HR Assistant Review

Overall, I have really enjoyed my role at J&J. Working in such a fast paced department that is always changing means there is never a dull moment and every day is different. One of my favourite parts of my role is meeting new people and getting the chance to get away from my desk. I run most of the assessment centres here and its great getting to know the new starters as they come into the business. I have had the opportunity to work in both HR and L&D functions throughtout my year on various different and interesting projects which has been an invaluable experience.

I would describe my department as friendly and welcoming. My colleagues are very supportive and I felt I could reach out to anybody for help and advice. From my very first day, I felt like a valued member of the HRD team. I was given lots of responsibility and the company rely on the work I do.

I have weekly 1 to 1's with my direct manager to discuss how I am getting on within my role, my development and any issues I may have. These have been extremely useful and made me feel at ease when first joining the company, There are also weekly HRD meeting with all of my colleagues every monday morning to discuss the week ahead.

As my role if both administrative and project based, deadlines are mixed and how busy I am depends on the time of year. Overall, I would say I have had a good balance, not being too busy & stressed or bored with nothing to do. Time management has been a large learning curve and something I have developed throughout the year.

I would say again this has been varied throughout the year. My general HR adminstration work didnt give me much responsibility but has taught me the basics of office work, however the ad-hoc projects I have been involved was the opposite. I was involved in the implementation of our new HR system and I have actioned a large re-structure within one of the department I look after which have been challenging but very interesting.

J&J have an amazing training program for placement students with lots of opportunties to get involved and develop my skills. I have completed IT/outlook/excel training, attended presentation workshops, insights (a form of personality profiling), professional selling skills training which our sales team attend and finally CV workshops for when applying for graduate roles.

There is a great employee culture at J&J which make the offices have a open and relaxed atmosphere. The office put on many events throughout the year such as summer BBQ's which create a social and friendly vibe. This makes networking across different department easy to do.

Very well organised. Meet and Greet Day in April was very useful to get to know my fellow placement students in order to organise moving and housing. We had a brillant 2 week handover period full of useful introductions and training with the current placement student which made me feel at ease when first starting.

J&J invest lots of time into placement student development. There is a set training course for all J&J students to follow which includes lots of useful workshops and sessions which will help me in my future career anf final year at university. If there is something you really want to do, J&J usually can provide for you and help you make the most out of your year here.

Near the end of the year, we had a workshop with the recruitment team in order to talk about possible opportunities in the future. They have brillant graduate schemes within a range of areas. If this scheme was within the same sector, I would be fast tracked to the assessment centre stage which is a great plus.

There are only 12 placement students that work within my office so I guess this varies every year. Within the handover period, the current students organised lots of social events to get us to mix which was great. There are lots of social events within my department too, including company conference and the christmas party.

The cost of living within High Wycombe is relatively cheap compared to areas nearer London. Rent is reasonable and there is lots of housing avaiable. However, the area isnt great for socialising so travelling to other places nearby can be expensive at times, but being close to London (20 min train journey) is a huge perk.

Not much nightlife in High Wycombe. Some nice pubs/bars and there is Buck New University Student Union close, but that is it really. However, it is close to other places such as Beaconsfield, Watford, Reading and London with all the major clubs. Taxi fare are reasonable if you have a big group.

Some opportunties outside of work, but very limited. There is a Janssen football team and netball team that train and play locally. They have competitions regularly but I think that is pretty much it. I don't think this is a major downfall though and if you were eager to create a team, J&J will most likely support it.