Finance Placement Review

I thoroughly enjoyed my work placement at Johnson & Johnson. The opportunties presented throughout my placement year has allowed me to develop professionally. Skills such as working relationships with others, leadership and presentation skills were the main focal point. J&J present various opportunities for you to step out of your comfort zone and really develop as a person

You are made to feel part of the team from the first day of joining. The responsilbities and continuous praise given by colleagues makes you feel valued. On going feedback on how to improve shows evidence that those around you want to see you develop and get the most out of this experience

Support and guidance came from various team members during my internship. Colleagues are aware this is one of your early professional experiences and there is clear guidance and support throughout the year. You are never left alone if you feel uncomfortable doing tasks and the friendly team environment always made it easy to approach people.

Each day varied here at J&J. For example, in Finance, typically the days towards the end of the month got fairly busy as month end tasks started becoming due. Whereas other days during the month would have been quieter. However overall it seemed that most days were busy and kept you occupied with work

Large amount of responsibility given, but only once you start feeling comfortable in your role. J&J do a great job of training you to become more confident through the various intereactions on your placement. Tasks slowly start becoming more important and you realise the impact you have on the business. Opportunities to lead training sessions and presentations allowed self development throughout my year.

No doubt surrounding the usefulness of the skills acquired here at J&J. Upon graduation, it is clear that employers will look for the unique skills you develop from a professional work placement such as technical knowledge and the business working relationships in such an environment. There were opportunities to carry out technical skills training which will become useful in final year and professional exams beyond.

Very friendly atmosphere and fairly laid back. Not the corporate office environment you may expect! This makes working at J&J an enjoyable experience as an intern as you are able to learn a lot professionally, but also enjoy coming into work. Although something to note, the atmosphere does depend on the team and building you work in.

Fairly organised. Orientation day a couple months before placement allowed brief introductions with fellow interns and graduates. This allowed us to break the ice before starting the job and even allowed people to get their houses sorted. Starter packs were also circulated allowing us to gain insights into what we can expect which helped give an idea.

Various opportunities to build on your skills through technical training, presentations to directors, leading projects and many more.

With regards to finance, the graduate scheme is global based and it is unlikely an offer will be given for this. However if the placement year was overall positive from your manager's perspective this does provide the opportunity of fast tracking. Though doing a placement at J&J will always provide an advantage if you were to return.

You will find your own groups/social circles and this dictates the social scene.

With Maidenhead being close to London, it can be fairly expensive to rent the pay more than enough covers rent in general with extra left over!

Not much to do in Maidenhead - though Reading and London quite close by on train.

Football and Cricket on Wednesdays and many opportunties to get involved in sport throughout the year. J&J are big on supporting sponsered charities so there was numerous charity days throughout placement where i was able to give back to the community. Sponsered charity walks and trips were quite common as well