Insight day Review

The insight was good overall. I didn't particularly enjoy the finding location as it was cut off so I had to use a special shuttle service. I had the opportunity to shadow and meet different people from Castrol.

I was given a fair amount of time by each employee I met and they gave me good advice and insights into their role. I was definitely valued

I was always with an employee. Anything that I asked for and anyone that I asked to see was put together in place for me. That allowed me to maximise the information that I gained.

It didn't assist with my degree much and I didn't develop any skills over the day. The only thing that I learned was that it's quite difficult for a large company like BP/Castrol to implement basic standardisation, which is why they have to invest a huge amount of time into a project management. This is something I personally did not like.

I applied for the insight in September and got an offer the following March, having forgotten about it. I received it in a do not reply automated e-mail which meant I couldn't ask any questions about it. I thought it was a shadow week, not a day. In addition to this, they said they would be in contact in July, they got in touch in late August saying I should come in the following week. Luckily I was available for it. Only then, I realized that I was with Castrol, not actual BP, which I didn't apply for specifically. In addition to this, I never stated who I wanted to meet or speak to during the day, which would have made more use of my time during the day. I didn't know when the day would end and there was no formal calendar.

The environment was very dull. People lacked energy and were slow. The place was very green and relaxing which was good during lunch break. But the place just didn't have a buzz of energy like I have seen in other companies.

They invested their time and they ran through their role which was a fair investment. I enjoyed learning about the different roles. One person sat down with me and explained everything in their department and their application process. We had very good discussions. As it was only one day, there wasn't potential for any training

It was a good insight into what the day to day operation would be like. I learned about the different challenges which employees have to solve at Castrol and how they collaborate across departments to get the work done. They spent a lot of time meeting and discussing how to prepare for sprints. The junior employees acted as facilitators for senior employees to work together.

There wasn't much talk of company culture. The place didn't have a buzz. There was little energy in the place. There wasn't anything that stood out from other companies in terms of culture. It was quite a flat structure where managers sat with the employees. The first year in the commercial downstream programme, was a random selection of a role which is not ideal.

I understood that I did not fit in such a company. I wanted to be in a much more fast paced environment and this was not the place for me. The 3 year rotation programme is good for people who don't know where they want to work. If you want a safe and risk-free career path, BP-Castrol is the place for you.

There wasn't a formal networking event. However, I asked my main mentor if I could meet certain people from certain departments and he put a lot of effort during the day to ensure I speak to the people from the departments. Overall i was satisfied by the fact that I met those people

There was no social event. However, I asked my main mentor if I could meet certain people from certain departments and he put a lot of effort during the day to ensure I speak to the people from the departments. Overall i was satisfied by the fact that I met those people

I didn't find out about this because it was a one-day insight and that was not something that particularly interested me. I wanted to make sure I understood the role first before finding out about the outside of work activities. The company did seem quite close together, especially the graduates. They wouldn't be able to go out after work though because of the location.

Overall, it's a good insight if you are studying engineering. For me, it confirmed that I do not fit in an engineering company which is still a good outcome. The people are friendly and if your mentor is good, they can facilitate meetings with different departments. It would be better to apply to the London office as opposed to reading.