Analyst Intern Review

On the whole I really enjoyed my time at Virgin Media. The company promotes a good work life balance and also had lots of incentives for employees. I enjoyed most of the work I did and also had a lot of opportunities to engage in activities outside of work.

My colleagues treated me as a peer and didn't just view me as an intern.

My manager provided all the help I needed, especially at the start, reading through analysis produced and indicating where improvements could be made. For example, if doing analysis for a certain person my manager would advise the style of presentation he thought the person liked.

As with a lot of jobs which are partly made up from ad-hoc pieces of work, there were quiet times but also very busy times. There were a few times where I had to go looking for work but on the whole I had enough to keep me going. I rarely had to stay late.

I was given a high level of responsibility with a lot of things. Occasionally though I found a piece of work I'd done would be passed on or presented higher up the chain by someone else which was frustrating as I felt I was best placed to present, talk through and answer any questions on the analysis produced.

The skills I have learnt will have a limited impact on my degree but will certainly help in my future career. Computer skills such as coding or using Excel are good assets to have for an analyst and I have developed these skills greatly over the course of my year at Virgin Media.

The general atmosphere was really good. Despite having the option to work from home occasionally, I enjoyed coming into the office because of the good atmosphere. Everyone was friendly and general chit chat was good to break up long days.

The placement was very well organized. I had to completed 6 month and 12 month internal presentations to show my progress. I also had a useful induction and 4 training events over the course of the year to maximize my development.

The 4 training event mentioned above were an example of this, one of these being specifically based on personal development. The company also has lots of courses online to help with training and development.

At this stage I am hopeful of progressing on to the graduate scheme. The option is there if you wish to continue providing a good score is achieved in the end of year review and a recommendation is received from the head of department. The final stage after that is an interview (providing the application is to the same scheme as the placement)

The social scene was as good as it could be as placement students were located across the country. Everyone was brought together for the four training events throughout the year and a social was always organized. A WhatsApp chat was also set up with all the placement students in. I got on well with everyone.

I was fortunate enough to live at home with my parents. The cost of living in the area I worked was reasonable.

Nightlife in Manchester is very good. There's a countless number of clubs, pubs and bars to choose from all around the city centre.

I spent a day with an engineer in the field, a day in a store and also a day in the customer contact centre. The graduates and interns also have a charity challenge in which groups have to raise as much money as they can for Virgin Media's chosen charity. This was a great experience.