Finance Intern Review

I thoroughly enjoyed my placement year at The Walt Disney Company. A steep learning curve at the beginning of the placement proved a huge challenge, but this was soon replaced by a feeling of great self accomplishment once overcome. The work was varied and tailored to my strengths and weaknesses making the year incredibly valuable.

My line manager was very encouraging and supportive and was happy to rely on me to complete important work to tight deadlines. I worked in a small team and therefore had limited interaction with other colleagues outside of my team. However those that I did interact were very open and supportive, making me feel very comfortable and not out of place.

My line manager provided regular feedback to myself in our weekly one to one catch ups. She was always supportive and encouraging, looking to enhance my role as the year progressed and I became more familiar with my role. My line manager actively sought to provide me with mini-projects to work on alongside my day to day work meaning my workload was varied and enjoyable.

The intensity of work depended on the time of year in the fiscal cycle. During the quarterly forecasts or close periods I was very busy, although between these periods was often too quiet. However my manager was aware of this and actively worked to provide me with projects to work on and allowed me to use my own initiative to improve processes within the team.

My responsibility increased as my placement progressed. This meant that as I gained confidence and developed an understanding of the role I was offered more responsibility. My line manager was very good at noticing when to give me more responsibility and I was trusted to look after my responsibilities without needing to be constantly supervised.

I cannot overstate the skills I gained during my placement. My year at Disney developed skills that studying at Uni cannot. My Excel skills have improved dramatically after being exposed to such large and complex spreadsheets. My interpersonal skills have also improved, especially in formal situations. The work ethic and endurance required for a working week will no doubt increase the hours I put in to my final year of studies at Uni.

The office atmosphere was very relaxed and informal, perfect for an intern starting their first time job as it helps to ease the nerves. The comfortable surroundings and friendly colleagues made the office day enjoyable and helped prevent boredom. The sheer number of other interns also helps to make the social side of the job very appealing.

I never had any issues in terms of not feeling needed or out of place. My duties were made clear to me at the start of the placement and my role had clearly been well defined by a succession of previous interns. On top of this there was a degree of flexibility to personalise the role to my strengths and weaknesses.

In terms of training courses the only courses available in my role were the standard courses intended for all employees. I was not offered the opportunity to undertake additional training during my placement. However I feel I have developed massively over my twelve months through exposure to the job role and projects I would not have had the opportunity to be involved in at Uni.

Although Disney does not frequently offer roles to interns immediately after they finish their placement a large number of permanent employees have previously been interns at the company. Having been an intern significantly improves your chances of getting a graduate role despite there being only a small chance of a job offer during the internship itself.

There are well over one hundred interns at Disney meaning that the social scene is strong. The canteen is filled with interns at lunch and many interns go out together after work. There was also a Christmas Ball for the interns and many other events advertised on the Intern Facebook page set up by the company.

I commuted from home which was roughly an hour and a half commute. This cost me over £1000 but was significantly cheaper than living in closer to work. Having not lived locally it is difficult for me to advise on the cost of living and socialising in the Hammersmith area.

Due to my long commute I did not experience a great deal of the Nightlife in the area. However the area is packed with bars and restaurants and many of the interns frequented these places regularly. I did not hear many complaints about a lack of things to do in the area.

There were some opportunities to get involved in activities outside of work. Many of these involved healthy living initiatives like fitness classes or cooking sessions. There is also a triathlon team and a choir that many colleagues sign up to. On top of this the 'Voluntears' programme offers many opportunities to be involved in charity work and give back to the community.