HR Intern Review

The internship was a great opporutnity to learn more about the energy industry and working in a business environment. I feel I have a number of skills and examples which I can take forward. However, I was originally supposed to be based in Staines and 2 weeks before the start was relocated to Hull. It would have been better to have been given this notice earlier. I also felt that I had to leave a few of my projects incomplete when I left the internship. As a 10 week internship I understand that this was likely to occur. However, It would have been nice to see a finished outcome.

My team was really nice and welcoming. They always offered to help if I was struggling or needed advice on work. Lucky for me, the team had arranged an away day in my first week. This was a great chance to bond with the team and find out more about the work they did.

As Centrica is undergoing a lot of change, I did at times feel colleagues minds were elsewhere. A lot of work I completed was independent and self-lead. It would have been useful to get involved in some bigger and more collaborative projects. Continuing, my 1 to 1s with my manager each week were really my only catch-up time with manager, so I felt I always had to ask all the questions I wanted to during this meeting.

At times I did feel I struggled to find work to do. This was a shame as I know other interns were thoroughly involved in their departments and projects. Most of my work was conducted on a computer with minimal contact with others, which could be draining on a daily basis.

My responsibility was minimal as all my tasks had to be run through my manager. Although my projects were quite self-lead I felt there was not much responsibility and as (previously said) none of my projects reached completion. This is because my final copies had to be reviewed after I'd left, and were not a priority for the team.

My experience at Centrica will definitely support me in the future. In all application processes businesses ask competency/skills based questions, for which I will be able to apply my experience at Centrica. Continuing, I feel I have developed a number of people skills in order to progress projects and gain exposure to other areas of the business. In particular, Centrica was very supportive of interns seeking work shadow and learning visit opportunities.

The general office atmosphere was good. There was a mixed caliber off staff which I found refreshing and essential for any organisation. There were lunch and learns provided in the office which gave different departments the opportunity to mix.

My accomodation was completely organized and paid for by Centrica. This was a weight off my shoulders and the apartment I shared with another intern exceeded expectations! However, as an away student (most interns stayed together in Royal Holloway halls) in some cases I felt slightly excluded from communications and events happening down South.

The company heavily invested in the Summer interns giving them various training and travel opportunities. For instance, I was able to participate in the Centrica Storage induction workshop. For part of this, I was able to visit the gas terminal and see some of the gas operations which occur during storage.

The future prospects with the organisation are appealing. I like the set-up of the graduate scheme and the opportunities available. In particular, the Marketing graduate scheme offers grads the opportunity to meet with partner agencies to discuss campaigns and marketing strategies.

Despite being an away student, there were other grads based in my office. They were great at involving myself and the other interns in various social events. Such as bowling, games night and eating out.

Great!

As I live down South a lot of my weekends I spent travelling home and as such did not explore the nightlife in Hull excessively. However, the other interns seemed to love it and said there were some good drinks deals at the right places/time.

The Centrica grad team encouraged interns to involve themselves in charity and social media initiatives. This was great for me to fill time when perhaps I felt underworked in the office. Likewise, it demonstrated that Centrica cares about developing it's staff outside their specific job role.