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
It was a very pleasant working environment and everyone was very friendly. Work and life balance was great. I could always get help whoever I turned. The whole experience gave me a significant insight into automotive industry. However, there were not enough work to keep me occupied. The efficiency across the whole company needs to be improved.
I was given real task that would truly help the business of company from the beginning. I was regarded as a true employee instead of a student trying to get some experience about this industry. Everyone was really helpful and I could always get help whoever I turned to. They have been very patient and friendly when explaining new concept to me.
I was given a supervisor, who was in charge of direct instruction to me and the one I turned for help directly if I encountered any problem. He also kept my line manager updated of any progress that I made on my project. I was also assigned a mentor, to whom I discussed my career objectives. He guided through the initial few weeks when I was not familiar with the industry.
Generally too bored. I was not given enough work to keep me occupied. I had to wait for a lot of people to respond me with required information. Due to low efficiency, I ended up waiting for other people for a significant amount of time. Some other work was assigned to me while waiting. However, it would be better if more challenging task were assigned.
The work I was given from the beginning was real task that would help with the further development of company. It was not a task that's been made up for internship purpose only, and it will have an impact on the further progress on my department. I also met with the internal and external suppliers to discuss certain issues, and tried to fix problems when encountered one.
Working in big company can be challenging, especially when dealing with people. Things can be inconsistent across the company and it is essential for me to explain the necessary information before proceeding, through which my interpersonal and communication skills have been strengthened. Coordination between different department and groups also required certain technics.
The Company
Everyone was extremely friendly and nice.
There has been a couple of induction at the very beginning, including a few talks about the company and industry, and some fun quiz which helped with building up friendships between interns. There were some other inductions throughout the internship, which aimed to make sure that we fit in well. However, the work loan needs to be re-organised, since most of us didn't feel like challenged enough.
There are a lot of courses that we can enroll, including online ones and real classes. There cover a great range of topics and they were all free. We were all assigned supervisors or mentors to keep guiding us through the settling process. There were also outside job activities and company would give a certain amount of money for those. However, those were not for summer interns.
Flexi Time
Company Car
Subsidised/Company Gym
Financial Bonus
Staff Sales/Staff Shop
Above 25 days holiday
Working from home
It is a growing company and more money is invested.
The Culture
There are plenty of opportunities to get involved.
Coventry is quite a cheap place. The company also has employee discount for the accommodation we lived in. Therefore, the living cost is extremely low for summer. Even for some one who would choose to go out and social all the time, the cost would still be affordable given the amount we were paid.
The site I worked at was based in Gaydon, which is literally in the middle of nowhere. It took us about 45 minutes to commute from Coventry. Most employee live in Leamington Spa, which is a smaller town closer to Gaydon. However, wherever we chose to live, the Nightlife could be quite dull. After all, it was not in any big cities like London. Some people also chose to live in Birmingham, which I imagine could be more exciting.
There werea lot places where we can get employee discounts, including restaurants, shops, travel and tourist attractions. There were also employee learning scheme, where you can learn a great range of things paid by company. Some department organised a lot of activities outside work including go carting. Since most of employee live quite close, there are plenty of opportunities to get involved.
Details
Internship (1 Month+)
West Midlands
October 2017