Project Assistant Review

The internship has provided me with a breadth of experiences. I have been able to gain a broad insight into project management, and other teams that we feed into/collaborate with. Compared to our full time colleagues, as summer interns we are only here for a very short time but despite this I have been valued and supported at every step of this internship by my line manager and the rest of my team. There were also challenges set to all interns; a charity challenge and a division specific challenge (I am in group Ops) and this helped to diversify the experience but there was some lack of clarity with these challenges. Overall, I have thoroughly enjoyed this internship but this is primarily because of my highly supportive and engaging manager and team.

I felt highly valued by all colleagues, both within my team and externally. My team would constantly ask for my opinion on various things and I was always included in team activities and meetings, and even social events outside of work hours. I have also had the chance to collaborate with a very senior member of the company where I was set the task to produce a piece of work for him. He encouraged me to set up regular meetings and/or phone calls so I could update him on my progress and he could provide me with ongoing feedback. I am aware this type of interaction will not be the same case in companies with a more hierarchal structure.

As mentioned before, my manager has been truly supportive and forthcoming in my development and making sure I get the most out of this internship. We have regular one-on-one catch ups where she will ask me for details on how I am getting on with each of my objectives, as well as the other projects I am working on, and my general wellbeing. She has also offered me guidance, advice and constructive feedback. As well as my line manager, I have found other management here to be very approachable, and willing to help however they can. As well as this, each intern was assigned a graduate buddy, who are currently in the graduate scheme for our division. My grad buddy was my main point of call for any grad scheme related queries and general questions on a more informal basis, and I found this also to be extremely helpful.

Was kept busy throughout the internship, but as aforementioned this was down to me having an extremely engaging manager that would regularly ask me if I was being challenged enough.

I was given quite a big responsibility for the time I am here, but obviously due to the nature of project management, and the fact I was working on a very long term project, this was not the same responsibility levels as my colleagues. Despite this, my opinions were always sought and valued, and I think that is a responsibility in its own.

Not only did I learn technical skills beneficial for pursuing a career in project management, but also had the opportunity to develop transferable skills such as organisation, collaboration, problem-solving, planning and innovation.

Perfect balance between fun and professional

My manager did an excellent job in making sure my internship was a valuable experience for me on her side of things. However, the internship as a whole could be improved regarding organisation, especially with regards to our charity challenge. And as a whole, there seemed to be communication issues where interns were being told different things or not always getting the right information. Nevertheless, I suppose a company of this size this is bound to happen at times.

The firm invested in us quite a lot! Accommodation was provided for us

The graduate scheme sounds like an excellent opportunity if you get onto it.

Yes

Accommodation was provided, and living costs in general didn't seem too bad for me because I'm from London

I never experienced it so I couldn't say

Yes, a lot going on