Corporate Responsibility Junior Executive Review

by E.ON UK

This review was submitted over 4 years ago, so some of the information it contains may no longer be relevant.

Rating

3.7/5
  • The Role
    4.5
  • The Company
    3.9
  • The Culture
    2.4

    The Role

  • 1. To what extent did you enjoy your work placement or internship?
  • I really enjoyed my summer placement at E.ON. It's a great team and a really supportive atmosphere and I was trusted to manage my own time and work. I was given real responsibilities and took the lead on real projects. I experienced lots of different areas of the business and was able to shape my placement to things I was interested in.

    5/5

  • 2. To what extent did you feel valued by your colleagues?
  • The team are really supportive and keen to recognise excellence, which makes colleagues feel valued. During my team I have received "buzzes" (an internal method to recognise good work) and even gifts from colleagues when they think I have exceeded expectations or helped out last minute. As well as this, colleagues have asked for my opinions and made my input feel truly valued, despite my relative inexperience.

    5/5

  • 3. To what extent were you given support and guidance by management/your supervisor(s)?
  • The support was been surprisingly overwhelmingly positive. I had weekly one to ones with my line manager to ensure I was happy and okay with my work. In between those one to ones, I was always able to contact my manager if I had any other queries or questions and my manager regularly checked up on me. In the event of my manager being absent, I was given the contact details of a relevant person to contact for support instead. I developed a set of business objectives with my line manager to help my personal development during the placement.

    5/5

  • 4. How busy were you on a daily basis?
  • Due to the varied nature of this placement, how busy I was varied constantly. Some days I worked at my desk all day at a steady pace. Other days I was visiting sites or attending events, which were really busy and I occasionally had to work outside of my contracted hours, although I received this time back in lieu. Although some days were busier than others, and some days the work would be more interesting than others, I always had enough work to do so I never got bored. Equally, I was not too busy that I felt unable to cope or ended up worrying about work or doing work in my own time.

    4/5

  • 5. How much responsibility were you given during your placement?
  • I was given a lot of responsibility during my placement. I was trusted to manage my own time and work load. I lead on organising and delivering projects with real deliverables. These projects involved working within company policies and procedures, as well as liaising with internal and external companies. I was trusted to use my judgement to make the best decisions for E.ON.

    5/5

  • 6. To what extent did/will the skills you developed, and training you received, assist you in your degree studies and beyond?
  • The supportive atmosphere and responsibility helped me to develop confidence and skills, such as project management, team work, communication, which will benefit me with my remaining degree studies and beyond. My placement will give me an advantageous insight into corporate business and the energy industry when applying for future roles. My varied experiences will also provide me with plenty of competency examples at future interviews. Also, by completing this placement I have been offered a fast track place onto an E.ON Grad Scheme, which will obviously benefit my career and takes the pressure off for trying to find work whilst completing my degree.

    4/5

    The Company

  • 7. What was the general atmosphere in your office?
  • The atmosphere in the office was friendly and supportive. However, it is a large corporate office, so the office is usually quiet with people focussing on their work. Colleagues take breaks when they need them and manage their own time, with a wetlands area outside to get away from your PC screen. Colleagues generally socialise mostly on their breaks or at lunchtime in the canteen. Most employees are able to work flexibly (i.e. they can start and finish at a time that suits them), as long as they complete their work. Overall, it was friendly and relaxed but corporate. This is not a party office!

    4/5

  • 8. How well organised was the overall work placement or internship set up?
  • The placement was well organised. After I accepted the offer, my line manager stayed in regular contact with me and organised everything, ensuring I knew where and when to arrive on my first day. On arrival on my first day, my laptop and mobile phone had already been set up for me and my first week had been planned out with various inductions to the business and introductions to the team. A selection of tasks and activities had been planned for me to start work on.

    5/5

  • 9. In terms of personal training and development, to what extent did the company or firm invest in you?
  • I developed business objectives with my line manager at the start of my placement to aid my personal development, which were reviewed throughout my placement. I was invited along to any training that colleagues within my team were invited to. I was offered to attend additional training or seminars if they were relevant to specific projects I was completing. I was regularly asked if there were any other business areas I would like to experience or activities I would like to undertake in order to further my development. It felt like E.ON were fully invested in me as a regular employee, not just a short term placement student.

    4/5

  • 10. What were the perks on your work placement?
  • Flexi Time

    Subsidised Canteen

    Subsidised/Company Gym

    National Travel

    Working from home

    3/5

  • 11. How appealing are future employment prospects within the organisation?
  • By completing a placement at E.ON, you are automatically invited to apply to fast track onto an E.ON grad scheme. This is a reduced application and assessment process, as you have already met E.ON's competencies by succeeding at the assessment centre for your placement. As a result of this, I have been offered a place on E.ON's grad scheme when I complete my university studies, which sounds like a fantastic scheme and opportunity. There are so many opportunities available across the business within the UK and internationally, so hopefully there will be some exciting long-term employment prospects for me, as a result of this placement.

    5/5

    The Culture

  • 12. Was there a good social scene amongst any fellow placement students/colleagues?
  • The placement students have a Facebook group to communicate and connect with each other. We were also all invited to an induction day organised by HR near the beginning of our placements. This was a good opportunity to meet each other and build relationships. However, as the placements are spread over many different sites across the UK, we cannot meet up as a whole group. At some sites where several students are based, small groups meet for lunch or to socialise outside of work. I think a lot of students have built better relationships with their team members, rather than other placement students, as you see your team much more regularly. How much your team socialises depends on their ages, dynamic etc.

    3/5

  • 13. What was the cost of living and socialising in the area you worked in?
  • I stayed with friends which made accommodation costs much cheaper. The E.ON canteen was subsidised which made eating at working fairly cheap. Other costs such as socialising were completely average.

    4/5

  • 14. What was the Nightlife like in the area you worked?
  • There is no nightlife in the area immediately around the office, as it is based on a business park with nothing else around. However, the area where I lived had a good nightlife with plenty of pubs and a couple of clubs. To get to an area with nightlife, you would need to travel via car/taxi/bus/train from the office.

    3/5

  • 15. Were there many opportunities to get involved in activities outside of work?
  • I was not aware of any activities to get involved with outside of work, unless you arranged them independently. However, there is plenty going on in the area.

    1/5

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Details

Internship (1 Month+)

Corporate Law, Customer Service, Education/Teaching, Engineering, Environmental Science, Marketing, PR & Communications

West Midlands

September 2016


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