Commercial Europe Finance Intern Review

I really enjoyed my time on placement, it was incredibly useful to get exposure to life working in a professional environment. Getting involved in the corporate social responsibility side of the business was also exciting as we were tasked with raising £10,000 for two charities of our choice and led to me getting involved with multiple fund-raising initiatives.

Relations with colleagues and bosses was a particular strong point for the company, I always feel that I am trusted by my team to undertake any task and can always reach out for help without any judgement. Within team meetings I am always encourages to participate and give opinions or ask questions.

Again, as I stated before my relationship with my manager was really good. I was given frequent one-to-one sessions over my placement, in these sessions I was always asked how I was coping with things such as my workload as well as being asked what I wanted to get out of my time at Travelport, and then ensuring I was able to do that.

I was generally very happy with the workload I received and never felt like I was being overworked. Inevitably there were periods during the month were the workload was less due to the part of business I was working in. During these periods my task were more ad-hoc and focused more on process improvement.

I think in terms of responsibility If and when I proved I could handle more responsibility or if I specifically requested it then I was given it. Especially around the Christmas period when a colleague left our team, I was given several extra key responsibilities that she had previously held.

With regard to key skills learnt, I’d say they were more applicable to helping with future employment. Some of the key skills I have learnt include excel, as well as more general skills such as presenting and oratory. However, I would also say that the skills/training received lacked specific relevance to my degree.

The atmosphere was always very upbeat within my team. I’d say it was a perfect balance between relaxed/friendly but also hard working and productive. However, one negative I would say is that due to the uncertainty caused by the sale of the company, the overall atmosphere of the company could sometimes be quite tense.

The company and specifically the Human Resources team set up multiple sessions during the placement in which they would discuss different skills and work practices. For example, we had several sessions building upon our presentation skills, we would all present different topics and receive feedback from each other and managers.

The social scene amongst the interns and company as a whole was very good. The company set up multiple social events during our time here, we also socialized a lot as a group outside of work. The company has a social club that host events during the year, the comedy club night was a particular favourite of mine.

I’d say the answer to this is mixed as we lived in slough. The town has a non-existent social scene which means a night out is not an option. However, it is relatively easy to get into London from slough, so this does make up for that as this provides a good alternative.