have met as never failed to offer any form of guidance and support.

These skills that I have and that I have gained, have allowed me to think more about what I want to do with my life and how I want to put them into use. I certainly hope these skills will continue to grow and will be maintained whether that be with Citi or another company. Citi has opened my eyes to what it is I can do right now and also what I could be capable of in the future.

Very well structured, the wide range of talks and information given to us has been both interesting and useful. Each day felt like a brand new experience with different talks or activities organised for us.

Towards the start it was a bit quiet and shy from all of us. But you will get that anywhere you go. With the different talks and activities that were provided by Citi, it allowed us as a team and as a group to open up and gain confidence to get to know each other as well as the workers around us.

Form the first day I felt invested in, especially when it came to the mock interviews. With this being such as surprise as no one expected it on the first day, I certainly felt myself getting nervous and panicky as I hadn't prepared for it. However Citi didn't fail in ensuring us that it was only a mock and this was set up in order to help us. With the investment that both interviews put into this activity, and continually being checked up by and talked to from other workers, Citi certainly made me feel like they actually cared that I was there and that they wanted me to get the most out of this experience.

Again with the different activities that were set up and people that I was able to talk to, it was made clear to me what it would be like to work for a company such as Citi. Talking and asking questions to current placement students allowed me to understand how they have been getting on during their time there, what they think of it, what they did before and what they may do after. This also got me thinking about also going for Citi when applying for my placement year in 2 years time. From also talking to those workers who have been working at Citi for a few years now, it allowed me to understand how they have progressed over the years while working there and how Citi is a good company to work for.

As it has only been a week placement, I feel like there is still more within this topic for me to learn about. From observing the talks I did begin to understand the vast culture of this company. I was able to view the wide range of branches of Citi across the world. This allowed me to understand the impact that this company has across the whole world and how it is continually growing as the years go on. Although I still do feel there is more on this topic for me to learn.

With so much different content throughout the day covered it did allow me to think about what I would consider taking on for my future career. Before attending this placement, I was not aware of the exact route that I wanted to follow when it came to a job within IT. From listening to the different people and teams explaining what it is they do and how they typical day would look like, it opened my eyes and give me a few ideas about the certain aspects of IT that I would consider and what I would not.

As this was a voluntary week placement there were no expenses that Citi would have needed to pay or reimburse me for. This experience I got was through my university, Queens University Belfast and therefore I had no expenses to worry about.

Yes there were plenty of opportunities for me to meet other employees and to ask them certain questions. The lunch time Q&A with the placement students was a great experience for me especially. This allowed us to talk to workers that would be closer to our age group and would mostly understand what we were going through and be able to give us tips based on their experiences. This aspect covered by Citi was well done as it meant that we were getting useful information from a wide range of people that have went through similar experiences through University and all, and allowed them to give us useful information in order for us to get where we would like to be in the future.

Throughout this week, we were certainly encourage to get to know everyone around us. This allowed us to get to know other people that went to a different university or even the same one but who you had never met before. This also allowed us to learn off from each other, especially those who were studying different courses from you. Therefore this allowed us to develop new skills from each other, this especially came into use when working on the team project with new people.

There was plenty of talk about the different clubs, societies and events that happen outside of Citi. From different clubs such as baking and cocktail making, to sports like football and golf. Even with the different events such as BBQs and dinners, this information showed us the investment that Citi make with their workers. Something like this has always interested me when it came with different companies, as I have always been interested in trying new things as well as finding exciting things to do outside of a working life.

This experience has certainly been beneficial to me and I feel like everyone that would be part of this placement week certainly would get something out of it. This week has allowed me to open my eyes to the possibilities and opportunities that are out there for me in this field of work. I would love to work for a company like Cit and I would not hesitate to recommend this to any of my friends considering applying for this.