IS Summer Placement Review

by Centrica

Best Student Employer

This review was submitted over 4 years ago, so some of the information it contains may no longer be relevant.

Rating

3.3/5
  • The Role
    2.8
  • The Company
    3.1
  • The Culture
    4.3

    The Role

  • 1. To what extent did you enjoy your work placement or internship?

    • As an overall experience I enjoyed the summer internship and would recommend it.

    4/5
  • 2. To what extent did you feel valued by your colleagues?

    • Seemed to be very little understanding of why I was there or what I was meant to be doing. My team didn't seem to really see the value of having a summer placement student.

    2/5
  • 3. To what extent were you given support and guidance by management/your supervisor(s)?

    • Assigned a mentor on my first day who was able to support me with any problems I had. What work I was expected to complete was clearly outlined and was given a lot of support on developing my presentation technique which plays a key part at the end of the summer internship.

    4/5
  • 4. How busy were you on a daily basis?

    • I often had little to do and became quickly bored. Requests for more to do never seemed results in anything.

    2/5
  • 5. How much responsibility were you given during your placement?

    • I was given control of a workstream to manage which seemed like a lot of responsibility at the start. However it soon became clear there was little for me to actually manage.

    3/5
  • 6. To what extent did/will the skills you developed, and training you received, assist you in your degree studies and beyond?

    • Although I don't feel like I completed much work over the 10 weeks I do feel that I significantly developed some important soft skills such as presentation, leadership and self confidence.

    4/5

    The Company

  • 7. What was the general atmosphere in your office?

    • I personally found it a bit unprofessional with old fashioned jokes that seemed a bit inappropriate in the modern workplace. However many others seemed to like it.

    3/5
  • 8. How well organised was the overall work placement or internship set up?

    • My manager didn't seem to be expecting me which wasn't a great start. However after this I felt the graduate team did a great job of making it clear when and where needed to be.

    4/5
  • 9. In terms of personal training and development, to what extent did the company or firm invest in you?

    • Small group training workshop on improving body language in the work place. I was surprised how good this was! All the summer interns went on a rock climbing themed all day team building day. This was good fun but didn't provide much benefit as all living together everyone knew each other well already.

    4/5
  • 10. What were the perks on your work placement?

    • Flexi Time

    Subsidised Canteen
    3/5
  • 11. How appealing are future employment prospects within the organisation?

    • The summer internship is all geared around getting onto the graduate scheme. At the end of the internship you have to give a presentation to the talent board who decide if you get an offer. For me I had two concerns however. Firstly IS is going through large change at the moment at job security seems low. Secondly all previous IS grads seem to leave straight after the 2 years, personally I am looking for somewhere I can develop a more long term career.

    3/5

    The Culture

  • 12. Was there a good social scene amongst any fellow placement students/colleagues?

    • This was the best part of the summer internship. As the majority of summer interns are placed in the same accommodation it means you get to know everyone well.

    5/5
  • 13. What was the cost of living and socialising in the area you worked in?

    • Free accommodation made it very affordable. Although Windsor isn't central London it can still be expensive.

    4/5
  • 14. What was the Nightlife like in the area you worked?

    • Two university standard clubs in Windsor and central London easy to get to. Massive Weatherspoons in Windsor which is great for a more chilled night and getting to know people better.

    4/5
  • 15. Were there many opportunities to get involved in activities outside of work?

    • Lots of encouragement to get involved in charity work. Put into groups in the first week and have to raise as much money as you can.

    4/5
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Details

Internship (1 Month+)

London

December 2016

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