Finance Placement Review

I have enjoyed my placement to a large extent because everyone has made me feel welcome and easily approachable. Also, the work which I have been set is more than I expected and enjoyable, by including me in the work which requires a team effort and giving me opportunities to take on work that is beyond what is expected at my level.

I feel valued by my colleagues to a large extent because not only are they helpful and give me opportunities for me to progress further, they also make me feel part of the Cummins family with their friendliness and humour.

I have been given a large amount of support during my placement, considering the changes in personnel in the finance department, including my manager. The manager who I had when I first started introduced me to many areas in finance for me to be involved in and had regular one to one meetings with me to discuss my progress and how I feel about the work. As for my current manager, he has support me through the changes in personnel and the circumstances which are happening at the site where I work. He also conducts regular team meetings to maintain the team dynamic and identify areas whereby we can support each other as well as improve processes, improving my development.

I have always had plenty of work to do but not to the point where I feel too pressured or stressed to a large extent over workload. If I had any concerns about the workload, my manager is very approachable and I feel confident to reach out to him if I have any concerns.

I have been given a lot of responsibility during my placement. This includes contributing to the month end reporting journals and reconciliations, VAT return, fixed assets and leases.

The skills and training have helped me for university and beyond because I can apply them to my degree, professional qualifications and working in finance in the future.

No matter what the situation was as far as the organisation or everyone's personal lives are concerned, everyone comes into work with a positive attitude, creating a good atmosphere in the workplace.

I think the placement was well organised because I started alongside the other placement students so that the first day wasn't daunting. They also introduced me to the previous placement students who will be leaving to hand over the work and partnered me up with a graduate student who would offer me support if I needed it. What would have been better would be if the needs of the finance department were considered when deciding on a start date because the start date was decided by the talent management team rather than the finance department and as a result, I did not spend a lot of time with my predecessor. Also, because Cummins is a global organisation with multiple business segments, it would have been better if I had opportunities to visit a fair number of Cummins sites as I have only spent time at two sites, which doesn't give me full visibility of the organisation.

They have invested a lot of time in my training and development by conducting training sessions whereby I would learn more about different aspects of my role in finance as well as skills training and opportunities for me to do a presentation on my role.

The future prospects are bright with the organisation. I am interested in the Cummins Finance Development scheme whereby I rotate between four different Cummins sites, each with a different finance role. My manager and my colleagues are very impressed with the work which I have done so far and I'm sure that they would be delighted if I came back to Cummins.

There is a good social scene amongst my fellow placements and colleagues because we would sit and eat lunch together and throughout the day, we would talk about our hobbies and interests.

The cost of living was very low for me because where I work is only a fifteen minute train ride from my home. Therefore, I lived with my parents for the year and contributed towards the bills.

I didn't really explore the nightlife in the area which I work because of the fact that I needed to take the train home.

I have not had many opportunities to get involved in activities outside of work. However, I have had social opportunities with my colleagues outside of work such as leaving dos.