Commercial Intern Review

I have enjoyed my placement at L'Oreal but wouldn't be prepared to call it the best job ever. I think perhaps some small perks of the job (e.g. endless products) and living in London have definitely made the year experience much more enjoyable - in the end work is work so outside activities lift it up. My fellow interns (of which they are lots) have made it very fun at times and I've formed good friendships with them, I couldn't say the same for the full time employees.

I have felt extremely valued by my immediate managers, who have been friendly, supportive and respectful. However, outside of my immediate team, the company has an integral hierarchical culture that makes it difficult to be an intern sometimes as there is often a negative/disrespectful attitude towards interns - I know that this is an experience shared by all of my friends. Considering how much responsibility you are given (which in my case and division is a lot!) you are not valued for the work you do.

My managers have been very supportive. They have pushed me out of my comfort zones when appropriate and are always happy to help me out when I'm unsure. They have encouraged me to get involved and to ask more questions.

At the beginning of my placement I had effectively two very different jobs, which meant that my workload was off the scale - I had zero time to deal with long-term projects or the quality of my work. I was simply dealing with constant, immediate problems. I found this time very stressful, especially considering it is the first official job I have done. Towards the end I was taken off one role so had a lot more time to concentrate on important tasks and quality, I've found this a lot more enjoyable, although sometimes I now find I don't have that much to do.

A lot of responsibility. Although, it does seem to differ massively division to division, e.g. PPD seem to have a lot to do with long working hours, whereas CPD seem to go home on time

I think the help I will get from skills learnt will be limited when I go back to university- I think the routine lifestyle is something I will try to implement. I have definitely learnt a lot about the general work environment: knowing how to communicate and be sensitive to different personalities/work styles, coping with seemingly impossible tasks or obstacles and the stress involved.

Usually quite lighthearted and fun, although sometimes I feel uncomfortable and divided from the full time employees.

Not well organised. I had a bad experience before I even began that put me off starting - my role changed multiple times, at one point they tried to convince me to take a role in the field sales team driving round when I had applied to a head office position. My first assessment centre was cancelled last minute and the second one fell right in between all my exams, which didn't help the stress. I found the way that they cut applicants half way through extremely harsh - I would've been very upset if I had been cut.

There were a few sessions set up at the start with speakers to explain their careers and experiences, which was quite useful, and one session to improve the way we organise our emails/calendars. However, it seems as though we've been forgotten after that. I definitely don't feel invested in. I feel more like interns here are a cheap temporary solution - work colleagues often refer to 'just getting another intern' when discussing needing more man power. Also, the financial bonus of £4 was actually just insulting.

You can apply for the graduate scheme in your last few weeks of being here.

Yes, good social scene among interns. The intern committee helps a lot in bringing the interns together and giving us fun nights out.

It's very expensive obviously being London. The salary is not generous so I didn't have much left to spend once my rent was taken.

It's great in central London, not good around the office but easy to get to the fun places. There are nice pubs around the office.