Business Development Executive Review

by British Airways

This review was submitted over 4 years ago, so some of the information it contains may no longer be relevant.

Rating

3.9/5
  • The Role
    4.3
  • The Company
    4.1
  • The Culture
    2.9

    The Role

  • 1. To what extent did you enjoy your work placement or internship?
  • I thoroughly enjoyed my head office placement at British Airways. I was placed in Heathrow Operations and therefore no day was the same as constant issues and situations affected my role. I was given significant responsibility and led a number of projects, which were important to the British Airways operation at Heathrow. Furthermore, as a group of placement students we had the opportunity to engage with a variety of charity work for Flying Start, the BA charity which works with Comic Relief. The pinnacle of this was a 100km hike in Italy.

    5/5

  • 2. To what extent did you feel valued by your colleagues?
  • I have made strong friendships with many of the people I worked with, and created a network which I believe I can now rely on during my future career. My colleagues gave me constructive feedback, and encouraged my learning and development of a wide range of transferable skills. I felt empowered to make decisions and take responsibility of projects and situations.

    5/5

  • 3. To what extent were you given support and guidance by management/your supervisor(s)?
  • Through weekly 1-1s with my line manager I was given constant support and guidance. He was able to give me honest feedback and this helped me perform in my role. There was also 2 reviews with my graduate manager, who acts as a point of contact should anything not be going well within your placement. There is also a number of developmental 1-1s arranged throughout the year to discuss how the placement is going.

    4/5

  • 4. How busy were you on a daily basis?
  • When I first begun the placement, I found fairly difficult to find much meaningful work. However, after a few weeks once my confidence had grown I soon picked up a number of projects. These ranged from technology used by our ground handlers to the entry into service of a new aircraft. Time management was key to balancing a variety of projects and ensuring you're work load wasn't too much.

    4/5

  • 5. How much responsibility were you given during your placement?
  • I was able to take on a significant level of responsibility thanks to building a number of key relationships with senior leaders, becoming trusted to make decisions and lead conference calls. Furthermore with the re-organisation, a number of managers left leaving a significant work load to take over. This also enabled to take on further responsibility.

    5/5

  • 6. To what extent did/will the skills you developed, and training you received, assist you in your degree studies and beyond?
  • The skills developed on this placements will be transferable to any future career. I significantly developed organisation, time management and supplier management skills throughout my time, to name just a few.

    4/5

    The Company

  • 7. What was the general atmosphere in your office?
  • My direct team was only 3/4 people, which meant the atmosphere in the office can be fairly quiet if colleagues are out and about. That being said, I made good friends with a number of other people at Heathrow and therefore if the office was quiet it was easy to find someone.

    4/5

  • 8. How well organised was the overall work placement or internship set up?
  • Despite not being able to chose your position before you begin the placement, there is a good number of quality roles available which are selected dependant on the need of the business area. The recruitment process was smooth, and the onboarding simple. Placements had their own induction week with talks from senior leaders about the business, team building exercises and a number of activities.

    4/5

  • 9. In terms of personal training and development, to what extent did the company or firm invest in you?
  • We had quarterly development days with our graduate manager, which were on topics selected by us. These included presentation delivery, influencing and a number of other topics. There is also an online training platform available to all where you can sign up to do online modules, as well as booking training courses in a complete variety of topics.

    4/5

  • 10. What were the perks on your work placement?
  • Sports and Social Club

    International Travel

    Staff Sales/Staff Shop

    Working from home

    Travel loan

    5/5

  • 11. How appealing are future employment prospects within the organisation?
  • Following a successful placement we had the opportunity to be interviewed for a position of the Future Leaders Graduate Programme and I was successful as a result. You are assessed on your performance throughout the year and an interview at the end. The scheme presents further opportunity to gained a wider insight to other areas of the business.

    5/5

    The Culture

  • 12. Was there a good social scene amongst any fellow placement students/colleagues?
  • Many of the placements on my cohort lived at home and therefore organising social events was difficult, as people didn't live near each other. We did however have a number of socials after work organised by ourselves. The graduate committee organise social also which placements are invited to attend and these happen every few months.

    3/5

  • 13. What was the cost of living and socialising in the area you worked in?
  • The cost of living and socialising was fairly high, given it's proximity to London.

    3/5

  • 14. What was the Nightlife like in the area you worked?
  • In the areas around Heathrow, and the head office, there is very limited nightlife, apart from a couple of pubs and what is available at Terminal 5. For nightlife we had to go into London, which wasn't too difficult as you were able to get discounted tickets on the Heathrow Express.

    3/5

  • 15. Were there many opportunities to get involved in activities outside of work?
  • There is a number of sports clubs, as well as opportunities to get involved with fundraising through Flying Start. The placements were able to run a number of events including a 5-a-side tournament and a 100km hike in Italy. There was often nights organised by the grad committee and flying start - these included Quiz nights, Film Nights as a few examples.

    4/5

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Details

Placement (10 Months+)

London

October 2019


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