Commercial Analyst Review

The work placement was enjoyable as it involved a large amount of problem solving and applied mathematical skills. Studying mathematics at university this was the perfect opportunity to build on my problem-solving skills in a far more practical setting. The less enjoyable part was completing repetitive periodic reports, as this involved little opportunity to get creative.

I felt very valued by my colleagues as I was given large amounts of responsibilities and work tasks in which I would often receive constructive feedback. This made me feel valued as I gained an understanding of why each task or responsibility was important to the organization and larger business as a whole.

I was provided with a huge amount of support and guidance. From the day I joined the company I was put straight in to various training sessions, including product training, health and safety training and compliance training. Throughout the course of the year I also received 1 - 1 feedback from my manager, offering the chance to raise any concerns or requirements.

I was generally very busy on a day to day basis as there were many different responsibilities I was accountable for. Periodic reports had to be completed my set deadlines every week or month, we have a team inbox with requests that each member of the team would be expected to take some responsibility for and I would always have a larger on going projected to work on.

I was given a significant degree of responsibility, as much that it seemed like a full-time role and not just a placement helper. I was responsible for dealing directly with many members of the sales team myself, providing them with sales analysis support. I was also responsible for training the new student to completely take over my role.

I feel that the skills developed during my placement will greatly help in further studies and particularly in future roles. One of the main skills I practiced and developed were various styles of checks to ensure the numbers and totals I provided in all analysis were all correct. I also developed organizational skills greatly, enabling me to effectively manage my time and meet deadlines.

The general atmosphere was friendly and relaxed. Everyone in the team was more than willing to give up a little of their time to help myself or another less experienced employee. As expected there were times when everyone would be quite and deep in concentration and other times where people were chatty, I feel the atmosphere had a good balance between the two.

The placement was very well organized overall. There were clear instructions and support provided at each stage of the placement. It was well organized so that I would have specific projects to allow skill development and chance to impact the company positivity. Feedback sessions with the talent acquisition team also provided further structure to the placement.

The company invested heavily in personal training and development. I received various training sessions for all the software used during the placement, such as Excel, Tableau and the different sales reporting systems. I think the projects were also targeted and specific enough to encouragement development in key areas such as understanding the businesses overall pricing structure.

There was a very friendly and outgoing social scene with most of the placements students. From the first few days all the students started getting to know each other in the various training sessions and lunches. After that various nights out were arranged on Facebook, such as doing a beer crawl, going to a student night or a few drinks and a meal after work, providing lots of opportunity for friendships and good relationships to develop.