Trade Analyst Review

I have had a great year working at Intel. It has been hard work but has also been extremely rewarding. It has been an amazing place to work and the people i have met along the way have been amazing and the knowledge i have gained will be invaluable to me. Not only have I gained knowledge but also a better understanding of the world of work which will help me in the future when i come to working.

I felt very valued by my colleagues. I was given real tasks and was given responsibility from day one which made me feel very valued. Colleagues were very appreciative of work I completed and were sure to let me know of this. I never felt like I was an intern, i was always treated as though i was a full time employee like anyone else there which made me feel much more valued.

My managers and supervisors were excellent with me throughout my placement. They were always there if i had any questions and problems and didn't make me feel bad for asking questions which they may have found simple. I always felt like they had the time to listen to me. There was an open door policy and managers didn't have their own private spaces which meant i felt much more comfortable to go and talk to them if i had issues or queries.

Day to day I was fairly busy. It went through period of being really busy and then periods of being quieter however my supervisors and managers would always ensure I had enough work to do during the quieter periods. During my time at the company people left and so I had to take on some of their responsibilities which added to my work load but it never got to a point where I had too much to do.

I felt like I was given a lot of responsibility during my placement. The continuously surprised me as to how much responsibility they would give me given that I was only a Intern with limited knowledge and experience. I never expected to have the responsibility I have had. At first it was quite daunting and I wasn't sure if i was going to be able to do it but during the 6 week handover period my old intern made sure i knew everything i needed to in order to make sure i could do the job to the highest standard and as the placement went on i got more comfortable with my responsibility.

I do not believe that the knowledge I have gained will help me too much with my degree, but that it because it is not that relevant. I do however feel I have gain invaluable knowledge and skills with will help me after I graduate and start to work. I now feel far more confident in a work place to do the necessary things such as making phone calls, ensuring i have used the right language in emails etc. This will all help me when it come to starting work and applying for jobs.

The atmosphere of the office was great. You knew that you had to get your work done and that their would be consequences if it weren't done. However they didn't ensure you sat in silence and focused on your work. The office space was very open and you could easily speak to other people in your team and in other teams around you which meant it was a very sociable space. You were also not made to sit at your desk all day. As you are give laptops you can go and work in the canteen if you wanted to or go for a quick game in the games room which made the atmosphere far more relaxed and for me this meant i could get on with my work quicker as if i felt like i needed a break I could go do that and come back feeling ready to work.

My personal placement started off well and I thought it was set up well. There was a hand over period so i could learn of the ntern who had been doing the job the year before me and everything seemed to run smoothly however there was a re-org during my time at Intel which meant there was a bit of a shake-up. This meant that the organisation of my placement went up and down. My supervisor left half way through my placement and as she was my backup it was quite difficult for me to take a significant time off and my manager changed half way through. That was well managed but it was a bit of a bump along the road in the placement. Generally it was organised well, i just believe it was bad timing for myself.

As an intern at Intel you are treated exactly the same as an other employee of the company which meant you attend any of the online training material that they had. I also got to go on a work trip to Amsterdam and Gdansk in order to meet my new team and experience one of the main hubs which was mostly what my job responsibilities were centered around. This was a big investment from the company in me, especially when I am only an intern so i was only going to be there for a limited time.

The future employment prospects are limited with Intel in the UK. Outside of the UK there are plenty of opportunities so if you are willing to move then the opportunities are endless. However if you can find a job within the company then i would strongly recommend one. They are an extremely good company to work for so personally I would jump at an opportunity to come back.

There was an intern committee which was in charge or arranging sports and social events and was fully organised and arranged by interns. There were events held every couple of weeks and the events varied from nights out to pub quizzes so there was something for everyone. You didn't feel obligated to go but there was a great atmosphere if you felt like you wanted to.

The cost of living was quite expensive where i worked however there were ways around it. It was expensive to live on your own as rent was expensive on studios or one bed flats however it could get quite cheap if you shared a house with other interns or lived in a house share. Socialising wasn't too expensive, as the office was in the south i would say it was about average for the area but more expensive than places in the north, much like other areas of the UK.

The area i worked was not a place with the biggest nightlife. There were two clubs in the whole town and neither are particularly amazing. Due to this i rarely went out however i know people who did i they have said they have enjoyed nights out so its a case of it will be as good as you make it. The town is also close to other larger cities so if you wanted a bigger and better night out then there were places close by you could go to.

There were many opportunities to get involved in activities outside of work. The company itself provided plenty of opportunities for volunteering outside of work, it was encouraged to do a lot of volunteering. There was also plenty of things to do outside and away from work. The town provided plenty of things to do. If you thought of something then chances are you could do it within a short distance.