Purchasing intern Review

My internship was highly enjoyable. The people at Siemens are so helpful and approachable that it made it easy for me to ask lots of questions and learn as much as I could, while still being able to enjoy myself whilst working.

At Siemens, they have so many trainees in the form of apprentices, interns and graduates, so all the staff are used to having us around. This means that everyone is really approachable and is more than happy to sit down and help you when you need it, and once you have been taught something, you are trusted to go away and carry out tasks by yourself, just as any full time employee would.

On my first day I had a meeting with both my manager and my supervisor, who reassured me that they would support me whilst I settled in and underwent my initial training. Now I have regular reviews with my supervisor where we discuss how I am getting on and how I am progressing.

The first month or so was quite slow, as it was important for me to learn everything before I was put straight on the job. But now I have my own suppliers and am working as a schedule/expeditor, I am busy. I attend meetings daily and deal with external suppliers on a daily basis, then when I do not have any particular tasks to complete, I try and get involved in other areas to fill my time and learn as much as possible.

I have been given a very high level of responsibility in my placement. I have been given my own supplier base, who come directly to me when they have queries, and who I am in regular contact with. As well as this, when needed I will help the other expeditors with their suppliers, by chasing up parts or producing reports to send out to suppliers. Many of the suppliers know who I am and how to contact me.

I am still undergoing my placement year, so I cannot really answer this question. However, every day I am learning vital information about the internal workings of the business, which will be transferable into university modules as well as into graduate jobs.

My office adopts a generally relaxed atmosphere. My manager keeps his door open as much as possible, so people can speak to him directly as soon as they have a query. There is a good rapport in my office, as most people get on well and we all work together as a team and support each other when necessary. As long as work is done and deadlines are met, there is a relaxed approach given by our supervisor, which I think makes for a very successful workplace.

My internship has been very well organized, on my first day my manager had a clear idea of where he wanted me to progress to and what he thought I should be doing. However, as I have progressed, he has allowed myself and my supervisor to change my role slightly in order to give me more responsibility so I can get as much out of my placement year as possible. The internship development programme is also clearly planned out and organized to give us as much vital experience as possible.

Even though I have not yet finished my placement, the firm have invested in me a great deal in order to aid my personal training and development. They have funded my travel to several universities to talk about Siemens and my experiences as an intern. As well as this they have funded my attendance to an oil & gas conference, and gas turbine training, to allow me to learn more about the parts that I have been buying and expediting.

Future job prospect within Siemens are very appealing to me. Interns get the opportunity to be fast tracked onto the graduate scheme, so if I had the opportunity to do that then I wouldn't have to apply, I could just be fast-tracked straight to the interview stage. This is obviously a huge advantage to me. Also, I have already been invested in as an intern, and given the necessary training to know everything I need to know about the company in order to return as a graduate. This makes Siemens a more attractive option than any other company.

We have something called the SSN here at Siemens, this stands for Siemens Social Network. When joining the company, all interns and graduates are advised to join the SSN and create a group chat with their fellow interns. In our group chat we regularly talk and plan outings such as meals, which we attend in the evenings in order to get to know each other outside of a work environment. As well as this, the people in my office and I regularly go out for a drink or to do other activities outside of work.

I work in Lincoln, the same city where I go to university, so the cost of living was the same for me. As it is a student driven city, the cost of living is very reasonable, and the cost of socialising is very good.

Again, as it is a student city, the night life is very lively, with a large range of things to get up to all at a reasonable price.

As I am a student in Lincoln, a lot of my friends are living here completing their third year at university. I make extra effort to make sure that I have a balance or work and social, and make sure that I get involved in lots of things outside of work. With the nature of my placement, I do not need to take work home or do anything to do with Siemens outside of my working hours, which gives me a good amount of 'downtime' to myself.