Assistant Manager Review

I really enjoyed the work, felt that the workload was appropriate but also challenging and engaging. I had a few problems with admin (our recruitment agency for example) which made a few elements such as holiday or sick leave trickier than they needed to be, but otherwise I really enjoyed my internship.

My line managers and in fact the majority of the team and all the superior colleagues I met were fantastic and friendly. I felt really appreciated and trusted by almost everyone I met, but I did have some trouble with another intern who made me feel insecure at points with gossip or snide remarks. Other than that however everyone I met was lovely.

My supervisors largely work from home, but even with that I still felt incredibly supported and assisted by both of my line managers. There wasn't a point when I was unsure or felt I didn't know what I was doing, I knew I could always pick up the phone or drop them an email.

I always had a good amount of work to do which is important for me as I hate to feel bored or impotent, not only that but the work was varied and so enjoyable, I never felt like I was stuck doing one repetitive thing. This was bolstered by days out and visits to different offices also.

I felt like I was a trusted and valued member of the team from the moment I sat down at my desk! I was pleasantly surprised at how much faith everyone I came into contact with had in my abilities, I never felt ostracised or untrusted because of my age or experience.

I have developed a host of skills and built on many I already had. Networking and utilising complex excel formulas for example are two things I didn't expect to get out of this internship but appreciate greatly. I also built on my own confidence and people skills, taking the chance to get to know as many people as I could.

When my managers were in in particular I found I always had someone to chat to and they made sure I wasn't overworking or not speaking to anyone. On some days when they weren't there things could get a little quiet, but the intern community LBG is fantastic, and I knew I could seek out one of my intern friends for lunch or to sit at their desk.

My managers were brilliant as I've already mentioned, but the systems outside of them and our team left a lot to be desired. There was very little information given to new interns before they started (not only that, but we were given our placements very last minute and left with not much time to prepare) leaving myself feeling a bit clueless. As mentioned before, the recruitment agencies used were slow, confusing and ineffectual.

The group has a host of excellent training resources which enabled interns to take development into their own hands and build on essential skills. This felt as though the company were helping its interns become more well rounded employees and excellent workers for the future. Investment was to a great level.

I would love to return to the group as a graduate and then hopefully as a full time employee. Not only have I had an interesting, exciting and engaging time working for the group, but I appreciate their ethics and the way they strive to become a better business not only for customers but for colleagues too.

I have made friends for life on this internship. The intern community has been incredible in Bristol, with large groups of us organising things to do together on weekends, after work, even just hanging out watching films in our flats together. Even those who were not in the same accommodation as us felt included and were invited to group activities.

Bristol is quite an expensive area to live in, but as I live there as a student and our wages were good there was not too much of a struggle working but also having fun and letting loose. The only real downside was that we were based in UWE for accommodation and so had to pay for bus passes to get to and from work.

Bristol nightlife is excellent, and is also helped by the fact that many of us on the internship in Bristol went to university either there or in Bath and so had a good knowledge of where people would most enjoy on a night out on which days of the week.

Events that we were interested in we were able to attend, the interns mostly organised their own fun for the 10 weeks but this was definitely sufficient. I rarely felt as though work was getting in the way of my ability to spend time with friends or relaxing, and Bristol had many opportunities over the summer to let loose.