Global Financial Planning Intern Review

I thoroughly enjoyed my placement year at Travelport; I developed numerous skills such as financial analysis and Microsoft Excel, as well as time management and office etiquette. I also met a wide variety of people and got to network with people in the industry through shadowing different departments. I was also able to take an active role in the budget process for the company which I found to be particularly rewarding.

At the beginning of my placement I felt highly valued within my team as I played such an active part in the budget process and was given a lot of real responsibility. As my placement progressed I felt less valued in my team as the work I was given to do was reduced substantially However I actively sought work to do for other teams and so felt valued by other colleagues.

My managers were highly supportive with regards to developing the quality of work I was producing, giving me feedback each time. I can't fault the general career help that was provided by the HR team such as information about recruitment, however I would have liked some more specific career help from managers within the sector that I want to go into. Having said this, my mentor was particularly helpful in getting me to think about the next steps for my education and career.

At the beginning of my placement I was very busy helping to produce the budget. There were days when I would have to stay late to finish work for tight deadlines, however I didn't mind because it made me feel like my contribution was valued and it wasn't a very regular occurrence. Towards the end of my placement I became less busy within my own team as the budget process was over and a shift in the team's role meant that I had fewer deliverables. I did however, manage to find work within other teams to keep myself occupied.

During the budget process I was given a lot of responsibility as I had to produce financial analysis and create slides to be included in the presentation. I was also given full responsibility of a number of monthly deliverables, which included contacting members of the company from other regions across the globe, and collaborating with other teams to produce end documents.

My placement has greatly increased my confidence in my ability to research, produce and analyse data, which will hopefully help me in my future career. My overall confidence has also benefitted from a year in industry, and I am now more comfortable with approaching new people for the first time. My improvement in Microsoft Excel skills is helping me in my current position at university as Treasurer for a society, and will also no doubt prove useful in the future. My confidence when presenting has also developed dramatically since my placement, which will help me in my future career, but is also beneficial this year at uni as a number of my assessments are based on presentations.

The atmosphere in the office was professional yet relaxed. There were certain periods, such as at month end when everyone was a bit tense and focussed on getting the job done. However there was never a time when I felt like someone was too busy to help me. Most people in the office are very friendly and will make time to have a chat and help you with your work. Although people are focussed and get the job done, there is always someone laughing, someone who has bought in cakes, or someone who has ordered food in!

The placement at Travelport is very well organised! There are dedicated employees who head up the intern program, as well as the HR team who are also very involved. This means that there is always someone in HR that you can go to for help as an intern, as well as someone from your particular area (ie finance for me). Each intern is also assigned a mentor for the duration of their placement, who is someone who is in their area of work but not within the same team. This means that they will be able to help you with career advice, advice on your work, but can also help if you have issues within your team. There is also a 3 week handover period between the interns so you can learn your job from the intern that has done it before you.

All of our training was completed in house by either the HR team, the intern program leaders, or our own teams. So for example, my job training was carried out by my team and was a fairly lengthy process which meant that I felt comfortable doing my job. This was facilitated by my manager, the previous intern, and other members of the team. There were Intern Sessions provided by the head of the intern program, which included insights into different areas of the business so we had a greater understanding, and a session of the different accounting qualifications we could pursue. HR provided training on the culture and code of conduct of the organisation. HR also held a valuable session for the interns on recruitment and how to stand out to potential employers. There is also an initiative at Travelport called MedLabs which are open to all finance employees in the company and are designed to develop the individual. One of the best that I attended was about how to improve your presentation skills and I learnt a lot from this session and dramatically improved my confidence.

There is currently no graduate scheme in place which is a shame as I think a number of interns would apply for this opportunity. A couple of interns have gone back to the company after finishing their degrees though.

There were 'intern houses' meaning a lot of interns all lived together and that there was always something sociable going on. We often took day trips into London and went out together at the weekends, as well as a trip to Ascot! The social club meant that we could try activities that we might not have before such as go-karting, and also meant that we could socialise with other people within the company. There was a good social atmosphere within most of the teams, and we would often go for drinks after work or have lunch together.

I commuted from about half an hour away so the cost was quite a bit more for me. I know that the interns who lived in the area fond the rent expensive, but didn't really struggle too much after paying bills. We never went out in Slough, and most work drinks took place in Windsor, which was a bit expensive but much nicer. I wouldn't say the prices were too unreasonable.

Again, we never went out in Slough so tended to go out in London, which was expensive but worth it in my opinion. There were also clubs in Uxbridge which we went to, and bars and restaurants in Windsor.

There is a football team that you can be a part of, and they play every week. I think the company also has some involvement with a Women in STEM initiative.