Business Control Assistant Review

I thoroughly enjoyed my placement throughout my 12 months at the Volvo Group. I was given real work which made a real impact to the company. The nature of the job had links to my degree so it was great to be working for a global company like the Volvo Group.

The way I was treated from the first day was excellent. I was never labelled the 'intern' I was a work colleague just like everyone else. My colleagues also relied on me to complete important jobs for them and did not treat me differently to other experienced employees. Overall the company culture made all placement students welcomed into the company.

My manager was always there to support me throughout my development during the 12 month period. She was always easy to approach and would give me her honest advice on everything. The feedback I got from her was always detailed and made me work better in the long run. We also had monthly meetings to see how I was getting on with things.

My day was split 50% day to day duties and 50% project work, so I always had something to do. As I became more experienced in the role I was offered more complex tasks which took longer to complete. However, thankfully, I was never too overloaded with work as over time I began to plan my working days in advance.

All the projects that I completed were given to me so that I could manage them from start to finish. In my day to day duties I was also given important work that other colleagues relied on me to provide. As the time went by I was given more jobs and responsibility.

During my placement I picked up skills that I will need for life. In my 12 months at Volvo I developed my communication skills, listening skills, software skills (Microsoft Office), by working with a wide range of people in different departments and by completing a wide range of projects and tasks.

The department I worked in tended to be quiet due to the lack of people at the office. Due to the nature of the business there were a lot of 'hot desks' for people who may occasionally come in. However, the team I worked with were always based at the office so it was a good atmosphere around them.

Considering I was in the first group of interns to ever come into the company, I felt that the overall programme was set up well. The overall placement was tailored to the company's needs but at the same time ensured that some of the work would tie back to the students studies.

Even though the company knew that my placement would only last 12 months, they invested a lot more into me than they would if I was just a temporary worker. I was always encouraged to join the team on training courses and was also given the freedom to shadow other work colleagues.

The company obviously tries to invest time into their interns with a view to having them back as full time employees in the future. However, they are yet to have a graduates programme in place so not all placement students will be guaranteed a graduate job after their studies.

As most of the placement students joined at the same time, it meant that all of us had the opportunity to get to know each other. As a result there we often people arranging some sort of social event for everyone. But as there were over 25 placement students, it was sometimes hard to make arrangements.

I commuted to work every day so I am not sure how much things would cost for someone who lived in the area. I have been to a few restaurants in Warwick and they seem to be priced the same as other places I have been to. However, Warwick is a small place so sometimes you have to travel to bigger places if you want more choice.

Again, as I commuted to Warwick I did not see much of the town apart from when I travelled to my office block. As the town is quite small I imagine you would need to get on a train to Coventry or Birmingham if you wanted to get a better nightlife experience.

Amongst the departments people would often have plans to do something after work or during the weekend. The company would also often arrange some sort of events for charity or just for the employees in general. During my 12 months, they have arranged things like the wolf run and bike events for charity.