work experience student Review
at Computacenter
Work Experience
Information Technology
Hatfield, Hertfordshire
Review Submitted: April 2023
Overall Rating
3.9 /5
The Overall Rating is the average of all the ratings given in each category. We take those individual ratings and combine them into one final score!
3.4/5
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Overview of the Experience
4/5
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Skills Development
4/5
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Company Culture
Overview of the Experience
Please give an overview of what your work experience involved:
4/5
we got to experience different teams of people come in from different companies (such as Dell, Tesco and network rail) to speak to us about what their jobs consist of and all of the fields and jobs they offered. We also did a wide range of activities with each of these companies, that included getting into groups and designing products (such as new train designs). we also did a short individual presentation at the end of the week in front of everyone to talk about how our experience was.
To what extent did you enjoy your work experience?
3/5
i enjoyed it as it gave me a chance to meet new people from different areas and age ranges to myself. learning more about the different companies taught me a lot as they did activities such as quizzes which helped me learn new things. it was a very friendly environment that made me feel welcomed and not uncomfortable even though it was a completely new space to me.
How well organised was your work experience?
5/5
it was very well organised, as we were given a timetable (weeks in advance) that documented every single activity we would do during the week so that we were prepared for everything. all of the guest visitors had arrived as they were supposed to, and even when there was a railway strike that prevented the network rail company from coming in, they still found a way to do their entire presentation over zoom to make sure we didn't miss out
How much did your work experience help you in deciding on your future career path?
4/5
it helped me understand that there are a lot more jobs in each company than i first believed, such as tesco having a massive cyber security branch of occupations. this made me realise that if i wanted to go into a computer science career then it did not just have to be in a computer tech company, but can also be a well known company such as a supermarket as they have branches that offer these jobs
Were you paid or reimbursed for this experience?
1/5
no i was not but it was only a 1 week work experience, so i knew i was not going to be paid. on the first day however they did give us a bag with several items inside such as a notepad, pen, water bottle and when the dell company arrived, they also gave us a bag with similar items inside too.
Skills Development
What training and skills development did you learn from your work experience?
4/5
i gained teamwork and communication skills when working in groups for activities, and also creativity skills for designing new ideas of products. the individual presentation at the end gave me public speaking skills in front of an audience. the formal workplace environment gave my experience with punctuality and formally dressing for a job.
Company Culture
How much did you learn about the company culture and what it would be like to work there?
3/5
i learnt a lot about the different companies that came to visit such as tesco and network rail, including all of the fields of jobs that they offer and the types of apprenticeships they do. computecentre also taught us about all of the apprenticeships that they themselves offer and also did an activity where we got to speak to several people who worked at the company and ask questions about what their job entailed, what an average day looked like etc.
Were there opportunities for networking and meeting other employees?
5/5
yes there were lots, as we got to speak to workers in computacentre themselves in small groups to ask them about their jobs and we did a tour around the ware4house in computacentre to see what the people who work there do as well. we also got to speak to workers from different visiting companies such as network rail, tesco and dell to make connections with them.
Recommendations and Advice
Would you recommend Computacenter to a friend?
Yes
Why?
because it was a very well organised and welcoming work environment that offered lots of job opportunities and experiences. the workers were all very polite, especially Renee who was the woman in charge of running our work experience. it taught me a lot about what working in real life is like.
What tips or advice would you give to others applying to Computacenter?
i would say to other people applying for work experience at computacentre to make sure they take advantage of all of the networking opportunities and step out of their comfort zone when socialising and sharing ideas with the groups that they are put into. since there is a lot of other students there who are there for the same experience, it is good to get to know them and create new friends
