Project Manager and Business Analyst Review

I really enjoyed my placement at Software Solved. I was an undergraduate Project Manager and Business Analyst, for both internal and external clients. Due to leave in our small team, more responsibility came my way as we needed to cover project work for the short time. The additional responsibility made my work a lot more enjoyable and has confirmed my career aspirations to be a Project Manager.

Throughout my time at Software Solved, I felt very valued by my colleagues. This was demonstrated in the feedback I have received from tasks, and also during my last week. It has been mentioned many times that they would have loved for me to go back after my final year of university, however, due to the location I declined. This reinforced how valuable I was to the team.

Due to maternity leave, my original manager was only with me for 2 months before she left. As a result, it took a few months for the new manager to find her feet and to get to grasps with the organisation. I had very good support from my manager and was able to go to her with any problem. However, guidance was lacking due to her workload and priorities.

My week would vary from week to week. Most of the placement I had a steady pace of work, however, other days I would be very busy or very quiet. I would have at least 1-2 meetings a day to discuss various projects and follow up on actions from the meetings. If I was ever quiet on work, another colleague would always provide work.

As mentioned above, due to our small numbers in the Project Management team I was given a lot of responsibility for my role. I would lead my own projects, sign off invoices, face to face meetings, project documentation etc. I was treated as a Project Manager, not as an undergraduate.

I am now more commercially aware, my communications skills have improved and also my problem solving skills. I have also learnt how to deal with sensitive clients who require more thought when communication due to their sensitivity. These are core skills which will help me during my career. I have also learnt how to write information in a concise manner which will assist me when writing essay assignments.

The general atmosphere in the office was fun and friendly. The office as a whole is quite a quiet office, as members will work from home, therefore, not everyone is present in the office. However, everyone is willing to help and never too busy to stop and listen to your problems.

I was the first year that they had run a Project Managment and Business Analyst role as a placement. Previously, it was only developers they had employed as undergraduates. As a result, not much organisation was put in place to my placement, a lot of it was made up as we went along.

Personal training and development was lacking during my placement. Everything I am now skilled on, was due to my own personal learning and reading up in my spare time. I was able to get staff to review my work and documents, however, the original set up of the work I had to research myself and did not have much support on how I should be completing documents, their purpose and what should be included. It was very independent and slightly vague.

I was asked to come back many times, however, due to the location of the company (Exeter) it was too far from home and from the university. The city was not big enough or thriving enough for me to stay. Also, the lack of guidance and overall structure did not appeal to me.

There was a team event every 1/4 of the year, where the staff would take half a day to complete a team-building exercise. These days were always full of fun and social events. However, due to the average age being middle age not many of the colleagues would socialise outside of work due to family commitments etc. However, every now and again a good group of people would go out when someone was leaving. Due to people living in Devon, everyone lived far away from work, therefore, public travel was not accessible so going to and from social events was awkward.

The cost of living was fairly average. I noticed that gyms were more expensive than South Wales or Cheltenham and if you wanted student prices you had to be in a 12-month contract. General nightlife and socialising was the same - as a student if you stick to Spoons and cheaper places this would always be the same in a big city!

There are some good bars around Exeter, and the nightlight is like your normal city town. The clubs are better on weekdays as all the student offers and students are present. As any university city, the weekdays are when the locals go out, therefore, it's always a bit more expensive.

As previously mentioned, due to people being middle-aged, and living away from the city it was difficult to have any activities outside of work. Many people lived in towns around Exeter therefore, would do their own activities around their local area or with their families. If drinks were arranged for a hen or stag do, or someones leaving do everyone would make the effort to go!