Graduate Commercial Analyst Review

My experience, both on industrial placement and the graduate scheme, has been fantastic! NESO is a huge, vibrant and varied organisation doing extremely critical work for society. It is super busy and there is so much to get involved in, both within and outside your formal role. Everyone is so friendly and supportive, always happy to answer any questions and give you their time.

I have been able to work with multiple teams over my time at NESO. I have gained experience of project management, business and data analysis, customer and stakeholder engagement, risk and resilience assessment, and operational activities. The role responsibilities depend heavily on the team you are in, and everyone works on different things.
Personally, I enjoyed engaging with others both internally and externally and completed operational processes the most. Understanding how the Electricity National Control Centre operates and how the grid works is fascinating!

We are always given real-life responsibility and encouraged to contribute to the team and organisation's work, just like any other team member. For example, I was given the responsibility of leading 1-1 customer meetings and a project by myself. We are included in all activities and the culture is super supportive.

Our salary is very good for a grad scheme, and we are also given a starting and finishing bonus plus performance bonuses if we go above a certain rating. We also have access to many benefits (e.g. insurance, death in service cover, birthday leave) and flexible working if we wish.
The only thing we are not covered for is overtime pay, but we are not expected to work any overtime as grads.

The grad scheme consists of 3, 6-month placements where you move around the organisation, plus lots of extra trainings and events to further develop your knowledge and skills. You get so much exposure to different teams and parts of the business which really pushes you to develop quickly and learn a huge amount. You are also given the opportunity to pick your placements and what you want to work on.

We have placement managers, line managers and buddies, as well as the Early Careers team and your colleagues. There is a huge amount of support available and there will always be someone to help with anything you need.

NESO is very flexible with working hours/days, you can choose when you start/finish as long as you complete the necessary hours and you are able to leave for appointments outside of work whenever you need.

The culture is super supportive, inclusive and welcoming, and they make it easy to get settled in and get support for anything you need. They are very flexible with remote working and commuting. The values are very important as well.

DEIB is extremely important at NESO and everyone/everything must align with it. There is no place for any discrimination or inappropriate behaviour.

Yes

There is no other organisation that does what NESO does, it is completely unique both in the UK and globally. The work is critical and super interesting, you will never get bored! And your development is essential.

I wasn't sure what the company did when I applied and what my role would look like, but I absolutely loved it and had so many opportunities to shape my work.