Finance Intern Review

Really enjoyed my time here at Siemens as the team I was working in was friendly, helpful and most of all they trusted my ability to get jobs done. Also the level of responsibility I was given was high which is likely to benefit me in future as this allowed me to gain vast experience in areas I wouldn’t have been exposed to without this level of responsibility.

My colleagues made me feel extremely valued as they were quick to praise any good work and trusted me to get on with my job without constantly monitoring my actions. This praise came from all the levels of the hierarchy which always made you feel as you were part of the team.

My managers were fantastic at giving support. They would always spare a minute to answer any questions you had despite them having hectic days themselves. Most of all they appreciate that you are new to the business so never made simple questions feel like stupid questions. Not only were the management helpful, other colleagues were always quick to offer support if you needed it.

Been on a project team this varied from a day to day basis. Most people travelled to the office and back from all over the country so Mondays and Fridays tended to be quieter than other days. Some days were very busy (50 emails+) but with good management of workload it never got too much. If it did, someone would always offer to help.

I was given great responsibility. Given we were a project team starting a project I was constantly involved in decision making for new processes that needed to be implemented for when the new factory opened. Also I was given simple tasks to do such as ordering goods and vendor management which no one else on the project did.

The skill I developed was invaluable. Thousands of companies use SAP and I was on this program every day of my placement which allowed me to gain an in-depth knowledge of this program. Excel skills were also greatly enhanced and the Intern Development Program Siemens ran helped enhance my skills in presenting, teamwork and planning for the future.

There was always a positive atmosphere in the office as everyone always pulled their weight and got on with each other. Every week there was a social night which many people attended and there were always funny stories going around the office the next day. There was absolutely no hostility in the workplace which contributed to a very enjoyable placement.

The placement was set up very well from start to finish. My manager constructed a plan for learning when I started and this worked well as it kept me busy constantly learning new things. Siemens also ran the Intern Development Program which allowed you to travel the country to visit different sites and at the same time allowed you to network with other Interns.

The business invested greatly in my development. I often travelled to different offices for various training courses (outside of the Intern Development Program) which helped me network with new people and at the same time learning new skills. There is also a training portal which I had access to and my manager allowed me choose courses to attend if there was a clear benefit for attending them.

A company the size of Siemens there are constantly new opportunities coming up should any wish to work for them. You can literally choose anywhere in the world as a destination to work and because it is all one company, they are likely to have similar processes therefore skills are interchangeable.

Every Wednesday was seen as the social night and when people travelled over from Europe events such as bowling, visiting the theater and ice skating were all considered as options for nights out as opposed to the standard bar crawl. Also, I met up regularly with the other intern outside of work as we were in the same boat.

Hull is a relatively cheap area to live as they have some of the lowest house prices in the country so rent wasn’t too bad. The beer is cheap (which is also a bonus) and there are plenty of cheap butchers and veg shops so cost really isnt a problem in this area.

I wouldn’t say Hull has a fantastic night life but the since the beer is cheap enough you can always have a good night. Some of the clubs are a bit shady but you soon get to know which ones are good. It is very much a pub city and this can be seen with the number of Weatherspoons in the centre.

There was a Siemens football tournament at Warwick Uni where all expenses were paid for which I got involved in. There was the Wednesday social night which I occasionally went along with but apart from that I wouldn’t say there were loads of opportunities. But overall I was satisfied because I got along with the other Intern so we did outside events.