Insight Day Review

It was a very well structured day and pretty much all of the things organsied for us were very interesting and engaging.

We were treated very well throughout the day and provided with lots of refreshments. The staff were all very welcoming. However in the run up to the event it was difficult to contact the event organisers about travel arrangements.

All of the activities throughout the day were guided and there were few moments where we were without something to do.

It was very useful to see whether or not you would potentially like to work in the oil and gas industry and for BP as a company, which is invaluable. We were also given tips on the application process for internships (for BP and in general) which was very useful.

The day was very well structured and ran seemlessly. There was a good range of activities prepared.

Everyone was very friendly and although it was a long day lots of breaks were given so it didn’t feel tiring or lacking in energy. The conference room was very nice and comfortable and there were only 12 of us attending the event so there was a very friendly atmosphere.

We were given tips and advice on how to apply the STARS technique in interviews. We then practiced using the technique with eachother. This was very useful for increasing my confidence at answering interview questions well. It could be applied to any interview process and in particular the interviews for BP summer internships.

We were given a speech by someone who has worked their way up the career ladder at BP and what it was like to do so. We also spoke to people on the graduate programme over lunch who gave us an insight into what it is like to work for BP.

We visited a few different areas of the offices which gave you a feel of the company. We were also told about BPs core values. Talking to the staff who worked there allowed you to get a feel for the companies culture and their values, the insight day allowed plenty of opportunities to do this.

It was very useful in this respect as we were given talks by 3 different people on the graduate programme in 3 different areas; geophysics, petroleum engineering and reservoir engineering. This was useful as they had recently been in our position and they gave us information about what they do on a day to day basis to see if it would interest us.

BP allowed up to £150 for expenses if you were travelling for 3+ hours. This covered my flights and a hotel room for the night before. Anything over this would not necessarily be paid for so I did have to pay for a taxi to and from the event to the offices myself.

There was a networking lunch in which a range of BP employees came in to talk to us about what they do. This included graduates and older employees. There was also plenty of opportunities for us to interact and network amongst ourselves. Everyone who came and spoke to us offered us their email address incase we had any further questions.

The networking lunch was well set up and a good number of people attended.

Briefly. We did only have a short amount of time to talk to each employee however. Most people did mention that they had an active social life outside of their career and that BP were very flexible in making time for that. For example you can start work earlier and finish earlier if you wanted to do something in the afternoon.

If you are interested in working for the oil and gas industry and BP then this event is really useful. Even if you are not sure what career you want to do this insight day will help you decide and gives a good idea of what the day to day life of a BP employee looks like.