Commercial Analyst Review

I found this placement enjoyable in the sense that it's helped me to find some direction in what I want out of my career and which way to orient myself after university. I think it was quite frustrating not knowing what to do after uni (especially being a person with quite a diverse range of interests) but this year has helped me narrow my focus.

I was extremely lucky to work in a lively team with a fantastic manager. I know most of the other inters on the scheme didn't get so lucky but my team is lively and energetic, as well as helpful and knowledgeable about our role. There was no difference between 'the intern' and the other full-time employees here. I didn't feel like I was beneath anyone and did work equal to the others in my team.

Again, I was supremely lucky to be put in a team with a fantastic manager. My manager always supported me whenever I wanted to get involved in training (and in Virgin Media there were a lot of opportunities to receive all different kinds of training, even training not directly related to my role).

My role followed the sales cycle quite cloesly. This meant that at the end of months, end of quarters and towards the end of the year I was extremely busy but at other times I wasn't swamped with work and had the opportunity to explore training / opportunities around the company that piqued my interest.

Like I said, I didn't feel like 'the intern' at all. I felt like a regular full-time employee. Of course there were times where I felt a little bit out of my depth, but my manager was always willing to give a helping hand. I got more responsibility than I anticipated, and when I performed well, got given more, but that was my choice and I'm proud to feel that I've made an impact in my role.

The skills I developed are directly transferrable to any business role so I anticipate using and further developing these skills throughout my career. I've also gained a lot of knowledge in Microsoft Office esp. Excel which will no doubt be a major factor in the success of my dissertation when I return to uni

Virgin Media has a friendly and collaborative atmosphere. It definitely suits someone who's outgoing and happy to chat. People are always willing to help and it's a polite and pleasant place to work. Being a natural introvert, it can be a little tiring but the company emphasises flexible working so working from home once or twice a week solves that nicely

This internship has run for several years now so the placement was really well organised and what was expected of me was realistic. The training regime run by the learning and development team for all the interns was also really well organised and I've learned a lot about how to work from these sessions.

There is a strong emphasis throughout the company on personal training and development. Virgin Media has it's own training platform called Ignite, which is full of different training, from soft skills to role-specific stuff. The learning and development team also put all the interns on a development plan throughout the year which was really helpful.

The grad scheme at Virgin Media Business is a 2-year long program with a rotation to a different part of the business every 6 months. I think this is a great scheme for someone who doesn't really know what to do with their career as it gives an opportunity for exposure to different parts of the business. Doing this placement more or less guarantees you a place on the scheme

The interns and grads all got along very well and there was always opportunity to hang out at lunch or outside of work. The only issue is that the company is kind of in the middle of nowhere so there wasn't any real opportunity to hang out after work, unless you were willing to travel. This is changing however because the office is moving to Reading, so I reckon the social scene will improve.

I lived in Basingstoke, which as far as I can tell from my own experience, is probably an average cost of living area. The opportunities to socialise where I lived were pretty much zero; I usually went to reading or london to meet friends. However living in Basingstoke meant a shorter commute to work, which is what I prioritised.

Nightlife in Hook? Seriously though I chose to live close to work at the sacrifice of having fun outside of work. Remember that you will commute to and from work Monday to Friday, so most of your time will be consumed with work. Having a comfortable and quick commute is more important than having flat that's easy to stumble into at 3am!

Again i think this is due to geography more than anyhting else. I imagine if this office was located in London, then there would be endless activities and people who are willing to get involved. There's an occasional 5 a side game and a pub down the road but most people just went home after work. This isn't a bad thing i would argue though, because there wasn't any pressure to socialise with your team outside of work, which can be a huge burden...