Strategic Procurement Analyst Review

by Hewlett Packard Enterprise

This review was submitted over 4 years ago, so some of the information it contains may no longer be relevant.

Rating

3.2/5
  • The Role
    3.6
  • The Company
    3.1
  • The Culture
    2.6

    The Role

  • 1. To what extent did you enjoy your work placement or internship?
  • A fantastic company with a culture focused around employee development. A 60-strong intern community lends to a buzzing atmosphere and a number of after-work activities.

    4/5

  • 2. To what extent did you feel valued by your colleagues?
  • The intern scheme is fast becoming a valuable tool for recruiting young professionals and training them up to successfully return as graduates. For this reason, HP are investing more and more in the development of this scheme. Colleagues are now realising the benefit of the program and fully support those on it. That said, having a positive attitude and producing good work is the key to being truly valued on your internship. However, Procurement is traditionally an undervalued industry and often considered a hindrance by the stakeholders you support.

    3/5

  • 3. To what extent were you given support and guidance by management/your supervisor(s)?
  • Management provide a consistent level of support throughout the internship and the 'HP University' provides tools to train with whenever you have downtime. However, management rarely push yourself to be out of your comfort zone and it is very much your own responsibility to get involved as much as you can. There is certainly a degree of mollycoddling in the style of management employed by our superiors.

    3/5

  • 4. How busy were you on a daily basis?
  • The first 4 months were very light and more training focussed. However, throughout the year my workload increased substantially to a point where I was all day, every day.

    5/5

  • 5. How much responsibility were you given during your placement?
  • The year started slowly with admin & research work as I built up the trust of my team. I was then able to assist and co-lead projects and prove my ability to lead. Due to internal reshuffling, I temporarily assumed a full-time Procurement role which amounted to a considerable amount of responsibility as the main point of contact for our stakeholders. From here, I was able to lead several end-to-end projects which affected the bottom line of the company.

    5/5

  • 6. To what extent did/will the skills you developed, and training you received, assist you in your degree studies and beyond?
  • I believe my understanding of the corporate world will drastically improve my degree studies as I fully understand the links between certain areas. A lot of what I have learned in my studies to date has not been used in my day-to-day work so I am not sure on how much overlap there will be moving forward.

    3/5

    The Company

  • 7. What was the general atmosphere in your office?
  • The atmosphere is light-hearted and friendly. Your colleagues and managers will always have time spare to lend you a hand and show you how to do things. Attendance is rarely very high so it is not quite as buzzing as other offices. There is very little out-of-work activities leading to low team cohesion.

    2/5

  • 8. How well organised was the overall work placement or internship set up?
  • As a HP intern, the scheme is established and appreciated. The intern committee ensures there is always activities lined up. However, as a Procurment intern there is not a dedicated scheme and you are thrown together with the graduates. This is great for networking and getting support but their roles and objectives differ greatly from ours, leading to little synergy,

    3/5

  • 9. In terms of personal training and development, to what extent did the company or firm invest in you?
  • HP has a very developed training and development program focused around the HP University and Grow@HP which has thousands of courses available to develop your soft skills, specific department knowledge or general computer/program abilities. The intern committee arrange calls with experts and workshops. However, there is little financial backing to your development and paid-courses are often reserved for graduates. There are few qualifications to gain during the year, In procurement, they operated a mock-RFP which simulated a key procurement function but in the comfort of an internal setting.

    4/5

  • 10. What were the perks on your work placement?
  • Flexi Time

    Subsidised Canteen

    Sports and Social Club

    Company Car

    Subsidised/Company Gym

    National Travel

    International Travel

    Financial Bonus

    Company Parties/Events

    Staff Sales/Staff Shop

    Above 25 days holiday

    Working from home

    Healthcare from home

    Healthcare/Dental

    Travel loan

    3/5

  • 11. How appealing are future employment prospects within the organisation?
  • Prospects at HP early on during your career are appealing due to the focus on personal development. There is also a lot of sideways movement available across the company which means you should be able to find a career path that suits you. If you network throughout your year and show a great work ethic then you should find yourself in a position to get on a grad scheme at the end of the year.

    4/5

    The Culture

  • 12. Was there a good social scene amongst any fellow placement students/colleagues?
  • The intern committee ensured there were regular events scheduled throughout the year. Socials take place in Reading which doesn't have the greatest night life but the sheer number of clubs and Reading University students should balance this out. There is a substantial amount of volunteering to get involved in. Events typically die down over the winter period but pick back up again in Spring.

    3/5

  • 13. What was the cost of living and socialising in the area you worked in?
  • Interns are typically based in Reading. Average rent is about £320-£350 a month (plus bills). Average cost of a pint £3 - £3.50 Most interns pay around £330 mark for rent - this is for a standard university house of about 5 people

    3/5

  • 14. What was the Nightlife like in the area you worked?
  • Night life occurs in Reading. Some nights are terrible, some are brilliant. It depends on what you look for in a night out. You should be able to get into the Reading Student Union which is local, cheap and was voted Best Student Union Night in the country.

    3/5

  • 15. Were there many opportunities to get involved in activities outside of work?
  • There is an intern football team and 5 a side football on Mondays. There is a lot of things to get involved in around Reading but very few of these are linked to the company.

    2/5

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Details

Placement (10 Months+)

South East

June 2015


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