intern Review

I enjoyed it thoroughly as the work environment was friendly and I felt i got the opportunity to learn a lot and get involved with a lot of different projects and even various different departments. the work was always interesting and I was often outside of my comfort zone, but always with the support to fulfil the tasks to my best ability.

Right off the bat my manager was very clear with me that he wanted me to get the most of the internship and that he would do his best to support me to settle in and to find out more about the company as a whole. My opinion was sought and valued in team meetings and on different projects, and the work i was set had a clear purpose and was relevant and contributory to the aims of the team as a whole.

I was given support when i asked for it or when i needed it, for example if i was working with systems or applications that i hadn't used before, but i was also given the space to learn certain things through trial and improvement, or to try to find innovative solutions to things so i was not spoon fed.

This varied day to day, sometimes I was working to very tight deadlines, and other times i had more time to work on a longer project. However, i felt the balance was very manageable and also that I never had 'nothing' to do, which meant I never found myself to be bored.

I was given a manageable level of responsibility, that made me feel like a valued member of the team, but it also allowed me to get a really good understanding of the way the team operated and pushed me outside of my comfort zone. I could see how the work i was doing was relevant and necessary for the team as a whole.

There was some specific skills that i learnt for different programmes that I can carry into the workplace later when i start work and also in my degree, but I think the largest area of learning that i accomplished was in working outside of my comfort zone, and being less rigid in my approach to solving problems that i haven't encountered before.

This was the friendliest place I've ever worked. People were busy, but would still take the time to help me if i needed help, and I very quickly felt settled. It was easy to get to know the people i worked around and because of hot desking, i got to meet people in different teams to myself. The employees are diverse and you can tell this diversity is celebrated and embraced.

We had an two day induction which was on the first and third day of the internship, but I think if we had had them over the first two days instead that would have been more beneficial, and we were given a pack at the beginning with information that would help us to get the most out of the internship which was useful.

We had 'lunch and learn's which were a good way to get to know what went on in the different departments, and the opportunities that were available in the company as a whole. My team specifically really helped to facilitate me spending time in different departments/ shadowing which i feel greatly enriched my time there.

Depending on the feedback I get from my manager, I have the prospect of getting onto the graduate scheme, which compared to a few other graduate schemes seems to have the perfect balance between work life, and also a chance to do an external secondment. My team were very positive towards the work i did while with them and so I am hoping i do get the opportunity, because i thoroughly enjoyed my time working there and felt it was an excellent fit for me.

The canteen was very reasonably priced and had such a wide variety of foods, so i often just got food from the canteen, and you could easily spend less than £5 a day. I personally lived quite far out from the workplace, and commuting came to a maximum of £11 a day, but there was a student accommodation directly opposite the office.