SPO Application technologist Review

by International Flavours & Fragrances

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

Rating

3/5
  • The Role
    3.3
  • The Company
    2.9
  • The Culture
    2.6

    The Role

  • 1. To what extent did you enjoy your work placement or internship?
  • I have greatly enjoyed my placement. It offered my insight into the flavour industry, which was not talked about in detail in my university, and allowed me to do development work for a diverse range of products.

    4/5

  • 2. To what extent did you feel valued by your colleagues?
  • Although at the beginning I felt that my input was not valued as much as that of other members of the team, as I developed my experience in the job and my ability to taste and describe flavours my input became more valuable. Throughout my placement year I felt like any other member of the team and my work was seen as important as that of others.

    3/5

  • 3. To what extent were you given support and guidance by management/your supervisor(s)?
  • My manager offered some support regarding technical knowledge; as she was very experienced she advised on recipes and processes, and directed me to many internal and external information sources. As for personal development, it was mostly up to me to ask for opportunities and projects. Without my initial request for responsibility I would have not received it, but after asking I was offered more than I expected.

    3/5

  • 4. How busy were you on a daily basis?
  • For a few months I was very busy and would spent the majority of the day in the lab doing application work for projects assigned to me. However, there were quiet periods with few projects, when I had to find a way to fill the time - with reading (technical information from books/articles), online training, proactive work, or helping out in other labs/departments.

    4/5

  • 5. How much responsibility were you given during your placement?
  • At the beginning, when I was not as familiar with the application and with working with flavours, I mostly assisted other technologists and did not lead any projects. After getting used to the way projects are run and having more technical experience I was put as Team Leader of some of the projects, meaning that I was in charge of doing them and/or getting other team members to do them. Additionally, upon my request I was allowed to lead my own proactive projects, where I was responsible for the whole project and was not supervised (unless asked), and I was in charge of keeping track of the progression of the project and its deadline.

    4/5

  • 6. To what extent did/will the skills you developed, and training you received, assist you in your degree studies and beyond?
  • Since this placement required working on multiple projects at the same time it taught my time-management, prioritising, and planning ahead. These skills will be useful in my studies, especially with long running projects, research, and deadlines. Additionally, I always worked as part of a team and always had to note down my comments as well as others', which will be useful in group projects. The technical skills I learnt may be useful in my studies, depending whether the projects I do will be related to this type of food.

    3/5

    The Company

  • 7. What was the general atmosphere in your office?
  • My team was very nice and always happy to talk and give advice, whether it was work-related or not. Some of my coworkers were very friendly and welcoming, and we became good friends outside the office too.

    5/5

  • 8. How well organised was the overall work placement or internship set up?
  • Some parts were very well organised: the initial introduction to the job was well planned and I spent time with the previous student when they introduced me to the team, taught me how to use the IT systems, and demonstrated the different applications. I was also assigned a mentor inside my team, separate to my manager, who was my first point of contact for technical advice. However, beside teaching me how to do the job there were not many opportunities organised e.g. training, and I had to ask for things such as flavour training, food hygiene training, and visiting other departments.

    3/5

  • 9. In terms of personal training and development, to what extent did the company or firm invest in you?
  • I did not get extensive training beyond the scope of the job. Upon request I received food hygiene training (with a certificate) and flavour training (internal). I had access to online courses offered through the company website, which I could do on my spare time in the office, and could access written material regarding technical knowledge.

    2/5

  • 10. What were the perks on your work placement?
  • Subsidised Canteen

    Healthcare/Dental

    3/5

  • 11. How appealing are future employment prospects within the organisation?
  • The company has branches worldwide and many graduates do return to the same position or to different roles, but many of the workers stay in their role for a long time and there is no frequent changeover.

    3/5

    The Culture

  • 12. Was there a good social scene amongst any fellow placement students/colleagues?
  • There were 3 more placement students from other universities together with me (the following year had 5 students), and we all worked close to each other and met for lunch when we wanted. I had social connections with colleagues in my lab, and most other students were close to their coworkers, and we often me during the weekend/evening.

    4/5

  • 13. What was the cost of living and socialising in the area you worked in?
  • Coming from Reading rent was very cheap for me, especially when sharing a house with 3 other people. Haverhill itself is quite small so going out normally includes a £5 bus ride to Cambridge ($6.50 return).

    4/5

  • 14. What was the Nightlife like in the area you worked?
  • Haverhill itself has one club (I only visited it once and never went again), and there are a few pubs, including one Wetherspoons. It is possible to go to Cambridge where there is much more nightlife and a big student community, but bear in mind that the last return bus is before midnight so you would probably need to get a taxi back.

    1/5

  • 15. Were there many opportunities to get involved in activities outside of work?
  • Every once in a while there is a charity sport event (e.g. netball, rounders, 5K run) where anyone from the site can take part. Some students get to go to industry or food related events such as The Good Food Show, Food Matters Live, IFE and Taste of London, depending on the planning of the year and on how much demand there is.

    2/5

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Details

Placement (10 Months+)

East of England

September 2017


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