Team Member Review

This was a great introduction to working life. While initially adapting to this new way of life, I was frequently tired, and it was easy to feel a little overwhelmed. After the first few months however, I was more confident and able to relax.

As my skillset was quite different to many of the others I was working with in my team and on projects, I felt valued and appreciated. My youth was also never held against me, and in fact was helpful on several projects involving the use of social media.

Unfortunately, due to my skillset being different to much of the teams I worked with, there was less technical support and guidance than there might have been. However, the support and guidance in all other aspects was absolutely first rate, in particular in engaging stakeholders.

Some days I was incredibly busy, with many projects all having busy periods, but this was never more than I could handle. There were also less frequent times where some projects were put on hold all at the same time and the workload dropped off for a few days.

I was given responsibility to lead many small tasks, and by the end of the year was given technical freedom to approach tasks. I was also frequently asked to assist with the running of projects, giving me some experience of management responsibility.

The soft, inter-personal communication skills are the ones I feel I developed most this year. This was partly due to gaining confidence from engaging with more senior figures, and practising those I had learnt throughout my degree. I was also given funding to do a course in the fundamentals of android application development, and some training in other basic work skills, and some specific to my employer (such learning about the armed forces, and the difficulties in delivering science and technology to them).

Much of my work was split between two offices. One was highly informal and laidback, while the other was more formal. I enjoyed both however, as it gave me a balance and a choice about which I wanted for that day.

This was generally as well organised as it could have been, given that the company was undergoing a great deal of change and restructuring. I always had enough work to do, and never too much. I received an excellent introduction, and having a "buddy" appointed also helped.

As stated previously, I was given funding to grow my android app development skills, and received a good budget for smaller training events. I was never turned down an opportunity to attend any form of training, and was encouraged to seek these out myself.

Upon completing my year, I received an offer to do a paid scholarship. This involved being paid a set sum each year I remain in university on the condition I attend an assessment centre during my final year, and taking the job if I am offered it. This job would be in an area that is growing rapidly within the company, giving the role excellent prospects to advance.

The social scene was frequently good. This was mostly due to a project run within the company that encouraged all new starters to socialise. While we only attended these evens for the first few weeks, they gave us a foundation and we organised our own events after this. There were enough new graduates to give us a large social scene.

While not a reflection on the company, Salisbury does not have a large amount of social options. While there are plenty more available in the New Forest, Southamption, Bournemouth and Bath, these all require a fair amount of travelling.

The nightlife in Salisbury is quite poor. While the pubs are fairly good, they are all expensive, and there are only a couple of nightclubs and none are very inspiring to a student used to the nightlife of a big city.

The sports teams are particularly good, with plenty of clubs offering diverse sports and activities. The company's intranet is also active and used, and ideal for finding activities to do outside of work for a wide variety of interests.