Summer Placement Student Review
by Mercer
This review was submitted over 4 years ago, so some of the information it contains may no longer be relevant.
Rating
-
The Role
4.3
-
The Company
4.4
-
The Culture
1.9
- 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
On the whole , day to day the job was very enjoyable. However due to the short time I was there, some areas of work I didn't have enough knowledge of to work on. Despite which all my colleagues were extremely patient in explaining any unknown concepts.
Everyone knew who I was and the majority of which took the effort to introduce themselves to me on, even many more senior members of the team.
Each placement student is assigned a "buddy", this is generally some one you sit near to and they are there to set you work and answer every question you may have. My buddy was fantastic and his patience with my occasional lack of understanding amazed me. I didn't feel at all worried about asking questions.
There were times that I didn't have enough work, however this was partly due to my lack of expertise.
I was working on actual client work and my time was even billed for. Every piece of work was checked then signed off so there wasn't too much need to worry about making mistakes.
Since I decided that this is the industry I wan't to work in, the skills I learnt are really useful.
The Company
There was definite hard working vibe, although at the same time work colleagues were all very friendly and would go out for lunch together and on "tea-trips" to the kitchen.
Very well, a real effort was made in making you feel part of the team and there was a great training programming (see below).
A great deal. We had an initial training course in leeds for 2 days that introduced us to what the work would involve, about Mercer and team building exercises. All the interns from all over the country attended this and it was great to meet everyone. In the 2nd week we had a training course in London to learn how to use excel. We also had a final course on the last day in london to relay our experiences and give a presentation.
Flexi Time
Company Parties/Events
I've accepted a job there for 2008!
The Culture
On the initial training course and last day, definatley! Not so much during the placement since I was at one of the smaller offices and there was only one other placement student.
I lodged with family, but Windsor was pretty expensive, lovely place though.
I only went out in Windsor a couple of times since I was living in Reading but the bars were all great. Not a huge number of them. It felt extremely safe to be out. There was also a theatre.
I wasn't aware of a great deal of activities, a few socials though and a foot ball team.
Details
Internship (1 Month+)
Accounting
Scotland
January 2008
