Settlement and Governance Analyst Review

I greatly enjoyed my time at E.ON. When I first got the role, I was unsure whether it would be something I would enjoy and whether the energy industry would be one I enjoyed. However, as I'm coming to the end of my placement and looking back at all the great things I have done, it has been a really valuable time, in terms of the skills I have acquired and helping me decide on what I want to pursue in the future.

I felt highly valued by my colleagues during my time at E.ON. I think a good judgement of this is whether you feel like an undergraduate or an actual employee, for me it was the latter. My colleagues often placed their trust in me asking I could cover tasks of theirs and as a result I felt like an integral part of the team.

My management were superb throughout my placement year. Before, I started they got in touch with me to make sure any concerns/questions I had were answered to calm any nerves. Further, once I had started there was a great support culture throughout E.ON meaning that you could approach many different people for support and any questions I had. As well as your manager, support is available through a mentoring system which provides an alternate angle to the regular support channels.

I found the role to be one which was perfectly balanced. There were day to day tasks which needed completing as well as monthly tasks that I was given. However there was not too much given to me so that I could spend time on other projects and develop different skills. As well as developing my own projects, I was also given projects to develop/lead which I could get on with during quiet times.

I was given quite a lot of responsibility during my placement which is why I felt like a valuable member of the team as discussed earlier. I was responsible for settling very sizeable payments to counterparties, as well as inputting into the monthly income reporting. Additionally each month, I was responsible for producing monthly reports to comply with strict regulations.

While the skills I picked up/developed aren't directly related to my degree, they can still be applied in certain aspects. Time management was a huge part of my placement and that skill play a huge role in my final year of studying and being able to effectively manage a workload. Further, there are many skills I have picked up such as confidence, a proficiency in certain IT packages and teamwork that are important skills in any workplace.

I was very fortunate due to the fact I moved departments 8 months into my placement, this allowed me to experience two different areas with two different atmospheres. Both of which were full of very friendly people and really created a good atmosphere in the office which was a pleasure to work in.

While the specific work and projects I had were very well set out with good collaboration, the overall business organisation was at times frustrating. There were times when the future landscape looked a tad unclear and as I mentioned previously, it resulted in me moving departments. While I can now look back and take the positives from this situation, it was at times frustrating going through this.

There's a catalogue of free learning and development resources available to all employees as well as the opportunity to go and take external courses that the company will often pay for. Unfortunately most of these great resources weren't shown to me until quite late in my placement so I didn't get the full use out of them.

There is a very appealing graduate scheme which offers the chance to experience many different roles across the business. It is also set up so that you can pursue the things that interest you, so instead of there being 4 set roles for you to come into you, you select the 4 roles in different areas that interest you as well as an opportunity to work abroad for 6 months.

There was a decent social scene amongst my colleagues, many opportunites to go out for meals after work and pub visits. However due to the location not being in a major city, such as London with much more going on, I feel like there is some room for improvement on this aspect.

The cost of living and socialising in the area was very good. This aspect is particularly important for a student as money tends to be stretched very thin. The cheap cost of housing in the area compared to London, in particular, is such a difference that it really is a big draw to working elsewhere.

There are many sports clubs who meet up after work, such as football teams who play at the local 5-a-side pitches which is a great way to get to know people you don't normally talk to. As well as this, there are the aforementioned meals out with colleagues as well.