Intern in Technology and Operations (T&O) Review
by Santander
This review was submitted over 4 years ago, so some of the information it contains may no longer be relevant.
Rating
-
The Role
3.4
-
The Company
2.7
-
The Culture
2.8
- 1. To what extent did you enjoy your work placement or internship?
- 2. To what extent did you feel valued by your colleagues?
- 3. To what extent were you given support and guidance by management/your supervisor(s)?
- 4. How busy were you on a daily basis?
- 5. How much responsibility were you given during your placement?
- 6. To what extent did/will the skills you developed, and training you received, assist you in your degree studies and beyond?
- 7. What was the general atmosphere in your office?
- 8. How well organised was the overall work placement or internship set up?
- 9. In terms of personal training and development, to what extent did the company or firm invest in you?
- 10. What were the perks on your work placement?
- 11. How appealing are future employment prospects within the organisation?
- 12. Was there a good social scene amongst any fellow placement students/colleagues?
- 13. What was the cost of living and socialising in the area you worked in?
- 14. What was the Nightlife like in the area you worked?
- 15. Were there many opportunities to get involved in activities outside of work?
The Role
I did enjoy working for Santander, I enjoyed travel between the different sites all over the UK and also being able to be a part of innovative new projects and gain insight into Santander's efforts to improve customer experience.
My colleagues were always kind and respectful and I felt I was listened to.
My manager was great at explaining the detail behind things so from the beginning I had a good base to build up on.Things got too busy for him later and I wasn't able to see him as much or speak to him as much but it was a good learning curve.
At the beginning I was very busy as I was getting to grips with everything, however as I completed some of my projects and there was a limited amount of responsibility I could take on due to it being a short term internship, things got less busy. It varied, on some days I would be using all of my working hours but on other days I would use maybe half.
I was making up reports, raising requests and progressing small business changes so I was personally accountable for these things, however I felt I could have taken on more responsibility; though I understand that would be difficult to give me more responsibility due to the short duration of the internship.
I believe I now understand many of the strategic areas of business that I have studied and will study now that I have seen them being used practically. It has been useful.
The Company
There were some days when I would go home not having spoken to anyone in person; people were friendly, just too busy. My office environment was also very traditional in Glasgow as opposed to other offices in Milton Keynes/London.
The HR process was very long and sometimes repetitive as I had to send certain things multiple times, it could have been faster and easier. There were also many problems getting set up on all the different portals when I first commenced however there was always a resolution. There were also small variances between intern set up processes in different cities. On the other hand, Santander did have extensive guidelines and helpful information as well as assigning me a buddy.
I was able to take part in a few different training courses relevant to my area of work and I was impressed with that.
National Travel
Company Parties/Events
The graduate scheme is varied and interesting from my communications and observations. From this there are always opportunities to progress.
The Culture
I was the only intern at my site.
Normal
Glasgow is great for nightlife.
Santander has many initiatives however I didn't get a chance to be involved.
Details
Internship (1 Month+)
Scotland
September 2017
