Agency Strategy Intern Review

I have found my placement year at Travelport extremely enjoyable thanks to the effort put in by the internal placement coordinator and my team. Many activities have been arrange outside of daily work, including the CSR program which, alongside providing career developing opportunities, gave the interns a rewarding challenge and allowed us to work together as a team.

I feel like a vital part of the team, due to the importance of the work I am involved in and the responsibilities trusted to me. The admin work is spread evenly around the team, and not just given to me. I also receive regular in-depth feedback to help with my progression in my role.

I have a weekly 1:1 with my manager to go through any questions I have, present the work I have been doing and receive feedback which has played an essential role in my development. We are also allocated a mentor to help with our personal development outside of the role, which I have found to be extremely useful and provides you with a safe space to discuss any issues if required.

I have a very steady amount of work, with some weeks busier than others, however, the workload is always manageable and the team are always there to provide support if you feel under pressure. As an Intern you are never made to work outside business hours to ensure a healthy work life balance.

Throughout my internship I have felt like a part of the full-time team and not an Intern. I am fully trusted with important and challenging work, making the result very fulfilling. Every piece of work given is challenging, but the team are still fully understanding of the fact that this is most often your first office job and are always there to support you if you find yourself stuck.

This placement has provided me with invaluable skills that I will take forward with me throughout the rest of my working life. Thanks to the intern personal development sessions (organised by HR), mentors and team support I have progressed immensely in business skills that are often not taught in education. I feel the placement has helped me to grow in confidence and the real life experience will help me to adapt to working life after university with ease. (Examples of Skills: Excel, PowerPoint, Presentation, Communication in Meetings, Strategic Analysis, Data Reporting etc.)

Everyone in the office is very supportive of the Intern program, and especially with the CSR work we have carried out, everyone is very keen to get involved and get to know the interns on a personal level. When working with people outside of the team, everyone is happy to provide extra support and make you feel very comfortable.

The placement process at Travelport is extremely well organised from assessment centre all the way to the end of the placement. The application process was my favourite of all those I had applied to, as they make an effort to get to know you as a person before assessing your academic abilities. There is then a 3 week handover period where you are provided a detailed insight into the role and taught the necessary skills for the role, alongside may fun after work events being organised to make you feel comfortable. Then throughout the placement you are provided with personal development sessions, mentoring, catch-ups with intern leads etc.

The firm invested heavily in our personal development, mostly though the personal development session carried out monthly by the HR Talent Development team. These helped to develop a variety of skills that you might not have covered in your specific role. These sessions were extremely useful and the skills I have developed will be taken with me throughout my working life.

Although there is no specific Graduate scheme in place at the company, many interns have returned after finishing their university degree to continue full-time employment at Travelport. Returning to Travelport after finishing university will definitely be a consideration for me as I feel it is a positive place for me to grow.

Travelport has a social club that arranges events throughout the year at extremely low cost, which is a great opportunity to socialise with people in the company you may not normally sped time with. This included a pub quiz and Cirque de Soleil. The interns also socialized outside of work on a regular basis, and with there being such a large number of interns it was always easy to arrange activities.

I continued to live near my University in Reading and made the commute into work (35mins). From what others who moved to the area have said, the area has relatively low cost accommodation available, making moving to the area affordable on the intern wage. There are also low cost areas for socialising, such as local pubs, however, Windsor is also very close by for special events.

In the surrounding areas to Langley there are a very large number of pubs, bars and clubs for after work socialising. These range greatly in cost, providing options for lots of different events. There are also extremely good connections to London, making it easy to commute there for social events.

Teams often arranged events with their Interns outside of work, including team meals, sporting activities (we work right opposite a foot golf course which is a good team activity) and after work drinks for birthdays etc. The intern coordinators also arrange alumni events and after work activities during the handover period. There are also the social club activities.