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
I enjoyed my year at HP Inc. I liked that there are a lot of activities to get involved with outside of your role. Also, with HP being such a large company, they hire a lot of interns each year which creates a great intern culture. It gives a sense of security as you know other people are in the same situation as you.
My job role was very important to the day to day running of the PC Consumer business at HP. Without me sending order updates, retailers could not be sent there stock. This was obviously a pressure but also a welcomed challenge. As I become comfortable in my role my colleagues would send me requests as if I was a permanent member of staff and i received praise when I succeed,
I was given a mentor when I first started at HP. She had lots of general knowledge to help me with general tasks such a work prioritization and email filing. However, I was missing a specific mentor who could help me with my particular role for the first 4 months due to personnel moving roles. Once I had this mentor, it was a lot easier to get specific support.
When I first came into the role, I had enough to keep me busy all day without feeling stressed or overwhelmed. As I became quicker at doing my daily tasks I found I had more free time. I could use this time to tidy up my emails or chase up a few people so there was still things I could do to keep busy. I also asked to spend a bit of time with different people in my team to understand their role at HP more and their career journey.
My job role is of high importance. If I am late processing a request, customers could be late receiving their products. I was responsible for staying on top of my own workload and asking for help if I required it.
I have developed my excel skills dramatically since starting at HP. This is a great skill to have on your CV. I think employers look at for this (role dependent), I have also developed my communication skills greatly, This is not through official training but through email correspondences and face to face meeting, you learn how you are expected to communicate quickly, Lastly, I received presentation training which is obviously very valuable going forward for presentations at university or presentations in my future career,
The Company
The office is reasonably busy most days. I sit with other interns so although we are working you can have a chat with your friends. There is no strict policies about mobile phones or taking breaks so you can go get a drink when you please or go to lunch when you are hungry etc!
Due to the HP Inc and HPE seperation, organisation of our internship was not as good as it will be going forward. Our official mentoring scheme was delayed in set up along with our intern committee, These intiatives are both great now they are up and running but were slow off the ground.
We were given presentation training as part of the mentoring scheme and assessment day training was arranged but never executed.
Subsidised Canteen
Company Parties/Events
Above 25 days holiday
Working from home
Healthcare/Dental
HP Inc may be setting up a graduate programme which would obviously increase the future employment prospects but until then the only prospects are if a permanent position is available. It is great to see interns from previous years back at HP though
The Culture
Most interns live in Reading University halls for a month whilst trying to arrange housing for the rest of the year. This is almost like freshers again (but restricted to the weekend due to work!)
(I don't understand the scaling used on this question). Being from the midlands, Reading/Bracknell seems more expensive to me but it actually not that bad, My rent was £360 a month (bills excluded) for a single room in a 6-person house. Double spirit and mixers and around £6 FYI
There is no nightlife in Bracknell really but everyone tends to live and go out in Reading. There are lots of clubs, bars and restaurants so the social scene is good!
There are endless amounts of charity activities to get involved with. There's also a netball team. There are quizzes sometimes. When England were in the World Cup they organised free pizza and soft drinks for everyone in the office
Details
Placement (10 Months+)
North West
July 2016