EMEA Employee Resource Center Generalist (HR Generalist) Review

I have gained so much experience from my placement year at Adobe. It was an amazing opportunity to learn about the industry and sector. I was treated like a regular employee rather than an intern which enabled me to explore so many options. I thoroughly enjoyed my placement year with Adobe.

Everyone was so welcoming and I felt extremely valued by my colleagues. They treated me like a regular employee and were open to hearing my opinions. We were all open to feedback which enabled me to grow as an individual both personally and professionally.

My manager was always there to provide support to me. Initially we had more contact to help me settle in to the role and then we would have weekly 1:1's to discuss progress and career development. I was also allocated a buddy for additional guidance on day to day tasks, which I felt was a great way to learn the role.

On a daily basis, it was a busy role. There was a schedule in place to ensure we responded to employee queries to hit our KPI's- this was the main focus of my role. Additionally, I would balance responding to employee queries with projects and meetings outside of the schedule.

Throughout the year I was given a lot of responsibility. I was treated as a regular employee rather than an intern which meant I was able to do a lot such as running team meetings and leading projects.

I have developed so many skills from my placement year, both personally and professionally. I was able to grow in confidence and learn so much about Human Resources. My communication skills have advanced through emails and face-2-face/phone conversations with managers and employees as well as through regular on-boarding presentations to new hires.

The Adobe atmosphere was always lively. There are so many things to do beyond your work such as yoga or fitness camps during your lunch break. They also put on events throughout the year and had employee networks which allows everyone to network within the building.

The placement year was very well organised. I had a buddy allocated which gave me additional support for those quick questions and my manager was always available and we had scheduled meetings. I had an integration plan for my first month which gave a smooth transition. My first week was planned for me to get to know key stakeholders and business tasks and the remaining weeks, I had key objectives to complete which I found really useful.

Adobe has so many development opportunities available. There are regular online sessions that you can join to develop but there are also on-demand platforms that you can do individually in your own time. I used these regularly to develop a range of my skills. My manager really encouraged me to take the time to do these to coincide with my personal development plan we had created.

It isn't common for interns to return to Adobe in this role as there isn't a guaranteed job at the end. However, there are always job opportunities available and I feel that the experience I have gained in this role will enable me to gain a job after graduation.

I was the only intern on my floor/team but there were other interns in the office. They were all really welcoming and there were opportunities to have lunch with them and socialise outside of the office.

I lived at home for the year and commuted to the area. However, there were lots of things to do close to the office and I know a lot of the interns did live in Maidenhead.

There isn't much nightlife in Maidenhead but there are really good train links to London or Reading which has a good nightlife.

Adobe really encouraged volunteering. Volunteering events were held where a group of employees would do volunteering for a day e.g a beach clean or go to local school to help students develop skills. It was a great way to network. You were also encouraged to do volunteering outside of work individually.