Competition Data Coordinator Review

Working at Avis Budget Group was an experience i thoroughly enjoyed. The work varied from day-to-day and the people made it a great working environment.

The responsibility i was given was much more than i anticipated prior to starting my placement. I was treated just like any other employee at the company and they certainly made me feel valued. Everyone at Avis Budget Group is treated equally and before long you feel exactly like any other employee.

Every placement student has a supervisor they will report to directly and meetings are arranged on a regular basis to provide support, advice etc. From my personal experience, there was always someone to talk to. At Avis Budget Group, they have had placement students for a number of years so they are more than happy to provide help and guidance whenever necessary.

Over the 12 months, i can count on one hand the number of times i had nothing to do. Although i was busy all the time, it was a good balance of workload and the days go by very quickly. I was very happy being busy everyday as there's nothing worse than being bored at work everyday!

The responsibility given to me, was much more than i anticipated. I worked on real projects and important tasks that help the company move forward. Like in most roles, the harder i worked and the more enthusiasm i showed, the more responsibility my manager gave me.

Working full-time has been a great experience and i have learnt so much more than i thought i would. Time management and organisation are key skills i have developed and will apply in my final year and beyond. Also working in an office environment was great and in the future i should be able to adapt to similar conditions very easily.

Avis Budget Group is a very forward thinking company at the moment so there is a really good atmosphere around the place. There are always new ideas and new projects being developed and the way you work changes as a result of that. Senior managers regularly communicate targets and achievements so everyone at the company feels involved.

Prior to starting there were a few issues when trying to get forms filled out but it was all sorted in the end. It can be quite difficult to locate the right people when you have very specific issue. Starting the placement i was made to feel very welcome and for the first few months i filled out forms to monitor progress.

Our department had a training manager and whenever a course or activity came up i was involved with them. Throughout the year i also had the opportunity to spend time with other departments and gain experience in other areas.

They don't currently have any Graduate Schemes so i would have to apply for a full-time position within the company. They have hired previous placement students in the past, so hopefully they would look upon me favourably if i was to apply for a job at Avis in the future.

There were only around 7/8 placements students in the whole building so socially we didn't tend to do much outside of work. However one of the reasons for this was because we all lived in different areas. Prior to starting, HR will put you in touch with the other placement students in case you want to organise shared accommodation. Bracknell isn't the most socially vibrant place so colleagues tend to go straight home after work, however every so often people come together for birthdays or leaving lunches etc.

I lived in Reading which is a 20 minute train journey from the offices and the cost of living was reasonable for the area of the country. Despite being so close to London, rent and other expenses are affordable.

Bracknell has next to no nightlife, but Reading is a great place to go. There is a larger University in the area and therefore lots of nightclubs, bars, events. Also, London Paddington is only 30 minutes on the train from Reading.

There were limited activities organised outside of work. I was occasionally involved in the 'Football Friday' but apart from that there wasn't really anything else going on. Some departments organise 'Away Days' which are fun and you get the opportunity to bond with your team away from the office.