HR Intern Review

I thoroughly enjoyed my placement year at BMW. I was initially nervous to begin a placement, as it is so different from University. Although it was a complete change of daily routine, the positive environment and friendly people working here made me feel like part of the team immediately and made me look forward to coming to work.

I felt extremely valued by my colleagues at BMW. I was treated as an equal member of the team and my ideas were encouraged and valued. Despite being a new member of the team, they made me feel welcome from day one. We had regular team meals etc and we have got to know each other very well over the past year.

I was given support initially by the previous intern who conducted my handover period of a month. This allowed me to feel completely confident in the role. My supervisors, team and managers were happy to answer any questions and help with anything I was unsure of, throughout the entire placement.

On a day-to-day basis, I felt that I regularly had enough to do to keep me busy. I attended weekly meetings and had weekly tasks that I was responsible for. Although there were some times I had completed everything on my to-do list, as soon as I highlighted this to my team, they were happy to provide me with another task or ask for my support on something.

I feel that i was given a great amount of responsibility on my placement year. There were a number of weekly tasks that i was soley responsible for, which included both work for my own team and for other areas/managers around the business. I was also given the opportunity to get involved with several projects and events throughout the year.

My placement year has allowed me to develop vital transferable skills, such as networking, self-confidence, time-management and leadership. The opportunity to work within such a reputable global organisation has provided me with invaluable insight into how a business operates. The responsibility and support i was given has provided me with the confidence for my final year of studies and application for future jobs.

There was a very friendly atmosphere in the office. Everyone made you feel welcome and made an effort to introduce themselves. When i first arrived it was very overwhelming as there were a lot of faces and names, however i got to know people very quickly. If you needed help with anything, people were happy to help.

The placement was very well organised from the moment of being offered the position. I recieved onboarding from my manager and a month long handover period. I had Development reviews with my magager; where we discussed my progress and set targets.

I completed all of the necessary training for the role during my induction period. The company invested a lot of time into my personal development and helped me if there were opportunities that i was keen to get involved in. I was able to work outside my comfort zone whenever i felt ready to do so.

I would defintley consider coming back to BMW, and I would recommend it to others (both as a placement and permanent positions). If a position that i was interested in became available i would definitley consider applying for the role. However, i would not come back to the same role, just as i would be interested to try other areas of a business.

There is a relatively good social scene amoungst fellow interns, and we have arranged several events in Birmingham city center. Similarly, as a team we have been on many meals and chirstmas evenings out. However, due to the location of Hams Hall, people live in many different areas and this sometimes makes it difficult to arrange things. We also have opportunities to socialise at the Quaterly Workshops.

As my home is a 45 minute commute away, I decided to spend my placement year at home living with my family. Therefore, for me the main cost was petrol to drive to and from work each day. However, the train station is walking distance from work and it is a 15 minute drive from Coleshill Parkway to Birmingham New Street.

We arranged a few intern nights out, which we had in Birmingham City Center as this was probably central to where we all lived. As I do not live nearby, i had to arrange a hotel for these nights out which did increase the cost. However, if you are living closer to the Plant there are great transport links. There are plently of bars, pubs, clubs, entertainment venues in the city.

Each year we elect a company charity and there are many events that take place to fundraise. One that i got involed in 'jog on Dementia' campaign, where we had to run the equivalent of a marathon over a period of time. We had a company just giving page to track our results. There are also opportunitys to get involved in football matches, climbing activities etc.