Assistant Content Governance Manager Review

I thoroughly enjoyed my internship. I was based in the Governance and Control team, which have a very reactive roll within the business as they deal with content breaches on the website. This meant I didn't do a lot of work within my own team, but I got the chance to shadow in many areas of the group and gain invaluable insights into the work other teams do. I also got to explore areas I am interested in having a career in, which allowed me to make useful connections that I can maintain and use in the future. Everyone I met was very friendly, and always willing to help or show me the work they were doing. I felt like I made a contribution to the company, and that I was respected and valued like a full time employee.

I felt very valued by my colleagues. They were always grateful for any work I completed for them, and always encouraged me to take up new projects and get involved in their research. Even outside of work lives, my colleagues supported my hobbies, such as hiking and running, by giving me information about running events that go on in the local area (as I moved 300 miles from home to do this internship). They would always want to make sure that I was okay, and I had regular check ups from my colleagues to check I wasn't under too much pressure. They made sure I was never bored, and truly allowed me to grow.

My line manager was an absolute superstar. On day one, she made me a timetable of my next 10 weeks, which had details of various shadowing opportunities and work visits that she had set up for me. She also encouraged me to use outlook calendar to help me schedule my working life, which was very valuable. In terms of support, we had fortnightly catch ups so that I could update her on how I was finding work, and if I had any questions or concerns I wanted to talk to her about. She would also update me on any feedback she'd received about me from her colleagues, and we worked through a personal development plan together throughout the internship. She always allowed me to be open with her, which I really appreciated.

Alongside the work I did in my role, all digital interns had to complete a digital innovation challenge and a responsible business challenge. The first challenge involved working in a team of 4 to create and develop a new product for the business over 7 weeks, which answered a specific brief. The second one involved fundraising for Children in Need, and LBG are their principle partners. The fundraising could be internal and external, and there was a prize for the team that raised the most money I the most creative way. I was the team leader for the responsible business challenge. Completing these challenges alongside my work was stressful at times, especially in the week leading up to the innovation challenge deadline as I spent a lot of time commuting to London, which wasted work time. However, the people I was completing projects for at work were very understanding of my situation and extended m deadlines, which did help relieve some of the pressure. Obvious to say, I was never bored!

I was given the right amount of responsibility for me. I was team leader in the responsible business challenge and chief designer in the innovation challenge. These roles held a lot of responsibility as I had to coordinate a team and ensure deadlines were met so that we succeeded. This meant that whilst I wanted to complete important projects in my work life, that I didn't want anything business critical that would add a lot more responsibility onto my plate. My line manager understood this, and so we worked together to find work opportunities that would give me good experience, but would not be the end of the world if I needed to give some work back to the team as I didn't have time to finish it alone. When the innovation challenge ended, I took on some larger work projects that lasted the last 2 weeks of the internship, and this was perfect for me as other pressures had been lessened meaning the work I produced was of a high quality.

I developed some key skills during this internship. I study Physics at university, and during my course we learn how to code and program, which I was never any good at. The group offers online training in a variety of disciplines free of charge to all colleagues. I used this complete courses in programming in 2 new languages (HTML & CSS and VBA,) and the language I learned in university (Python). I also received data analysis, report writing and design training, all of which will be useful during my degree. Beyond this, I learned a lot of 'soft' skills, such as how to network effectively, how to hold meetings, leadership, and also how to be more reflective on my work. I've learned so much during 10 weeks.

The atmosphere in group digital is quite relaxed compared to other areas of the business. Everyone was friendly and up for a laugh or a chat about Game of Thrones. The office was never silent! But, like any organisation, they still expect you to act in a mature and efficient fashion so that you reflect the company values and produce work of a good quality. The office had a good balance of silly and serious. There was a TV in the back corner, so when the Olympics, tennis or football was on, people would gather round and watch it together for 15 minutes which was always fun and allowed you to speak to new people. When we were fundraising, people were very happy to donate and willing to support in any way they could. You never felt overwhelmed in the office, it was almost like you were woring with life long friends for the day. Whilst managers were respected, they sat and worked with everyone else, so unless you explicitly knew their role, they would just blend in and that meant everyone was treated the same, with no strict and formal hierarchy. Everyone was equally respected, which was lovely.

It was well organised 95% of the time. When I was working in my base office (Halifax), things ran like clockwork. Scheduling meetings was easy, I had shadowing opportunities set up, work flow was perfect, and I was surrounded by my team and colleagues I had gotten to know. I did have an issue with getting a laptop in the first week, which meant I couldn't start producing any work until the 2nd week of my internship, which wasn't a huge problem as my line manager instead brought me along to her meetings, so I could sit in and get some insight into her work and current projects. It was still frustrating though. I had a view trips to London to go to some internal conferences. the travel and accommodation was always well organised and expenses were easy to sort out, but finding activities to do in the London office proved challenging. My line manager and I always tried to find new opportunities for me to get involved in in London, as they have more resources there, but the colleagues down there are in a different mind set, and so rarely gave up their time to speak to me or give me a project, which meant that a few of my days in London were wasted wondering aimlessly around the office, which was a shame. having said that, when I did manage to sit with colleagues in London, the knowledge they gave me and the experiences they shared were fantastic, and I learned a lot from them.

They invested a lot in me. Each intern was given a balanced scorecard, which gave them the opportunity to document how they've displayed the core company values in their work, and what skills they've developed through various projects. My team also gave me a personal development plan, which I worked through during the internship, which enabled me to reflect on how I've developed as a person and colleague in such ways as responding better to negative feedback and learning to ask for help. During mental health week, the company held talks on various mental disorders and also hosted relaxation classes, which I really benefitted from, as they want to ensure all colleagues are happy and well whilst they work. We also had mandatory training to complete, which taught us various soft skills like how to be a good leader and have courageous conversations.

They are very appealing. I would love to work for this company. They treated me very well and I have valued every second. I only wish I was here longer so that I could work on some larger projects! I've made a lot of network connections with people on platforms like LinkedIn, which I will definitely be using in the future. I got to work in one of the most exciting areas of the company, and it is one I've developed a huge passion for, so to work here again would be an honour. Based on my feedback from colleagues, I'd say prospects of me working here in the future are quite likely.

The social scene was pretty great. There were 25 of us based in Leeds and Halifax, and most of us lived in the same accommodation in Leeds, which made socialising very easy. I lived in a flat 5 minutes away from their building, so I could always go over and hang out with them. Whenever there was sport on, like the Euros, we would all go and watch it at theirs. A few of us also went to the gym together. There would usually be a night out happening most weekends, even when a lot of interns went home. We also went to things like rugby matches and out for the occasional meal. Colleagues were slightly harder to socialise with, as most of them have families and children, so they couldn't stay out long after work most nights. They held month-end drinks in the office which was fun, and allowed everyone to get to know eachother. We'd have a quiet drink in the office, and then head out to a pub for a few hours. They were always a good laugh. We also had a goodbye dinner with most of our colleagues, which was really lovely.

Leeds is quite a cheap place to live. The only expensive thing was buying a season ticket to commute from Leeds to Halifax and back every day to get to work, so make sure you have some savings before you start! The cost of a night out was fairly low, whether clubbing or bowling, especially since we were only a 15 minute walk from the city centre, so we never had to pay for transport. Food isn't expensive either, in supermarkets and restaurants, so having a meal out was never a huge deal. There are also lots of free things to do in Leeds, such as going to the Museum, going to Roundhay park, or attending the pride festival. If you wanted to explore more big cities, such as Manchester, York or Newcastle, they were all easy and inexpensive journeys. A return ticket to the Yorkshire Dales also wasn't expensive.

In Halifax, there was none. It's a small town. There are a couple of pubs but that's about it really. Thankfully, I lived in Leeds. Being a university city, the nightlife there was pretty great. There were pub quizzes on Sunday-Thursday, and special club nights on most nights of the week. There were so many places to choose from, all within a 5 minute walk of each other, which meant nights out were long and ended up with you going to 4 places in one night.

I am a keen runner and hiker, and I found lots of sporting opportunities in Leeds. I started going to the Moorhouse Park park run which was good fun, and I completed the Yorkshire 3 peaks challenge on recommendation of a friend I made at the gym at work. There are also lots of running and cycling routes in Leeds, which I took advantage of. I also went to the indoor rock climbing centre. In terms of other activities, there weren't many activities widely advertised to get involved in. You had to actively look for things to be a part of if you wanted something to do. Some offices had a group that played football or ultimate Frisbee, which sounded like fun, but sadly my office didn't have this.