Summer Intern Review

The internship held many challenging moments including the length of hours, the immediate pressured environment, and the pressure from customers - all of these did impact upon my enjoyment. In some ways these factors could have been reduced but they would have been prominent in any business/customer service related internship that I could have undertook. However, what increased my enjoyment of my internship was the colleagues I had the opportunity to work with and the extend of knowledge about how to run a business that I feel like I have developed.

From the beginning of my placement until the very end I felt very valued by my immediate colleagues - in terms of being included within the team, given responsibilities, and receiving praise for a job well done. As I was only an intern for three months I did not meet many employees from within the company - but did have the chance to meet some members of staff from higher up within Enterprise who have all been friendly and welcoming.

Being a small team within my branch I have not only received support from my immediate colleagues but also the manager/ assistant manager. Obviously there were times where support was limited due to being under-staffed and extremely busy but overall - without this support I would not have been able to complete this placement for the duration.

Due to doing my internship in the summer months and the branch being understaffed I was very busy - there have been some days that haven't been as crazy but the pace of the job has been very quick. In some cases I felt it was too much for simply an intern but it has meant that the placement has flown by.

I feel that I was given the appropriate amount of responsibility during my placement - due to only being within the branch for 3 months I was not swamped with too many responsibilities that went way over my capabilities but at the same time I had enough that I felt challenged daily and was considered a vital member of the team.

In terms of assisting me with my degree this internship was minimal due to there being limited relevance - this would not have been the case if I did a business degree - but I have gained experience that will look great on my CV and skills that I can apply in further jobs that I have during and after University.

On a day to day basis the atmosphere within the office was positive - obviously there were times where members of staff including myself were not so positive due to the pressure of the job and the tiredness it causes - however due to it being a small team and everyone feeling equal the general atmosphere was rarely dull within the office.

At the beginning of my placement there were numerous training days which were well organized and provided a lot of information that was vital to my placement - but in some cases there was too much which I feel was due to the fact I was trained alongside full-time new hires and others on one year placements. From within the branch it was difficult for there to have been as much training as was really needed due to it being so busy day-to-day - but learning on the job does tend to mean one learns quicker!

At the start of my placement with the training days and one more training day once I had completed 30 days I felt that the firm was invested in the training of me - however, they were obviously more invested in full-time new-hires and people on placements for the entire year as they are more likely to remain with the company after their placement has ended.

After having completed my 3 month internship I do not want to return after finishing my degree. I undertook this internship for a challenge and to try working within a corporate business but having given it a try I have concluded it is not for me due to the high pressure, customer service element, and long working hours.

This is not really applicable as whilst actually on my placement I was not with other placement students and there was not really time for socializing out of work. However, during the training days effort was made - including meals out, nights away - to encourage socializing with the fellow trainees. No other socializing events were held during my 3 months at the branch due to it being very busy and summer.

This is not applicable as I was working near my home town rather than living away somewhere new.

Again this is the same as the prior question and not applicable in this instance.

There were a few opportunities to get involved with activities outside of work - including charity events and networking events - however I felt there was little time for this and did not want to commit to doing these outside of working hours.