Summer Intern Review

I wasn't quite sure what an internship would entail but it was the perfect opportunity to go out and explore new areas and get to know all about insurance and Allianz. I was welcomed by all employees and allowed to find out exactly what it was that I wanted to do. For anyone unsure of why to do an internship, at Allianz you have the freedom to find out if what you thought you wanted to do is right for you, and also the opportunity to find out if you want to do something else, like a new area.

Colleagues took the time out of their day to carefully explain to me what I was doing and what effect this had on the company. A lot of my time was spent meeting up with people from all over the company who spared some time to discuss with me what they did too. It was nice to see that people invested so much time in interns and their development.

Support from my line manager was brilliant. They always made sure I knew what I was doing, offered explanations of why I was doing it and also the results. If I had any questions I could always go to them and they would pass on their knowledge to me. I couldn't have asked for better managers, In regards to HR and buddies, I was lucky to have a buddy that was actively involved in the area. Her experience was fantastic to learn and she was able to guide me towards a future path. HR would always reply with answers to any queries promptly.

I was consistently busy. Once I finished a project I would ask for another and be given it. If I was not working on a project I would be out meeting new people from different areas. There was a good mix between learning and hands on experience. During down times, I could explore the intranet for new information or work on my presentation that was delivered in week 9,

As an intern you cannot be given too much responsibility but what I was given seemed correct. A lot of my work was finding out where data comes from, creating spreadsheets then populating it. After this was done, my line manager would always explain to me what the numbers meant and answer any questions I had. There was opportunities to explore in depth some data, such as why variances had occurred.

The biggest skill that I gained was excel skills. Although this has no use in my degree, it will definitely be useful in my future career and help make my job much easier. Furthermore, my line manager taught me many "basic" skills which goes a long way in the workplace. Simple tasks such as how to email properly will be highly useful, whether that be in Allianz or other companies.

There was a buzz around the office. You could always expect friendly people and a happy environment. It was also a place which had a lot of knowledge that they were willing to pass on to you. The office had excellent facilities meaning your day went smoothly. It was enjoyable to come into work.

Overall the internship was set up pretty well. From the beginning I got feedback on my performance, was set up with many projects to work on and introduced to everyone that I needed to speak to on a daily basis. There were a few days set up by HR for interns which helped to build friendships. On the last day there was a sports event to celebrate the end of our stay, which was enjoyable but I feel it may have been better to have this on the first day so that interns lose their "shyness" and get talking to others. In terms of progression, there was lots of information about the graduate scheme and you were able to find out more if you wanted to. Personally, I lost contact with my graduate scheme owner towards the end of the internship but this could not have been planned for. Everyone else that I had spoken to had meetings with their owner and their next steps were clearly outlined to them. Overall, the set up was once again brilliant.

Allianz is focused on learning and development. They understand that some interns may not stay in the company but they still take their time to ensure that they have the best learning experience they could possibly have. Everything is clearly explained to you, resources are available to learn by yourself or you can email someone to meet up with you for an hour to learn more about their area. In terms of personal training and development, Allianz are faultless.

The graduate scheme is very appealing to someone like myself, who is not sure of exactly the area they want to be in. Graduate schemes allow for rotations within the area to discover more. From what I have seen, there seems to be the opportunity to move up within the company and the company seems to be focused on ability rather than who you know.

HR set up a few days to meet other interns, whilst there were away days for colleagues etc. Plenty of opportunity to meet people outside of work.

I was able to get free accommodation from family so cannot comment on this. If you are coming from somewhere outside of London it will seem expensive but compared to the rest of London it is normal.

I hear it was good, but as I never experienced it I cannot comment.

There were away days and opportunities to go out with other interns. Within the interns specifically, there were regular outings and opportunities to get to know each other better.