Intern - Production / New Media Review

My year at Disney was an incredible experience, though not without its challenges. Working for one of the biggest companies in the world is always going to be stressful, but the experiences I got out of it and the friends I made far outweigh the stress and difficulties. I would recommend it to anyone.

I became very close with my colleagues during the year, and always felt like a valued member of the team. They were always happy to help when I struggled with tasks, and valued my assistance on their own tasks. I became very trusted within the team and was quickly asked to do larger and larger tasks.

My supervisors and managers were always happy to give me support and guidance whenever I needed it, as long as they were not too busy doing their own jobs. I never felt like I was getting in the way when I asked for help, and it was clear that they appreciated me coming to them with questions rather than struggling along by myself.

My daily tasks were very inconsistent. Some days I had far too many jobs to be doing and would often stay in the office longer than my set hours. However this was made up for by sometimes not having enough pre-set tasks. This worked well though, as it gave me a chance to assist others in the team, or learn how to be more efficient with my regular tasks.

I was given a lot of responsibility over the year. The most important being managing a VP's diary when their PA went on holiday. This required me to communicate with other PA's all over the world, and really helped with my confidence when I did a good job - which they would often tell me!

I have not yet completed my studies at university, however I am confident that many of the skills I have developed will assist me greatly in my final year and the projects I will be doing. The production management skills and experience working behind the camera will be of invaluable help in many of my units, and the confidence I have gained over the year will be of great help, not only in my studies, but in future interviews and employment as well.

The general atmosphere in the office was often quite serious. However my colleagues were always very cheerful and chatty, which made our area very pleasant. The team always helped each other out where they could to lessen the workload, which helped make everyone more comfortable. It was a great atmosphere in the team.

My first few weeks were slightly rocky as the previous intern had left early, meaning their tasks were distributed around the team leaving me with too few tasks to keep me busy. However this was soon straightened out and the general organisation of the role became rather seamless in most cases.

I would like to think I am in with a strong chance of a job within my team, or at least within the company, once I graduate. My passion for the company will help with this, but I always got along very well with the individual members within the team, so I have hopes for future employment.

I had a bit of a quiet time myself, preferring not to go out clubbing left me a little bit out of the social scene with fellow interns. However I regularly went out for team lunches and rarely felt particularly left out of things within the working hours. I do however feel like I missed out on a lot of events due to not enjoying clubbing.

Living and working in London is always going to be expensive, and as I did not live with fellow interns due to my first few months spent living with family, I was a bit stuck when it came to having to find alternative accommodation when my family moved away. My rent took up 2/3rds of my paycheck (before tax) so I was left with very little left after travel and food to be able to socialise. I would definitely recommend moving in with other interns straight away!

There were plenty of opportunities with a scheme called the Disney VoluntEars, where we regularly volunteered within the local community and with charities such as the Albert Kennedy Trust and The Great Ormond Street Hospital. These were always fun events and were always very social. Other opportunities were things like the intern ball at Christmas, which was very enjoyable.