S-Club 7, trampolining and giant yetis... Four weeks into my Summer Placement at Centrica
I’m writing this blog post after returning from my lunch break where I indulged in a free BBQ, some S-club 7 classics from the DJ deck and a quick round of mini golf - just your average day at work really! It was, in fact, the Greater Manchester celebration day at my office where I am working as an Analyst in the Service Excellence team. I was specifically matched with this Customer Operations role for its potential to meet my personal development needs. This is something that’s fantastic about the programme - not only are the positions sourced based on demand from the business, but I was also matched to my role based on my skill set and experience. This approach ensures that each person on a Summer Placement will be a valuable asset to the team in which they are placed.
My first week involved getting to know the business and my team, as well as learning about the area of the company I would be working in. My line manager and I also sat down together to set my objectives. It was great that she valued and encouraged my input in this. My feedback from the assessment day was very useful for setting these, as it allowed me to identify areas that I could improve on during the Summer Placement. In just a short space of time I have built on my knowledge of British Gas, developed my analytical skills, boosted my confidence and learnt a lot about myself in the process. It’s important to look at the Summer Placement as a personal learning journey and not just a means to deliver results for the company. Having this outlook will really allow you to make the most of the ten weeks, which will fly by! I made an effort to ask lots of questions and set up meetings with various people to understand a bit more about what they do - everyone has been approachable and willing to make time for me.
Living in the heart of a bustling city with five other Summer Placements, who I’ve become good friends with, has also been a great part of the experience. There are endless things to get up to on weekends and we’ve been to the cinema, cocktail bars, museums, gone shopping and our next adventure planned for this week is going to an indoor trampolining centre! It is also a relatively easy commute down to Windsor every so often, where the Summer Placements are accommodated in a hotel, while we take part in training days. The latest development day I attended involved being chased around by someone dressed as wild giant yeti, where we had to work in teams to complete various challenges and earn points. This was a competition and my team, “CentriCAN”, came a well-deserved 2nd place. It’s safe to say that everyone was fast asleep on the coach home!
Find out more about Centrica's Graduate and Undergraduate schemes here.