Law LLB (Hons) undergraduate Jessica Murfitt reflects on how her placement is going as we reach the midway point.
As I have reached the halfway point of my placement as a Commercial Operations Assistant with Arcadis, I thought I would share some of my experiences and learning so far!
Securing the placement was not easy, I would, definitely recommend using the Placement Team as they were so helpful in looking at my applications to ensure that they were up to the standard of submitting, along with this they helped me narrow down my search for placements that would benefit me in what I wanted to get out of the year!
The placement year has been so worth it for me as it has allowed me to experience a full time job in a corporate environment, which I had no experience with at all beforehand. It has allowed me a break from my studies and I know when I return to the University of Portsmouth, to complete my Law degree, it will be with a fresh outlook and vigour.
During my time with Arcadis, I have had the pleasure working within both the Commercial Operations and Project Delivery & Performance sides of my team and have learned a great deal from both. From ensuring timecard compliance to formatting and analysing project performance data, my role has been so broad with no day being exactly the same.
Throughout this role, a vast range of my skills have been greatly developed. This has been an extremely collaborative role, in which I've spoken to so many people across different teams and departments, so naturally, my overall confidence has significantly improved; from being nervous to send out emails to messaging whenever something is required to resolve an issue. In addition to this, my skills in Excel have been greatly refined from a brief knowledge to confidently being able to create whatever may be needed for a project.
Along with this, I must say that I am so so grateful for all of the guidance and support I have received from my colleagues! They have all been so kind, helpful and have encouraged me to take on new responsibilities and to continue growing within my role.
I look forward to the next half of this placement and the experiences that will come along with it!