HR Sandwich Placement Student Review

My 12 month placement at BOC was the best experience ever. It has given me the working knowledge of HR practices that I needed and has greatly increased my employabilty skills, looks great on my CV and most importantly has further confirmed that a career in Human Resources is what I want to do.

I thoroughly enjoyed my placement at BOC. The thing I enjoyed the most was that although I was still a student, I was treated like a valued and contributing member of staff from day one.

My manager and colleagues were always willing to go the extra mile and help explain/describe processes and policies and provide guidance when needed, even when they were really busy themselves. If there was any aspect of HR that I wanted to explore/gain more experince in, my manager was supportive in making it happen.

My role was based within the Central Support Team for the HR department, so was very varied and busy. I liasied with many customers, internal within the HR department, general business managers, queries from employees throughout the UK & Ireland and enquiries from external customers such as prospective candidates and suppliers. This made sure that no two days were the same and helped me develop my organisational skills.

The level of autonomy was just right for my position within the team. I was able to organise my day to day workload myself but had regular catch ups with my manager to ensure my development was tracked. I aslo knew when a query needed to be escalated and always had the support from my manager and colleages in this instance.

The time management skills that I have developed will enable me to be more efficient and organised during my final year of studies and the experince and exposure to HR and employee relations issues will enable me to apply practical examples to the theory taught in lectures.

The general atmosphere is always really friendly. We all have a chat and a gossip about TV prgrammes or something, which is usual office banter. It does get quiet when everyone is really busy, usually around payroll cut off date which happens once a month. We have team building exercises which are always fun, when I first joined I orgainsed an ice cream making day out for the HR department which was set up like an episode of 'The Apprentice'.

The original plan for my placement was well prepared, however this changed as I progressed through my placement to focus on areas that were more important to both the business and myself. This level of flexibility on both sides helped us to get the best out of my time here.

The company have invested in me a great deal as they have helped me develop in areas that were of an interest to me and they have offered to support me in my final year of study.

I cannot wait to start my full time permanent career with BOC!

As the only HR student, there wasnt much opportunity to. As I lived in a house share with similar aged people, I met a lot of friends that way.

The cost of living is quite high in Guildford, however I moved to the nearby town of Aldershot and travelled to work by car which is much cheaper. As i lived in Kingston previously, the rent was a lot cheaper in Aldershot whcih meant I could save some of my salary.

Guildford is a really good night out. Lots of bars and nightclubs. There is a big student population in Guildford as this is where the University of Surrey is based.

The sports and social clubs offer lots of opportunites at local attractions for reduced prices.