Insight Assistant Review

I am thoroughly enjoying my time on placement at Chelsea Football Club. The placement has been a fantastic experience, where I have been able to develop my skills, gain invaluable experience and improve my future prospects. I get to work in a fantastic part of London, surrounded by nice restaurants, pubs and shops.

As part of a small team, I am afforded a lot of responsibility. I am trusted to perform important tasks, such as reporting on how partnership campaigns perform and conducting research which will be used to assist future campaigns. My expertise using certain software is often requested, where I help to overcome issues they may be having. All of this together makes me feel like I am valued quite highly, and not just seen as an intern who performs small tasks.

When I started I was provided with training in the different key areas by my manager. Whenever I need assistance with anything, I know that I can ask her for help. I have been put on several training courses to aide my development and learning, and I know that if I need training in a field, I will be provided with the support necessary.

I am always busy during my work days. My time is used up by ad hoc tasks, such as campaign analysis or other insights, and long-term pieces, such as projects involving profiling consumers of our many different products. So I always have work to do, even when there are no urgent requests, there are long-term tasks for me to complete.

I've been given a lot of responsibility during my time here. I independently complete reporting each month which helps assist other key areas of the business. I have also been given the responsibility of completing a profile of customers in order to assist in the future marketing campaigns of those products.

There are many transferable skills which I have developed during my time at Chelsea Football Club. Due to the nature of the role, my analytic skills have definitely improved. As I fully intend to work in analysis in the future, these skills will be vital for my future career. I also regularly use Excel, databases and visualisation tools, which I will be likely to use again in the future (having certifications in these is a great thing to put on my CV too!).

In the office there are 4 different teams, and at times can be over 20 people in there. There is always interaction across the teams. The atmosphere was quite relaxed and informal, with people regularly chatting, however at times it is more focused and quiet, when people are doing important work. Often on fridays, a number of us would go out for lunch together at one of the nearby restaurants.

The placement is well organised. When I started, the previous intern stayed on for my first 6 weeks to do a handover, where I was taught the key tasks and introduced to the software. As time went on, my exposure to the ad hoc tasks increased, and by the time the previous intern left, I felt comfortable taking over the role.

During my time at Chelsea Football Club, I have been on 4 training courses. The first training course I attended was actually a couple of weeks before I started, however the company paid the fees and expenses for the trip (required a hotel stay). If I find other courses which I'd like to attend, I can speak to my manager, who has said that they will pay for it.

When I was first interviewed, I was informed that it was unlikely that we would be kept on once we graduated. There is no "grad scheme" at Chelsea, as they would rather take on people with a little bit more experience. However, just having this on my CV will open doors into many different companies, as it is so unique.

There isn't a social scene among the placement students, as there are only 2 of us! But, there are often events where everyone will attend. These range from company-organised events such as the christmas and summer drinks, to more personal events such as leaving-dos. Plus, people will often go out for lunch as an office, where it is much more sociable.

As it is based at Stamford Bridge in Fulham, the cost of living here is incredibly high. However, it is easy to commute in every day, with a tube station just 3 minutes away. There is a university nearby, which ensures that some shops and bars are affordable. There are a number of nice pubs, which can be quite expensive, but there is also a Wetherspoons, plus cheaper shops such as Wilko's and McDonald's.

There are numerous venues within 10-15 minutes, with a good mix of bars and pubs. Stamford Bridge itself has a bar and a nightclub attached to it, which are sometimes used for the staff events (the nightclub was used for the christmas party). There are bars within walking distance in Fulham and Chelsea, and some slightly further away (but just a couple of tube stops) in Kensington.

At Stamford Bridge there is a health club, where classes are run weekly for staff members. These include spinning and yoga sessions, which are free for staff members. The health club membership is also partially subsidised for staff members, and allows you to be active without having to stray to far from work.