This review was submitted over 4 years ago, so some of the information it contains may no longer be relevant.
Rating
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The Role
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The Company
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The Culture
- 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 couldn't have hoped for a better internship. This was for me an incredible adventure. I took a risk to secure this internship at Expedia; I had another great internship offer at the Societe Generale (The French bank) which I turned down to apply for this position. I am so happy I took this risk. As I said, this was for me an incredible opportunity.
I felt highly valued by my colleagues, every one was so kind and took time to show me how they worked. I think I have managed to take the best out of this experience by learning from everyone. I was considered a "real" Market Associate, which is great because I was treated equally and I felt more involved in what I was doing every day.
I received great support from all of my managers (MMs, Area Manager), and all of my colleagues. I felt like everyone was willing to help me in becoming a better Market Associate. I have tried my very best to do so. The objectives were very clear to me and I knew exactly what I had to do on a daily basis.
As I said earlier, I knew exactly what was required from me. My days were busy but felt "full", which is a great thing because I would 100% rather have too much work to do and adapt my schedule, than having nothing to do. The balance between the amount of work that was required from me and the objectives seemed adapted .
I think I was given a good amount of responsibility, like a Market Associate, not just like an Intern. I was given my own markets to manage. I think this is a great way to make new hires involved in their job and increase their performance. This was the case for me anyway because I was immediatly trusted and motivated to achieve given obectives.
I have learned SO much during this internship. I honestly feel like I now am a better commercial, a better sales person, I also learned about team spirit and about the travel industry in general. This was a great opportunity for me and I am honestly thankful for this. Expedia is a great company to work for and I would recommend it to anyone.
The Company
The general atmosphere was great. Everyone had a good spirit and work was fun overall. The best thing about the work environment for me, was that work felt dynamic and fun yet productive. It was easier and more stimulating to get things done in this environment because everyone was highly motivated/ involved / had a great spirit.
The overall internship setup felt seamless. Every thing was relatively easy and quick. The process didn't take very long and I was constantly (and very kindly) updated by Daniella de Panizza. It was really nice to know that Everything was taken care of by Expedia. Overall, I was very happy with the work placement process.
I am very proud to tell my friends that Expedia invests in ALL of its employees, including Interns. This still feels unbelievable to me because I was sent one week to Paris for the onboarding, I had the opportunity to go on market visits in Nice, I was invited to the Offsite in Spain, Alicante... This convinced me that Expedia invests a lot in its employees both in terms of personal training and in terms of development.
Company Parties/Events
Staff Sales/Staff Shop
Honestly, I have had two really good opportunities within Expedia in France South West and France South East at the end of my internship. I decided to turn down these offers to finish my Master 2 because I feel that if I start working, it will be very difficult for me to ever finish my studies. I must say that, from what I have seen, future employment prospects within the company are very appealing. If I have an opportunity one day, I would be very happy to come back and work for Expedia Inc in the future.
The Culture
Yes, I was impressed to see the good spirit and the diversity within employees at Expedia. The social scene amongst my colleagues felt just right. Everyone seems to get along quite well and I think this is really important to create a strong team spirit, which ultimatly increases your performance and your productivity.
I worked in Mougins, but I live in Nice and the cost of living in the south of France is very high compared to other regions. The fact that some of us (including myself) have to take the motorway to get to work can be a little annoying because there is a cost of at least 3€ everyday for this trip, which adds up at the end of the month, especialy when you are an intern.
The nightlife in Mougins (where the office is located) is unexisting. There are mostly companies and businesses, that's all, there aren't any bars or clubs or anything like that. These are located in Nice or Cannes which isn't too far. The south of France is famous for its parties and nighclubs anyway, so it's all good!
Yes, our office tried to regularly organize "After-work" evenings where we went to restaurants, to the beach or have dinner at someone's place. This is a realy good idea because it reinforces the team's spirit and gives us the possibility to talk about things that we wouldn't discuss at work. This is a great team building opportunity and I would encourage all teams to do this.
Details
International
October 2017