Associate Review

I have thoroughly enjoyed my placement year at GT. I have met so many different people from clients to colleagues which has helped me make so many new professional relationships. I enjoyed it so much that I'm hoping to return to GT as a graduate once I've finished my degree.

I think that the best part of my placement was related to the people I was surrounded with. Everyone from Partners to associates made me feel so welcome straight away and part of the team. Every so often we receive feedback from different colleagues and through those reviews I can see how much my colleagues valued me and my work.

I have monthly drop ins with my supervisor. This allows me to talk about any concerns I have and also gives me an hour a month to talk to someone not focused on work but focused on myself and my wellbeing. I was also set goals by my supervisor in the first few months to help me get the most out of my experience and throughout the year I've been supported by all team members to help me reach these goals.

Majority of the placement I was busy. I had my own portfolio with my own clients to tend to. This kept me busy for most of my time on placement. However, there were periods when I would be a bit more quiet than usual just because of my client load. In this case I would ask the partners and directors if I could go to client meetings with them or I would ask around the team to see if anyone had anything I could help / be part of.

I was given a lot of responsibility on my placement... a lot more than I expected anyway. I was thrown right into the deep end with having my own clients to manage. As daunting as this was I'm so grateful for the tasks and clients I was given as this truly allowed me to excel during the year.

When I go back to university I actually have a module on the field I was in during my placement year. This will allow me to use my knowledge from the past year and apply it to my university work which I think is something so valuable that other people in my year who didn't do a placement would not have.

99% of the time its been an extremely positive place to work. Everyone motivates each other and is so supportive to one another. The teams work so closely together and therefore close professional relationships grow. It is like one big family. With regards to the 1% not so positive, this has been in relation to new policies or new ways of working. However, with how open and honest the team is, if someone has had an issue with something, they are given a voice and are allowed to say whats on their mind and we can all discuss to see if everyone agrees/ disagrees which usually leads to a positive ending.

I would be giving 10/10 for 99% of the time I was there. The 1% relates to my first week on placement I had to travel down to London for 2 days along with the rest of the UK GT placement students and my name was missed off the list. However, GT were very apologetic and managed to sort it all out within an hour.

I do not think GT could have possibly done more in terms of my personal training and development. They provided me with such high quality training in my field that by the end of my placement it felt like I'd be doing my job for years. They have specific training days for placement students but also if you want some 1:1 training they are more than happy to set time aside to do that.

There has been discussions about me going back as a graduate once I have finished my degree. If I am given an official offer I would be over the moon and accept it as I have enjoyed my year so much and would love to complete my professional studies with them

I only saw the other placement students in my first week of my placement and I never saw them again. This was because I was the only placement student in my team. It would have been nice to have seen the other placement students and that's why I've only given 9/10. Although I didn't see the other placement students I also didn't need them to have a good social life. I became very close with the other associates in my team and we would do things socially. Every Friday at the end of the month is also drinks night when the whole team goes out for drinks to celebrate the end of the month.

I have put 5/10 as I lived at home and therefore cannot really comment on the cost of living. In relation to socialising its not ridiculous like London but also its the prices you've expect to pay in a big northern city. Quite often if we did socials with work GT would pay for something be a bar tab or the first round of tickets or subsidising an activity we did.

The best night life in the UK. All of the clubs are in one area so you can literally go from door to door without needing a taxi or anything and the clubs are also very central of the city. Its also the second safest city in the UK and you do feel safe out at night.

I did volunteering with a charity through GT at the beginning of December. I helped distribute presents to families and children in the local area who wouldn't have any presents on Christmas day otherwise. Apart from socials and charity days there wasn't much else to get involved in, but also I can't think of anything else I would have wanted to have done outside of work.