Business Development and Communications

Rebecca

Business

Internship (1 Month+)

Hewlett Packard Enterprise

What was the application process like?

The application process was straight forward. I simply selected the role that interested me and suited my skill set, this was an online application. The assessment day was extremely professional, and I was tested on several competencies and asked to accept the position within 24 hours.

Highlights of the job?

Getting the chance to work with people all over the company, and gaining insight into areas of such a huge company, and being immersed in a variety of different teams from Global Branding to HR. My manager was nonprescriptive so gave me the opportunity to take an idea and concept and make them my own, he allowed me to run national internal campaign and initiatives and his only demand was that I carried it out effectively, so I learnt to think on my feet very quickly.

What was your greatest challenge?

My greatest challenge was running HP’s national campaign with our strategic partners Comic Relief. Working across 18 sites in the UK&I I had to create the national campaign with minimal budget, whilst leveraging other HP sites, and ensure HP gained good PR exposure. In total we raised over £33,000 in 3 weeks.

What did you learn on your internship?

I learnt about the realities of corporate business, as I was working with all levels of the business from the board of Directors, to the outsourcing accounts, and the challenge is to the engage and relate to employee on a personal level in a company so large. This made me realise that is vital to have an awareness and understanding of all areas of any business from an internal communications perspective, as people work far more effectively when they feel they are understood.

How has this internship affected your career prospects?

I have realised that my skill set lies in innovative planning. Although I applied to do a marketing role, I enjoy the freedom to think of new ways to develop business, which incorporates the aspect of marketing. Therefore I would like to go into a more project management, or consultancy role, rather than just focusing on one specific area.

What was the social life like?

There are over 60 internship students, and most of them are based in the HQ at Bracknell. HP interns select a committee that organise events and initiatives for all the interns over their placement. A charity committee organised the 3 Peaks challenge, the Ball committee organised our end of year ball and the social committee arranged nights out and extra activities for the weekend, so there was always something on the social calendar!

Any top tips for a student interested in an internship here?

You need to be aware of the constant changes and different areas of growth within IT, as it is a very fast paced market. This will impress and generally help you stay ahead of the game. Always network so you can have people all over the business you can contact, navigating around such a large organisation is daunting but having the connections makes it feel a lot smaller.