Sales Intern Review

My day to day work was repetitive at times, with monotonous tasks forming a large part of my role. This generally included tasks such as report generation and data analysis- something I knew would be a part of my role, albeit not to the same extent. This said, I greatly enjoyed some of the additional tasks and projects that I decided to get involved in- this included the likes of customer engagement and early talent recruitment which helped to give my work some variety. I wasn't sure if I would have enjoyed my role that much without these projects being available- the fact we were able to do these was a credit to SAP.

This was a real plus of my placement year- my colleagues were incredible and never once treated me as 'just an intern'. I was handed very large amounts of responsibility at times- such as booking very large deals that would have a large impact if they weren't completed correctly- and this helped me to feel like I was a real part of the team. Whilst this responsibility carried real stress at times, this was offset by my teammates who genuinely felt like family by the end of the year. I can say with confidence that they made my placement year something else, and I have no doubt that I'll stay in touch with them in the future.

Managerial guidance and support was generally found to be lacking during my placement year- the managerial style was very much one of 'just getting work done', with very little personal development or intervention involved. I appreciate that managers have very different styles and that some students would appreciate having a manager who doesn't get involved in their work- hence why I've reviewed this a bit higher, as it was a plus at times- but I generally felt that the management weren't there for me when they could have been, which was a detractor.

My work generally came in peaks and troughs- there were times where I was incredibly busy, whilst there were other times were my department team had little work for me and led to me having to seek other work. I generally felt that I was given a good amount of work, with a fair number of ongoing project tasks- and the fact that external projects and responsibilities were available was a real benefit to myself and other placement students.

As alluded to previously, I was given an incredible amount of responsibility during my placement year- I worked hard to be seen as capable and this was rewarded in myself being given a number of business-critical tasks that could have caused detriment to the business if they weren't completed correctly. I greatly enjoyed being given such independence and responsibility and see SAP as a very high benchmark when it comes to me considering other roles.

My placement year allowed me to develop a number of different skills- this was largely thanks to the responsibility given, with myself constantly having to either learn new skills or let down my team in not doing so. I felt that such experience helped me to work under pressure and to improve my practice in dealing with customers, amongst other skills.

The office was generally pleasant, with modern working areas and a number of refreshment areas available to speak to colleagues or organise meetings. The open plan nature of the office also helped when it came to having to seek people out to gain assistance with tasks.

I found that the placement was generally well organised, with clear responsibilites set and a schedule provided as to how the year will progress. I would have rated this more highly except for the fact that personal development wasn't monitored that well- and I feel that this should be a focus area for early students where a placement year may be their first ever experience in industry..

Whilst I felt that personal training and development was lacking at times- with the focus instead being that placement students will learn throughout their daily work- SAP did invest in training and development days for us that were generally well received.

Future employment prospects are limited at SAP- with no formal graduate scheme the main option is either taking part in the Sales Academy (a training programme for salespeople) or taking up a specific graduate role made available through a single department. If you don't have an interest in either of these two options, a role back at SAP isn't necessarily forseeable.

The intern social scene at SAP is fantastic- an emphasis is placed on us socialising as a group, with SAP initially organising teambuilding activities for us to get to know each other. The social scene then moves onto us having to arrange events ourselves, although we were still all invited to the likes of the SAP Christmas Party. This was a definite plus from the placement year- with one of the largest intern communitiies in the UK enterprise software scene the social side was fantastic.

With our office situated in Greater London, living costs etc were very expensive- a night out in London would cost at least £50 with transport factored in, although it is worth considering that London is known as a fantastic nighlife destination and that the prices are generally justified! Be prepared to work out savings etc however for when you begin your year- spending without caution in the Greater London area is very ill advised.

As alluded to previously, the nightlife around us was fantastic- whilst nightlife in Feltham is pretty much nonexistent, party towns such as Richmond and Kingston are a stones throw away and were frequently visited by the intern community. If you want to travel into London and socialise, the transport is generally very good too.

Opportunities to get involved with activities outside of work were generally few and far between- the one massive highlight was football, where regular football players were invited to an all expenses paid trip to the SAP World Cup (a football tournament for employees held in Frankfurt). Whilst this was great for football players, anyone who doesn't play football is very likely to be disappointed by the activity provision outside of SAP- although it's worth considering that there is quite a lot to do outside of London anyway.