Intern Review

I very much enjoyed my placement, I initially had doubts when I discovered how much of a culture shock it was for me, but I adapted to it well. The people are amazing, and they really helped me settle in. I have learnt a lot in terms of developing my skills and expertise, and I really believe this has overall helped me improve my employability chances. I am going to miss my team a lot when I leave.

I think the value can vary dependent on the colleague, but overall I felt my work was definitely appreciated. They always gave me feedback in order to improve, and that shows a lot of effort and time they invested in me. I knew I was an intern, but I was given a lot of responsibility which made me feel important to the team. It had been an enjoyable experience and they respected me as I respected them.

My initial manager was very helpful and kind, she taught me everything I needed to know and shortcuts to improve my time efficiency. My current manager is practically a perfectionist, so you are really learning from the best. He is very supportive, and can give you constructive feedback when needed. He is a true professional, and has a great personality too.

In certain periods, productivity is not going to be as high, as its dependent on how many people are employed. However, the majority of the time I had a good amount of work to complete. If there were quieter periods, we would have project work to do instead. The atmosphere in the office was full of a strong work ethic, and everyone worked very hard which was motivation for me too. In quieter periods, there could have been more tasks to complete.

During my placement I was given a steady rise in responsibility throughout, and even my manager was surprised with the amount of tasks I managed to take on. The responsibility helped me gain confidence in speaking to senior people, and that experience required if I were to do similar tasks in the future. I am happy with how much progress I have made over my time at Hays.

I believe that the skills I have learnt will definitely help my CV and furthermore employability chances. The training at Hays is outstanding, and I am very fortunate to have attended workshops which have helped me develop. I also think my degree studies will improve, with an improvement of my work ethic and my writing skills. I have attained a lot of knowledge of how this global business works, which I can use in reference to my coursework.

The atmosphere in the office is really good, there is a strong combination of having a strong work ethic and also being sociable and talkative. Everybody in my office works very hard, and that really does help your productivity. I initially had doubts it would be too corporate, but instead of not talking together, I believe people work better as a team.

I believe the whole structure of the placement was fine, I admittedly started later than expected, which meant I didn't have a chance to meet with other interns who mostly started in summer time. I really thought it was set-up well, and was given work necessary for my development (not too challenging, not too easy). The amount of work was good for a placement, and gradually increased to further your development.

I personally felt the company put a lot of time and effort into me, I was taught all my responsibilities very well and had the pleasure to be on training workshops which developed my skills. The training here at Hays is brilliant and they really want you to self-improve for the benefit of the company. My manager was very helpful in sharing feedback with me about my progress, and showing me short-cuts. The skills I have developed will definitely improve my CV.

I believe that the employment prospects within the organisation are interesting. They offer good starting wages for graduates and a lot of responsibility. The people here particularly attract me because they were so nice and I know they will help ease me into the role. However, I am not too sure what I want to do in the future, but coming back in an HR/Internal Recruitment role would be a great opportunity.

I am not interested in going out that much however it was great on the occasions I did go out with other placement students. Sharing our experiences, and enjoying each others company. Additionally, its nice to socialise with work colleagues in the team on a Friday and sometimes even the weekend. Hays is a very sociable company, and has a lot of places to go with your colleagues.

London is very expensive and an interns wage is hard to cover everything, but if you do your research and sensible with your money, it will be fine. The accommodation is twice as much money compared to living next to University. The transport takes the majority of my money, especially if you are still living far away from your workplace. I would recommend attaining an 18+ oyster-card, which will save you a third of the money of an average oyster-card.

There wasn't much night-life in the area I lived, but there were plenty of nice bars and pubs, you would have to venture out into central London. Central London is a great place for the night-life, and almost gives you too many options. Yet again, it is rather expensive compared to other areas outside of London.

There are many opportunities outside of work, especially when you're living in London. There are literally limitless things to do - I play Football, go gym, socialise with house-mates and attend parties.