This review was submitted over 4 years ago, so some of the information it contains may no longer be relevant.
Rating
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The Role
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The Company
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The Culture
- 1. To what extent did you enjoy your work placement or internship?
- 2. To what extent did you feel valued by your colleagues?
- 3. To what extent were you given support and guidance by management/your supervisor(s)?
- 4. How busy were you on a daily basis?
- 5. How much responsibility were you given during your placement?
- 6. To what extent did/will the skills you developed, and training you received, assist you in your degree studies and beyond?
- 7. What was the general atmosphere in your office?
- 8. How well organised was the overall work placement or internship set up?
- 9. In terms of personal training and development, to what extent did the company or firm invest in you?
- 10. What were the perks on your work placement?
- 11. How appealing are future employment prospects within the organisation?
- 12. Was there a good social scene amongst any fellow placement students/colleagues?
- 13. What was the cost of living and socialising in the area you worked in?
- 14. What was the Nightlife like in the area you worked?
- 15. Were there many opportunities to get involved in activities outside of work?
The Role
The first couple of weeks understandably involved getting to know the company and doing general work. When my work started properly and I could get into my projects, I thoroughly enjoyed it. The internship has been fantastic, the work has been very satisfying and I feel I have made a difference.
I got on really well with both my close team and my wider team, everyone was extremely friendly and always helpful.
Both my manager and my mentor were fantastic support. They were really patient when I had questions and were always willing to help. My team were also a great support and would help me whenever possible.
There were some quiet periods where I had little to do and some days where I was manically working to get it done, but on the whole I had a good balance and could time my days well to make sure everything went smoothly.
I had 3 projects to work on for the duration of my internship, all of which were important to the company. I was given the responsibility of creating and completing them, but could always fall back on my team if I needed help.
It will depend on my career as to whether or not the skills I have learnt will be useful. Most of the skills I have developed were in Excel, which I don't use in my degree, but may be useful later on in life.
The Company
It was a good balance. There was always to chance to chat to someone in the team, but it was also easy to concentrate hard if necessary.
The internship was very well organised, with an easy transistion into the company.
We had several "lunch and learns" when we had workshops on personal development, which were useful, and my indiviual team spent quite a lot of time training me in various tools for the use during my placement.
Subsidised Canteen
Subsidised/Company Gym
Standard Life are an excellent company who really care for their employees. It would be a fantastic organisation to work for.
The Culture
There was a brilliant social scene amongst the interns, with socials almost every night and throughout the fringe festival. We all got on really well, which helped make the intership so enjoyable.
I was living in my own student flat so the cost of living was pretty standard. Since there are so many student places in Edinburgh, the cost of socialising was relatively low, but prices increased during the fringe.
Edinburgh has a brilliant night life. Living here already meant that I knew the best places to go out and the return of the fringe in August meant an increase in those.
During August there were endless things to do and shows to see.
Details
Internship (1 Month+)
Scotland
August 2011