Dealer Business Coordinator

I was treated really well, and the opportunities and tasks given were extremely beneficial to my career development. I developed not only my working skills but also personally. The time here I was treated like a real employee rather than just an intern and to that I am very grateful.

From the offset my colleagues valued me highly. I felt like I was an asset to the team from the very start. Many people took an interest in me and my skills, and I was always talked about in a good light. A few employees didn't see much value in interns being there but that was very much overshadowed by those who did.

The management team were very busy and due to it being an international company they were out of the office travelling a lot. Although they did support when possible this made it difficult. However my mentor was extremely supportive and directed me in all my tasks and helped me with any questions I had.

The nature of the business is that it was either very busy or fairly quiet. I always had something to do at all times, but there were patches in the year which were more quiet than others. During the summer seasons was the busiest time of year and around Christmas and new year

From the start I was given a lot of responsibility. I was put in charge of my own social media platforms and research tasks without constant supervision. I was let loose on tasks and all of them had not safety net, so they trusted me to get it done to a good standard.

I learnt a lot of practical skills working at Volvo Penta. I was taught how to use certain programs which are very beneficial to my degree. Furthering that I learnt all about how a business was run and office etiquette which will only prepare me well for future jobs.

The office was very quiet most of the time. Many people traveled for their job and therefore the office could be completely empty. However it was a very relaxed culture and everyone was very content with their jobs. A few workplace conflicts, but nothing out of the ordinary. Overall there is a good atmosphere.

It was organised very well. All the interns had an induction period and we were very well integrated within our department and team. As soon as I started I was given a project and I was working almost immediately, which was good. They looked after us very well and made sure that there was a plan for us.

I was offered multiple training courses throughout my time here, all of which Volvo Group paid for. I was offered Social media and presentation training and they would always encourage me to be as well trained as possible. Volvo Group UK pride themselves in training their staff and it was very much apparent in my job role.

Volvo Group UK is a place where I would definitely consider working for in the future, should an opportunity present itself to me. However it will be very dependent on the nature of the job that I would be undertaking. Unfortunately at this point there is no Grad scheme, but if one should arise I will look into it deeply.

From the beginning of our the placement some effort was made to allow the interns to integrate and socialise outside of work. They kept an interest in where we were living and recommended we did so with other interns. However due to living circumstances the social scene did lack at times.

The area of which I lived for my placement at Volvo Group UK was very nice. However that came at a price. The cost of living in Warwickshire is fairly high, especially for a student. The nearby towns and cities are very much student orientated so there are some cheaper ways of socialising, but house prices were high.

The nightlife of the area I worked was very mixed. There was a lot of restaurants, bars and clubs in the surrounding area, however they often closed early and the quality of them was not great at times. The main branded chains are the ones to go for as the some independent places were fairly costly and not very nice.

The area in which I lived at Volvo Group UK was very student orientated. Therefore if you were in with the student run organisations then you would have a lot of opportunities to get involved with outside activities. If you weren't involved then there was a distinct lack of activities it seemed.