Sales Stategy & Planning Review

I have enjoyed my placement significantly. Working in sales Strategy and planning I have been able to network with a range of teams. Furthermore outside of my role I have been able to get involved in other parts of the business. Again allowing me to network with other teams. As HPE is going through changes since the split and for other reasons I have been exposed to this change which has been good for my development.

I feel that I have been very valued in my working teams. My day-to-day reports contribute external SSP teams being able to carry out their work which makes me feel appreciated. The interns are also able to get involved in team activities and get invited to team socials making you really feel part of the team.

Throughout my placement I feel I was supported very well. My development was really valued by line manager and was facilitated where needed to be. I was guided to online training which also helped my development. I had a change in line manager while on my placement which unfortunately once in place I feel that I was less supported. Although this allowed me to self manage myself more, sometimes when needing guidance, it was not available which made me feel disorganised at times.

I have day-to-day tasks which keeps a strong flow of work coming in. There were times where I was very busy when ad-hoc tasks were given where I had to stay later than my working hours (which is expected sometimes as you need to be flexible). There has also been times where ad-hoc tasks were not available so I had time to spare- This allowed me to catch up with tasks such as uni work.

My responsibility grew while on placement which was good for my development. I took ownership of a lot of reports in my role. Furthermore when I had a change in line manager I was expected to pick up some of my managers work as the role was temporarily vacant. This was good exposure for me in my team and allowed me to get an insight into my managers role which was of course was more challenging than mine in other areas.

The training I received and skills I have developed while at HPE have been very beneficial. The skills I picked up I would have never been able to pick up at university and I will be able to apply back at uni as well as in a future job role. My placement has also developed my confidence and my professionalism in the workplace. I hope this will put me in good stead to complete my degree and gain a job role that I desire after graduating.

Having an open office makes the general atomosphere very positive and friendly. It is also busy which makes networking easier. Furthermore management are also in the open office and are not secluded to closed offices making them more approachable. Sitting in a team and not 'hot-desking' is also beneficial to create a harmonious positive environment.

The structure in our team (with 8 interns) seems very organised. We all are aligned to line managers that we have regular 1-2-1 meetings with. The handover month also creates a smooth transitioning in order to be confident within the job. My only negative comment is that the interns between teams structures are more aligned. At times because of this I found they were able to gain opportunities that others were not able to.

I have looked at my internship in terms of that I am investing in them as well as them investing in me in terms of this will help me in my future career. The handover month training was very beneficial, but other than that we are not offered any other training off the job for our development. Due to expense cuts if also if asked it would be rejected.

I feel that post graduating there the majority of opportunities at HPE are sales roles. So if like me you are not interested in sales the prospects of coming back are more limited unless coming back into an entry role. I hope to come back in the far future though as I enjoy the culture of the company, just a shame of the intern to graduate progression does not coincide.

The social scen was very good. With over 50 interns we ensured it was very social. HPE encourage placement students to live in halls of residence within the first month which helps you to make friends and potentially find people to share a house with. The interns have a social committee who organise nights out and other events including volunteering. HPE also budgeted for us to attend Royal Ascot.

The cost of living was quite average. I paid 400 pounds a month for rent in a student house. Cost of living can be as high or as low as you make it, there are Lidl, Asda, Waitrose and many other supermarkets around. Again taxis into town were only approximately 6 pounds to the station or the centre of town. There are also pubs close which offer student discounts.

The nightlife was also average. There are chain clubs and bars that you can go to. Also as Reading is a student area there are student nights run meaning that costs are kept down in the week and you can guarantee in term time that the clubs will be busy. Only drawback is other than 1 club, the rest all close quite early meaning your night may come to a close earlier than you wanted.

Outside of work there was a football team that plays against other intern teams competitively. Alonside this there has been lots of charity/volunteering events that we have been able to get involved in. For example palace to palace, 3 peak challenge, Reading half marathon, race for life. Other activities I have got involved in was attending Discover 2016 (HPE's biggest customer event) and the talent management graduation.