Finance Placement Review

I thoroughly enjoyed my time at Egress. I felt that I was a valued member of the team and was given work that was both enjoyable and challenging. The company is also very sociable meaning that there were always lots of activities going on at lunch or after work

I felt very valued by my colleagues both in terms of work and socially. When it came to work the placement students are given a lot of responsibility in their roles. In terms of the social aspect I felt like part of the Egress family through taking part in company socials to playing pool at lunch with fellow colleagues.

Support and guidance was always readily available if I needed it whether that be from my manager or anyone at Egress. I was given the opportunity to take on new tasks by myself and ask for help when necessary. This worked out really well for me as I was able to solve problems by myself and learn quicker.

Working in finance meant that my workload could vary depending on what time of the financial year it is. For example, I tended to be busier during the quarter and year ends. This meant that it could be quieter at some points. I very rarely found myself with little to do. Even in this case I was able to go and help and learn from other departments, this is a big benefit of working for a small company.

I felt that I was given lots of responsibility during my placement. This increased as the placement went on and my skills developed. I could see the work I was doing had an impact on the company whether that being working on the finance tasks or helping out other teams.

I did not receive any formal training but the skills I have developed will help me massively going forward. I have used a variety of software's over my time here each that I have been able to become proficient in, this is likely to help me in my future career. Especially when it comes to excel, I use this day in day out and it will be an important skill to take into a career in finance. I also think that being able to work in an organisation has allowed me to see all the theories I have learnt in my degree in practice.

There was a very relaxed atmosphere in the office, but everyone was always working hard. There are no individual offices and the floor is open plan meaning that its very relaxed and people are always there to speak to if you need them. Also the kitchen area is very sociable due to the pool table which is always busy during the lunch hours.

At the start there was no formal set up with the former placement student teaching me the tasks I had to do. At times I felt this could have been more organised as it was a lot of information to take in at once. However, this did not hinder my development and provided me with a challenge that I was able to overcome.

There was no formal training during my placement and it is common for people to learn on the job when they start here. However, multiple people invested a lot of time in me at the start of my placement especially when it came to learning the software that the company uses.

There are not a lot of future employment prospects especially in finance. However, the company and all of the teams within it are growing, so this may be different in the future.

There was a good social scene amongst everyone at the company. The majority of people often attended the company socials and people were always going out for drinks near the office. The company socials were always good fun, they included activities such as comedy nights, darts, pub quizzes and trampoline parks.

Being in central London rent and socialising costs are quite expensive as you would expect.

There was a great nightlife, as we were in central London there were lots of bars, restaurants and nightclubs close by. The office is also right next to the tube station meaning that its easy to get anywhere across central London quickly.

There were lots of opportunities outside of work. As I mentioned before there are monthly office socials, but people often go out for drinks most weeks in nearby bars after work. Also I took part in both tennis and football socials with fellow colleagues whilst I was at Egress.