Intern Review

I thoroughly enjoyed my placement – it was engaging and challenging. It was really cool to see my degree subject matter being applied in the real world. Everybody was encouraging, and there was a strong culture of further learning. It was a great experience that has endowed me with plenty to take back to my final year of university.

Colleagues were always happy to chat about what they were doing, or go for coffee to chat about a piece of work in more depth. The work I was given was also given an interest by various members of the team so it genuinely felt like I was being an asset.

Help was always at hand when it was needed and came in a unpatronising way that recognised that things that might seem basic to people who had worked there a fair while may not necessarily be to new people joining. There was also enough times when I was left to figure out things for myself to feel that I wasn't just riding along.

My days were always fairly busy - there was rarely if ever time when I could stop completely. And if you found that you had an hour free or whatever there are various learning opportunities available to try as well as learning resources to further your knowledge. It was never dull - put it that way.

I was given a reasonable amount of responsibility. Some of the work was quite challenging and so that meant that there was implicitly a given level of responsibility with that. There was a trust element to work where it wouldn't necessarily be delved into in depth every time - if you were confident you had got it right that would often be sufficient.

I have developed a range of skills from the basic to the more advanced. My knowledge of Microsoft Excel has increased hugely which is obviously useful. Also though there was chance to use statistical packages that I will come into contact with in the coming year which really gives me something of a head start.

The atmosphere was friendly and relaxed. Even when deadlines were looming there was never a sense of panic or anything unpleasant like that. People were friendly to each other and would chat from time to time. On the whole it was a good environment to work in.

The placement was well organised on the whole. Occasionally organisers were a little slow in communicating pieces of information that I might want but generally speaking the organisation of the internship went smoothly. Any delays were never over important things and were never long enough to cause concern. Questions were welcomed and always received in a friendly manner.

There was ample opportunity for training if you needed it. Equally colleagues were happy to take time to show you how to operate things as you worked - which was in some ways more useful that taking a class or tutorial as you were learning with the real thing rather than some abstract example.

It is made clear that they want bright and motivated people. If you fit into that category then it is likely that you will be given the chance to move along in your career with them. There are plenty of development opportunities available to staff, making it obvious that further career development would be possible once in. Though I must stress I have never had an internship of this nature before so I don't have a reference point for recruitment matters.

The interns organised a number of events and often met for lunch. Though this is something that likely varies among cohorts it is certainly possible for it to occur. Colleagues would also go for drinks or have lunch together so it was never as if you were alone at work.

It was London so not exactly cheap - but if you're sensible it doesn't have to break the bank either.

I didn't really try the nightlife as regards clubs. But I went to various pubs and bars and all seemed nice enough. Again though London prices mean that it isn't exactly the cheapest place to go and socialise - though Happy hours are more reasonable. Equally in terms of safety, London felt perfectly fine to me.

There were some activities organised outside of work. It depends more on the team you are with. People I know frequently met up with some members of their team outside work. This I didn't do so much. Also some people I know were able to take part in away days that were organised, which meant going to specific events, like a city farm.