Interview with James Connor

Why did you apply for Atlas Copco for your placement back in 2019?

I applied to the Atlas Copco Year in industry placement to gain experience in a business environment and to get a feel of what it was like. A placement year is a chance to test if you like a role, seek out a potential career path and enjoy working for a particular type of company. As Atlas Copco is a market leader now with over 150 years of experience, this was very appealing to me alongside the company’s beliefs and values such as a commitment to the environment with a green outlook on operations and waste. The job description for the role of my placement aligned with my personal interests, and I saw this as the perfect opportunity to give me the best chance of building the foundations for a future career.

How would you describe your Year in Industry placement with Atlas Copco?

My year in industry was an exciting year for me. I moved further away from home and gained more independency because of this. A big thing that I learnt on my placement was about work life balance as well as a lot of knowledge about how the corporate world works and this has stood me in good stead after university. It is a year where you will be tested as its not something you are used to, but it also gives you a great opportunity to grow, improve and learn new skills.  

What made you choose to return to Atlas Copco?

I really enjoyed working at Atlas Copco because I had a great team with friendly people, many I’m still in touch with still today so to come back into the same team played a factor in rejoining. There are so many opportunities within the company to progress which was also another big factor as development and progression are important to me. It was and is a great company to be part of and I feel like there is still scope for me to develop further and play a role in supporting business growth. This is why I decided to apply to return and thankfully I was lucky enough to get the job.

Now that you are back can you describe your role and what’s involved?

My role is Digital Customer Experience Coordinator and this is very much a customer centric role so my day mainly revolves around dealing with customers as I am likely to be the first point of contact for digital leads especially. As part of this, I liaise with sales engineers to provide them their enquiries, keep track of the journey of the enquiry and support where I can. As well as this I am also responsible for the Atlas Copco E-Commerce store from first point of contact to ensuring an efficient delivery with support from my colleagues and the Live Chat system supporting our customers in their journey with us.

What do you enjoy most about working at Atlas Copco?

I enjoy the variety in my role and dealing with customers and colleagues to ensure we provide the best possible service for our customers. Within my role I can work from home and in the office providing an excellent work balance. I feel as though I receive support and guidance with any problems that I face within my job from both my manager and my colleagues. I feel like learnt a lot from my initial placement with the company in 2019 and now being back in my current role, I feel as though I can learn, grow and develop.

How would you describe the company culture and work environment?

The company culture is very friendly and supportive as well as being success driven to be the best it can be. If you ever have any problems or questions, there is always someone you can turn to, and people are happy to help when called upon. Additionally, people are also willing to take time to help and help you increase your knowledge and develop for the future.