Business Analytics Sales Consultant Review

I thoroughly enjoyed my time at Oracle as it provided a great balance between a corporate work life and the social life of an intern. Whilst on this placement, an 'Intern Programme' was run alongside our everyday job in order to establish an intern community which acted as a place of support and guidance.

During my placement I was given a great deal of responsibility, however most of the people in my team were often too busy with their own work to offer me further work opportunities. Having said this, I was offered to attend a number of external customer meetings and was often given the opportunity to contribute in some way or another.

Can't fault the support I was given by my management team and mentor - always had time for me. Whenever I met up with them I was always encouraged to ask any questions I had and they were proactive in assigning me additional work to support my understanding of the company's product line and campaigns.

The opening leg of my placement was very slow, but I can understand why this may be the case with most other placements - you need to immerse yourself in the company and its goings-on. Halfway through the placement I was still only being given the odd opportunity here and there due to the heavy workload of my colleagues, and I was left to rely upon the suggestions of my mentor.

More than I was expecting! Due to being identified as a confident public speaker in my interview process, I was immediately encouraged to present software demos to my team internally, which then led onto being able to present at different customers - and the opportunities continued to present themselves! I quickly got the impression that you can grab hold of as much responsibility as you like in this placement.

Although this placement won't help with my degree (which is primarily my own fault for choosing a scientifically orientated degree), I have no doubt I will continue doing something similar to what I've learnt this year in future. Oracle is the pioneer in the corporate software industry and this placement puts you in a position to learn all about their latest offering along with why they will bring about business value to customers.

Despite Oracle's workforce having a relatively high average age, people were very welcoming and friendly! Having said this, the London office (which is in the process of being renovated in all fairness) was fairly dull in appearance, rescued by the genuine nature of its inhabitants. It's also worth noting that a fundraising idea of mine that received positive feedback was deemed inappropriate by H&S without a second glance - this was very disappointing.

Considering this was the first year Oracle employed a significant number of interns, the programme was most impressive. A designated Intern Coordinator was in charge of helping us organise social events and seeing to our daily needs, and generally did a good job of getting us through the year! Alongside our everyday job, the intern programme provided us with different events to develop our fundamental business skills, including opportunities to present, fundraise using an initial sum of money, etc.

Within my team, no 'intern-specific' training was provided, however my position was uniquely created for me once I'd interviewed so I can forgive them for this! Drilling into Oracle's regular employee training material proved tough (and still does!), however this was pointed out to me with great clarity. Other opportunities to develop did present themselves through the course of the year and I cannot say that little effort was made. Significant financial investments were also made to us as an Intern group, allowing us to develop in a series of different ways.

This still remains uncertain, and probably will be made clear closer to the end of the year. Oracle's intern/graduate schemes are relatively new for the company and so I imagine these transitional processes are still being sorted out, however I don't know just yet. As an individual, my team seems to have the right number of employees assigned to it so I can't imagine I'll be ask to come back and join the exact same team I was working with through the course of the placement.

I'll give it a 10 as most of the social scene involved going out for drinks, which isn't my cup of tea, however I can't fault them for their effort! Our Intern Coordinator was also at hand to organise other forms of social events and did a great job too! Our activities involved quizzes, a champagne and canape reception, secret santa, national trips to the different regional offices, etc. Made some great friends with students from different universities and was well worth the investment!

Not great, but only because I was working in the City of London (renowned for running your wallet dry!) Oracle does offer the opportunity to work in their HQ in Reading, which is far more reasonably priced. However all the buzz is happening in London and you will need to travel here for customer meetings 50% of the time. It also goes without saying that rent is very pricey in London, as are drinks, groceries, transport, etc.

I guess you can't really fault London nightlife, although it isn't really my cup of tea... There is a wide range of clubs to choose from and the night time transportation is really second to none - tubes, buses, public bikes, etc. Wherever you live, you'll manage to find some way of getting home!

For sure, but only if you were willing to be proactive and find them yourself. London is a city full of opportunities and there's bound to be lots of different things located close to where you live. London also has its own website dedicated to finding things to do and there are a wealth of options! Oracle's Health & Wellbeing Director will also give you a rundown of what you can do to stay fit, even internally!