Financial Operations Intern Review

I really enjoyed the role and team I was in for my placement year at Travelport as I was given all the support I needed and welcomed into the industry with open arms. Having never worked in an office before it was interesting and I was constantly given new tasks and challenges to face which enabled me to thrive in everything I did.

Every task I completed my colleagues were grateful for and I was treated the same as everyone else in the office, there was no split between me and the full time employees. The interns were set the task to raise £10,000 for charity which we were left to do alone, the whole office got behind us and helped to exceed the target, all very generous and supportive in this and our work.

My manager provided me excellent guidance and is very approachable making asking questions easy, no question feels silly. We had regular 1 to 1's where he ensured the placement and job role was meeting the expectations I had and determined if there was anything that could be done to get more out of my placement year.

Some days my work load was less however, this is expected in a finance job as there is always a quiet period of the month. This worked well for me as it enabled me to shadow other areas of the business, catch up on any emails needed and complete adhoc projects meaning I always had something to do even if I had to look for it.

I was given full responsibility of the daily running and billing run of TRAM, the product I was working on. This is a hotel booking product in which the customer books a hotel room and receives commission once this booking has been consumed. This resulted in me having to liaise with consumers and suppliers providing the contents and commissionable amounts to ensure everything was paid and accounted for correctly to allow the business to run smoothly.

I am studying Accounting with Finance at university and therefore seeing how journals, balance sheets and financial statements are created in the 'real world' has put what I have already learnt into perspective and will assist with my further understanding upon my return to university. Not only will this assist with my degree but, learning the etiquette in an office and improved communication and technology skills will assist in any career path I take.

Everyone in the office was welcoming and friendly, willing to have help with anything even if it was not their area of expertise. There were several events that were organised by colleagues as well as management, this allowed everyone to socialise outside of the office as well as in work. This enabled people to get to know each other better making the atmosphere in the office friendly allowing people to have a laugh however a professional manner is maintained.

The intern program was very well organised with a week of inductions and 'on boarding portal' to provide information on Travelport enabling us to understand a bit more about what the business does before starting our day jobs and Travelport along with various events to get to know all the other interns. This was particularly useful for me as I Was based in Swindon. There were not as many opportunities at first for myself and the other Swindon intern to go up to the head office and see all the other 20 interns as I would have liked however once we got settled into our office we were going up to see everyone and carry out work in Langley, head office once a month which made me feel incorporated into the intern program and see other members of my team in Langley.

There is accessibility to 'My Learning' which gives you the opportunity to expand your knowledge and skill set. My manager set aside 3 hours once a month to set aside time to complete some of these tasks. I focused on excel as I believe this is a valuable skill to have and allowed me to expand on the knowledge I already had. There are a variety of other tasks to do including SOX training and business knowledge. Each month there were half day sessions put on for the interns to learn about other areas of the business, some of these were chosen for us and others were upon request from the interns showing our views and opinions were valued.

A career in Travelport in the future is interesting for me and one I would definitely consider after I have become qualified in accountancy. I would love to rejoin the company however would like to see what other opportunities and job prospects there are before returning as I have a passion to work in accountancy practice opposed to industry.

There was a lovely social scene withing the interns at Travelport both from events organised for us and events we organised for ourselves such as trips to the cinema or spending time at each others houses. Travelport provided us with the task to raise £10,000 for charity which meant the interns had to spend time together both in and out of work as we completed charity runs and had to raise money out of Travelport such as fundraising at theater events. I also took part in Tough Mudder with 7 other interns which was challenging both mentally and physically for everyone which brought us together as a group.

I was based in the Swindon office with one other intern, the other 20 were based in the head office, Langley. The other intern in Swindon lived at home, 45 minuted away from me which meant that out of work there was not a lot of people to socialise with however, myself and the other Swindon intern, April got on very well and socialised outside of work when possible and would go up and see the other interns when possible. In terms of living costs, it was feasible and I lived in shared accommodation with 3 other students which I got on with very well and nice to be living with people of similar age in a similar position.

There was minimal nightlife in Swindon however this did not affect my nights out as we are so close to Bath and Bristol if we wanted proper evenings out then we went a bit further a field. If you just wanted to go for a meal or have a drink then there was the opportunity to go to a couple of pubs in the local area.

There were multiple events put on which I could not always attend as most of my weekends were filled up with other things however when possible, I would socialise with my work colleagues. This was sometimes in the week and sometimes at weekends.