Finance Planning and Analysis Assisstant Review

I couldn't have wished for a better placement. The people I work with are easy to get along with and build good relationships with. The work load was hard at first but when you become more confident you can fly through it and I was even able to take on more responsibilities which was fantastic. My manager in Stockport helped me advance certain career skills like advanced excel formulas and business acumen. Also, I was enrolled onto the 'BUILD Programme' which was set in place to give/ advance and help with a lot of transferable career skills. as well as this, they do a psychometric test and show you your personality strengths in business and also areas in which you can focus to improve on. I had lots of useful feedback that I was able to take on board and all of these factors have definitely improved my confidence inside and outside of business.

I felt extremely valued as I was enrolled on the 'BUILD Programme' which was to help me and my skills, I never expected this. I assumed I would just be a lowly intern doing standard tasks. I was given responsibilities and opportunities I never thought I would have and my manager an a lot of other colleagues won't just be 'colleagues' they have become my friends in the past year of my placement. I wasn't approached as an intern once, I was classed as a member of our Bosch Community.

If I ever needed anything, there was always someone to ask or someone available to point me into the right direction. At the start I felt a bit overwhelmed as I had never been in a proper business environment, but after a few weeks I was so comfortable with where I was working and the people around me, that if I ever needed to ask anything, I wasn't nervous and it didn't seem daunting.

Lots of tasks, which take a decent amount of time but after I become more comfortable with each task I was able to take on more responsibilities and I even created a few processes with my manager that helped a lot of people in the business.

I was given a lot of responsibility, I managed projects costs and revenue forecasts, I liaised with government organisations, I invited business partners/ clients to the office to have day long meetings with, I presented to project managers and I have been able to lead meetings with project managers.

Throughout my placement I have gained a vast amount of experience which will be useful throughout my career. I have developed transferable skills such as advanced excel formula skills, increased my business awareness/ acumen. I have also developed a more automated approach when coming to tasks which was helped by my manager, as he made me realise the importance of putting time in upfront to make monthly or weekly tasks easier for you in the long run. When doing this it can free up a lot of time and give you the opportunity to work more efficiently.

Atmosphere in the office is very good, easy to talk to anyone and everyone, lots of banter but also a calm, peaceful place to get stuff done if you need to get your head down when there are deadlines coming up or you are in month end.

Organisation was very good, my manager has run this placement for several years now, there is a smooth transition process and handover period between the previous and current intern to break them into the working life and the tasks they will have to complete. There are also process documents for if you get stuck but after a few months you should be confident enough to complete these tasks relatively easily.

I feel like Bosch invested a lot of time/ effort and money into myself and every other intern that I have met. Especially with the 'BUILD Programme' which was designed specifically for interns because Bosch see's interns as the future of the industry so why wouldn't you invest in their future?

Prospects inside the company are vast due to the Bosch organisation being so big and having offices across the globe. There are many graduate opportunities whether you want to stay in the UK or not. They have a relatively competitive pay for graduate roles as well and employees are treated fairly in my opinion from what I have seen in the past 12 months of my placement. Therefore I would say it is very appealing.

As I have said before, my colleagues will no longer be colleagues when I leave the company however they will still remain as very close friends. I have met a lot of fantastic people , people I wouldn't normally meet. I am grateful for the opportunity and happy that I have become close with a lot of people.

This all depends on where you want to go, what you like and how much you want to spend. I found it very easy to afford my rent for the working year, I also saved up a lot of money to put towards next years university rent and I did participate in work night outs at a whole range of places from high priced to low priced. I also had a decent amount of money for going out on the weekends not only with my colleagues but also my friends as well as this I have been on a few 4 day breaks to different countries. Therefore I would say it is extremely affordable on the salary that you are paid, if you budget like I did.

The night-life was good as Stockport is pretty close to Manchester and there are so many bars, restaurants and clubs in central Manchester. Furthermore, where I lived there were a lot of places to go as it was a student area therefore the demographic was mainly aimed at people who wanted to go to bars and clubs and stuff like that.

I have been on many nights outs and days out with people from Bosch, I have been to lots of activities with the group and the activities that have been put on are really fun such as baseball batting cages, axe throwing and lots of good bars that we have been to that I never would've visited. Also, I have been playing football at a 5 or 6 aside level with my manager and his friends after work as well.