Software Support and Test Analyst Review

I thoroughly enjoyed my work placement at Advent IT where I was able to undertake new and exciting challenges. During the year I learnt a lot about myself and I became more confident. By proactively organising my day, I became more independent and I always met deadlines before they were due. My placement experience helped to guide my final year choice of degree modules. Most importantly, my newly learnt time management and task planning skills gave me a great advantage during my assignments, final year project and exam preparation.

The Advent IT team are all motivated and committed to the success of the company and they all helped me develop, by offering me practical, technical and professional help throughout the year. It was great to have my ideas listened to and taken on-board. I had the opportunity of researching new methods of working and had the joy of seeing others benefit from it.

During my placement year I had a great training programme and benefited from weekly one-to-one meetings with my line manager. This provided the perfect environment to help me to build on my strengths and to identify and confront my weaknesses. Understanding my strengths enabled me to choose my level 3 module choices with confidence, understanding my weakness helped me identify what I needed to address in my final year at university to strengthen my continued development.

There was always lots to do but in an environment where I learnt how to manage a busy workload. Every day was different as I was involved in a number of different tasks and projects. My placement year was a great opportunity for me to identify and reflect on the working situations that I enjoy. I liked working in an environment where there were new and exciting challenges allowing me to use my initiative and deliver the best job possible. I believe that it is important to have a mix of challenges and stresses in any job. Too much stress is harmful, but I would find a job with no stress mind-numbing.

I settled and integrated into the team incredibly quickly and gained real responsibility from day one. The moment I started I was given demanding projects to work on and expected to make things happen. I thrive under pressure and therefore enjoyed the challenges and pressures of the job. I was constantly encouraged to reach my full potential and achieve greater things for both customers and colleagues and myself. This is what made my placement year so exciting.

My placement experience helped to guide my final year choice of degree modules and my newly learnt time management and task planning skills gave me a great advantage during my assignments, final year project and exam preparation. I learnt many transferable skills that benefited me in the final year of my degree and beyond. My placement gave me the confidence and determination to succeed in my degree and has enhanced my career prospects.

A friendly office environment where there were new and exciting challenges everyday. Everyone at Advent IT feels part of the team with a ‘can do’ attitude and a sense of humour. We even had fresh fruit, fizzy drinks and hot chocolate on tap :)

My placement year was very well organised – I couldn't fault it. My weekly meetings with my manager helped me to focus on my goals and gave me a good structure to my placement. It was a great experience to be involved in recruitment and training for the following placement student.

Advent IT wants to see you succeed and help to transform you from student to employee. I was given a huge amount of personal training throughout the whole 12 months. I gained feedback and coaching from my manager and other team members to not only improve my technical skills but also my professional and personal qualities.

I gained the opportunity of being recruited back into the business after graduation. There’s nothing more reassuring than knowing that you have a job offer on the table while studying in your final year at university! I was thrilled to be offered a graduate job at Advent-IT and it’s great to be back in a working environment that I enjoy.

We all enjoyed getting together, ranging from going out for lunch in Shoreham to dinner and drinks after work in Brighton.

Shoreham is a little bit cheaper than the living and socialising costs of Brighton.

Shoreham-By-Sea is located just 7 miles from the hustle and bustle of Brighton. It’s a small port and seaside resort nestled between the South Downs to the north and the mouth of the River Adur to the south. Shoreham has a nice range of bars, pubs, restaurants, coffee shops and bakeries.

Yes there were, from Networking events and Business Improvement Classes to work related events in London.