Work Experience Placement Review

The insight was actually quite enjoyable. It encouraged me to think more about the corporate and business side of many industries and it helped me to understand how business plays a role in all industries. I also gained a greater understanding of the need for intricate planning before making purchases and calculating expenses.

I felt very valued during my time at the company as there were often group projects where there was opportunitiy to share my opinion and given it was sensible and appropriate, it was almost always followed through with so I felt like a key player in the team. I also felt valued as I was given a lot of responsibility so I felt trusted and thus valued.

I received a lot of guidance and support during the insight from both my colleagues and my employers. After going through and learning stuff, my employers continually tested me to ensure that I was retaining the financial knowledge. My colleagues also provided me with guidance and support when I was unsure of what I precisely had to do.

I think that the financial skills I developed of careful planning, as well as the greater understanding of the impact of such on industries, will help me in the future as I continue with my Economics degree. It will provide a basis for me to apply the concepts I learn to familiar situations and thus, learn much easier.

The insight was very well structured. They started off with just introducing us to the corporate side of McDonalds, using familiar concepts that we knew quite well. As we got further into the insight, they slowly started easing into the more difficult stuff while using the familiar concepts to introduce new ones.

Generally, the atmosphere during my insight was really fun. Both the employers and my colleagues were quite relaxed so it was easy to make conversation with them and talk to them. Everyone was really approachable so it was easy to meet new people and get to know them. The best thing was that there was time for this fun as well as the learning experience.

In terms of personal development, I think that the company invested quite a lot into me as they taught me a lot of new content regarding the corporate world and even gave me the opportunity to apply such knowledge. They did not hold back on the information they gave and were always willing to go further and answer more questions to delve deeper into the topic.

The insight was quite effective in understanding what it would be like to have a full time role with the company as we looked at practical scenarios to apply our knowledge and make financially smart decisions. However, at times, it felt like the scenarios and situations were far too pared down and simplistic, in comparison to the complex situations in play in the real world.

The insight really did help me in understanding company culture as it made me realise that so much more goes on behind the curtains in terms of finance and corporate business than what ostensibly occurs on the surface. It made me realise how the corporate team is so fundamantal to the business and how company culture relies on having this strong team.

The insight was not particularly valuable in helping decide on my future career path. It rather offered me a broad insight into corporate economics and business rather than being more specific. However, at points in my insight, I was prompted to discuss and explore possible different, and more specific, career choices.

Though I was not paid, I was reimbursed my expenses for travel and for food. I was often offered free food from McDonalds also. I did not expect to be paid because we did not mainly do anything to help the branch but rather, we mainly worked in hypothetical situations and practical scenarios.

There were many opportunities for networking and meeting other employees of the company during the work day through group projects and even after. I feel as though it was important for me to build relationships with my peers as I was working with them and to get good work out of it, communication was essential.

Such opportunities were great. Not only did they provide an opportunity to relax but I was often informed on different career paths I could take in the financial sector. I also got advice on how to succeed in such a competitive industry. I also got to discover what motivated them to work in the industry.

I did find out about a few activities that employees can get involved in outside of work. Socially, there was a scene between employees in which they could meet up outside work for fun. In terms of work-oriented opportunities, there were some opportunities to go to other branches to observe their financial policies and use such to improve on their own policies.

I would definitely recommend this insight if you are doing a career in Business or Economics as it will provide a basis for you to base new concepts on to familiarize yourself with them to make them easier to learn. Furthermore, it will provide you with valuable (and enjoyable) corporate experience that will give you the edge over the competition.