People Graduate Review

My National Grid Graduate Programme experience has been incredible. Across the 18-month scheme I have had the opportunity to grow as a HR professional but also to expand my wider business understanding through a 6-month broadening placement. This scheme enabled me to shape my own learning journey for that 6-month broadening experience which I am grateful for.

All three of my placement rotation roles entailed different responsibilities. But overall as a graduate my responsibility was to enter each role with a learning mindset, taking all opportunities to develop within my chosen profession but to also gain deeper business understanding and to build on my personal skills. I enjoyed all three of my roles for different reasons. My first role, enabled me to immerse myself in our brilliant performance and development programmes, gaining valuable insights into how we support our people to grow and thrive. My second placement meant stepping into a different business area learning all about National Grid's external voice and our social strategy. This gave me an opportunity to work with our external stakeholders. Finally, I stepped back into my HR shoes for a deeper dive into our Strategic Infrastructure business, where I enjoyed seeing how the partnering model works and how the wider HR function supports our people and delivers the business strategy.

All of my placements were well supported by my line managers and the wider team. This provided me with a safe space where I was able to ask questions, get involved, make mistakes and learn. Across the programme I feel I have contributed to meaningful work and have felt valued, this did differ from team team slightly.

I believe as Graduates our total reward package is excellent. Providing us with opportunities to select our own benefits that fit with our life styles. This surpassed expectations.

Excellent. The broadening placement is a fantastic opportunity to build on new skills and gain broader business understanding to better prepare yourself for your future career.

All of my line managers and wider team were supportive and encouraging. This did differ when rotating to different roles across the scheme. They provided me with opportunities utilise my realised strengths and also pushed me out of my comfort zone to develop weaker skills or to identify my unrealised strengths. What was missing was a sense of direction, what did they expect from a graduate, what would they like to see in order to give you the best end of placement rating.

This differed significantly across the scheme. For two of my placements this was well managed and supported by myself and my line manager. However, for one placement this was impacted drastically by longer hours, tight deadlines and high workload, reflecting on my mental and physical wellbeing.

The organisational culture as a whole for me is very welcoming, positive and supportive.

There is an emphasis on DEI within the organisation from all angles, it is nice to be immersed in learning sessions and networking all in the spirit of DEI.

Yes

It is a fantastic place to work with many opportunities to grow and develop.

The scheme was unclear to me at the beginning of the process, it was only when I was in the role and started looking at the second broadening placements that I realised. I think the scheme, its structure, and the rolloff process could have been a lot clearer from the beginning.