This review was submitted over 4 years ago, so some of the information it contains may no longer be relevant.
Rating
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The Role
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The Company
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The Culture
- 1. To what extent did you enjoy your work placement or internship?
- 2. To what extent did you feel valued by your colleagues?
- 3. To what extent were you given support and guidance by management/your supervisor(s)?
- 4. How busy were you on a daily basis?
- 5. How much responsibility were you given during your placement?
- 6. To what extent did/will the skills you developed, and training you received, assist you in your degree studies and beyond?
- 7. What was the general atmosphere in your office?
- 8. How well organised was the overall work placement or internship set up?
- 9. In terms of personal training and development, to what extent did the company or firm invest in you?
- 10. What were the perks on your work placement?
- 11. How appealing are future employment prospects within the organisation?
- 12. Was there a good social scene amongst any fellow placement students/colleagues?
- 13. What was the cost of living and socialising in the area you worked in?
- 14. What was the Nightlife like in the area you worked?
- 15. Were there many opportunities to get involved in activities outside of work?
The Role
My placement has been okay overall - it has been made up of massive peaks and troughs.
The company recruits a very specific type of person - they are all lovely and do create tight-knit, family like teams.
I have been given as much support and guidance as I needed, although I have been wary not to be an annoyance.
This varied massively from overwhelming weeks to slow, boring weeks. I could ask for more work but sometimes there literally wouldn't be anything for me.
I have been given responsibility and treated like any other employee, although this is only at the back end of the placement where you have gone through your learning period.
I have improved in a mixture of transferable skills and J&J specific skills, although I'd say the balance is more heavily weighted towards the latter.
The Company
The office is generally dull. People come and do their 9-5 and go home, often taking little interest in others beyond work. Without meetings you could go through a whole day without chatting to anyone.
We came in to our placements with little idea of what to expect and there wasn't much structure or plan to my placement year. I had to take individual bits of work and define my own job role over the 12 months.
We have a big intense 3 week training period at the start, and most of this information was then forgotten. However, my development has been supported over the 12 months by different individuals and I feel as though I have gained value from their efforts.
Flexi Time
Subsidised Canteen
Staff Sales/Staff Shop
Working from home
Healthcare/Dental
The employment prospects are okay but there is no fast-track for placements to get on to the graduate scheme, if anything you have to go through more stages of assessment and interviews.
The Culture
The placement cohort had to make our own social scene as the office social scene is non-existent. Cost cuts mean there are no social occasions and most people are family people who just like to work and go home.
As with most places in the south the area is expensive to live and socialise in, and with the wage you receive, you'll probably find you aren't much better off than you are as a student.
It is okay and you can always go in to London.
The only two things I can think of are charity work and football.
Details
Placement (10 Months+)
South East
May 2017