Finance Industrial Placement student Review

I really enjoyed the placement - working in finance was a completely new experience for me and I learnt a great deal across the year.

I felt extremely well valued by my colleagues, particularly as the placement went on, and was given a large amount of responsibility, along with any support I needed.

I was given a large amount of support when learning new tasks and I could ask any of my peers if I had any queries. I was also encouraged to speak to my team leader or line manager if I had any problems, although I didn't really have any issues.

My workload varied slightly depending on the time of the month - I was always really busy at the end of the month, whereas I was slightly quieter in week one and two. Although I think this is quite common in finance related jobs

I was given a large amount of responsibility from the start, taking over some of the previous IP's workload. This was a steep learning curve, but there were plenty of people there to support me if it had got too much. Then my responsibilities gradually increased as the year went on and my experience and knowledge grew.

Whilst the work I did was not directly relevant to my degree (Mathematics), I will definitely find that the skills I've gained over the year relating to time-keeping, work ethic and having to manage a lot of tasks at once, will all help me going forward into my final year, along with having an invaluable insight into a finance related career. I was also given lots of training opportunities throughout the year that will be extremely valuable going forward.

The atmosphere in the office was always really pleasant and friendly. I found that there weren't many people my own age which was a big difference to all my previous jobs, but this wasn't too much of an issue as everyone was very friendly.

The placement was extremely well organised as they have been taking placement students in this department for many years. I was also put in touch with a "buddy" before starting the placement so that I could ask any questions i had before starting. It takes a while to get security clearance to be on the site, but this process is started very early so that there shouldn't be any delays to the start of placement.

I felt that the company invested a lot in my development as I was able to attend many workshop days throughout the year, along with people on the grad scheme that my placement is linked to. These workshops were in different places across the country and offered opportunities such as training in presentation skills and lots of networking opportunities.

Following my placement I have also been invited to return to the assessment centre stage of the recruitment for the grad scheme.

I was the only finance industrial placement student for the year, but there were a few opportunities to meet up with those on the grad scheme, although we all worked at different sites across the country, so this didn't happen very often. There were some nights out with those in the office, but not as many socialising opportunities as I have had at previous jobs, but this could have just been because there weren't that many young people.

I was able to live with my family so saved money there. Most social things were held in Cardiff, which wasn't too expensive.

The actual site was in a very quiet area, but the nightlife in Cardiff was very good.

There were a few opportunities across the year to get involved, and there was gym on site with classes to attend.