Software Academy Intern Review

I have really enjoyed my time at Capital One. As a company they really made me feel welcome and by the end of the internship I felt sad to leave. Every moment at Capital One was enjoyable and I have made a large amount of friends in the colleagues I have worked with.

The work I was given as an intern really made me feel valued as it contributed real business value to the company. As part of my team I was integrated quickly and felt like my opinion mattered and my skills used. The team really did an amazing job of making me feel welcome.

My manager and mentor both we extremely helpful when it came to giving me guidance and support in both technical and soft skills. My mentor dedicated large amounts of time towards the start teaching me technical skills in areas that I had no experience in and my manager gave me feedback on my strengths and areas I could improve regularly.

There was not a single moment of my time at Capital One that I found too stressful but also conversely there was not a moment that I felt a lack of work or bored. There is a large amount of interesting work to complete but there are always people that you can talk to with any enquiries on how to approach a problem.

I was placed in charge of my own project and given the freedom to design a solution to the given problem. As well as my personal project, the interns were responsible for a group project that we were given huge amounts of control over the direction and implementation of, which really fed back into a sense of pride when demonstrating the solution we had created to the rest of the company.

I believe I may have learnt more in my 10 weeks at Capital One than in the 3 years of University I have already completed. I have no doubt that the wide range of technologies and methodologies that I have been exposed to will help me not only in the future of my degree but also when I enter the world of work beyond.

The atmosphere was incredibly friendly. Everyone working within the building was incredibly approachable and helpful in any way they could. This really helped easy my nerves when joining and helped my thrive not only within the team I was assigned, but also within the company as a whole. If there is something you want to talk about at any time, there is always someone at Capital One that will listen.

The internship was incredibly well crafted and the team that set it up should be commended to the highest degree. Before even arriving on day one we had multiple meet-ups to get to know the other interns and the team involved. The actual work was seamless and there were multiple team-building opportunities for the grad/intern community.

Capital One was very clear from the first day that the aim of this internship was to develop my skills first and foremost and this could not have been more true. I have received training in vast amounts of areas I had no experience in, from presentation skills to technologies I had never heard of.

The internship also acts as a doorway to the graduate place for the following year. At the start of the internship this is made clear and the steps to achieve this goal are laid out very clearly. There is also a mid point check in with your manager who will explain exactly where you have impressed them and some indicators of where you can improve to become the best you can be and when you should aim to do to secure a graduate role at the end of the internship.

The interns formed a close knit group of friends and would often meet up to socialise outside of work for events. Even the regular associates were incredibly friendly and would often have after work events such as board game nights or meals.

Being based in Nottingham the living costs are low and the salary is very competitive for the area.

The nightlife in the area is good being based in the city centre. There are a large range of clubs, bars and restaurants that as a tight group of friends the intern visit to relax.

There were lots of opportunities to get involved with the community outside of work, especially for the interns, where we were invited to a number of meals and events to socialise outside of a work setting. These really made us feel more comfortable with our cohort and the company as a whole.