This review was submitted over 4 years ago, so some of the information it contains may no longer be relevant.
Rating
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The Role
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The Company
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The Culture
- 1. To what extent did you enjoy your work placement or internship?
- 2. To what extent did you feel valued by your colleagues?
- 3. To what extent were you given support and guidance by management/your supervisor(s)?
- 4. How busy were you on a daily basis?
- 5. How much responsibility were you given during your placement?
- 6. To what extent did/will the skills you developed, and training you received, assist you in your degree studies and beyond?
- 7. What was the general atmosphere in your office?
- 8. How well organised was the overall work placement or internship set up?
- 9. In terms of personal training and development, to what extent did the company or firm invest in you?
- 10. What were the perks on your work placement?
- 11. How appealing are future employment prospects within the organisation?
- 12. Was there a good social scene amongst any fellow placement students/colleagues?
- 13. What was the cost of living and socialising in the area you worked in?
- 14. What was the Nightlife like in the area you worked?
- 15. Were there many opportunities to get involved in activities outside of work?
The Role
I wasn't just working with one team for the whole 2 months as my manager wanted me to experience and work with multiple teams such as Advanced Services, ECATs, Voice, HTOM's etc
All colleagues were really approachable and friendly and if you had a question they were really helpful.
Every week I had a review meeting with my manager to discuss what I did that week and if I was enjoying it. If I wanted to work with a different team or had any issues I could just ask.
It varied during the week Monday- Wednesday I had a lot of work but during the end it got boring and I just had to self study to fill in time.
Although I got to sit in customer meetings and help with cases I wasn't given very much responsibility
I was asked at the beginning of my placement what I would be studying in my second year. I was then taught the topics and even had my own lab set up so I could practice configuring.
The Company
The office was really laid back, during the Olympics colleagues could just leave their desk for coffee and to watch the games. As long as you completed the work for the deadline you could work in your own time.
I was only told I got the job 2 weeks before I had to start which made it quite stressful finding accommodation although they did extend the start date by a week to help.
I had access to the majority of tests and study books. They also paid for me to sit the ICND1 exam.
Subsidised/Company Gym
Company Parties/Events
Working from home
It's a really friendly company with quite a laid back work atmosphere. You could bring your own device to work on and work in your own time; even at home, as long as you get the work done
The Culture
Don't really know. We all met up to go to celebrate someones birthday but I didn't get to see them much since they were in different departments
Accommodation in Reading was very expensive for the time I was there but the Olympics would have probably affected the price of rent.
I don't know but my accommodation was very close to The Oracle shopping centre
There were a lot of clubs and group that we could get involved with such as cycling, bee keeping club (there is a hive on the roof), football etc and Cisco often holds charity events such as hikes and helping run charity shops.
Details
Internship (1 Month+)
Information Technology
South East
October 2012