Commercial Business Associate Review

I am currently 9 months into my internship and I can honestly say it has been an incredible experience! As soon as I started I was given first-hand training for my role from the current intern, so you have an entire month to learn on-the-job with them and ask any questions you have. My team have been so supportive whenever I have needed help, and have also pushed me to do things I would never normally do, such as presenting. I have shadowed my team on deals and customer calls, and even had the chance to go to Prague for 3 days to meet my extended team with the aim of improving internal processes. From start to present I have felt like a valued member of my team, not just the 'intern'.

Although every team within SAP is different, my personal experience with my colleagues has been amazing. I work directly within a team of 10 people, all of varying levels ranging from Graduates to my Manager, the Commercial Director. I have felt valued by every single one of them, and they will always involve me with their deals and projects whenever possible to give me maximum exposure to SAP and what we do. From day one it was always made clear to me that my job was necessary and important within my team. We also socialise outside of work hours, so my colleagues really have turned into my friends!

My manager has always been very hands-on and directly engaged with me during my internship. I have one-to-one's with him every two weeks to ensure that I am enjoying my internship and the work I am doing, discuss potential projects and opportunities I would like to be involved with and also to talk about future goals/my career prospects and how I can begin to build towards them during my internship. I still speak to him every-day outside of these meetings, and he has also made it very clear that he is available if I have any questions or if I am in need of any help.

My workload tended to peak and trough quite often and was very different day-to-day. As my role is very based around quarter-ends, my workload tended to follow this pattern - as did my teams'. However, when my workload did decrease, I would always be given a project to do and focus on to ensure i was kept busy, and I normally took this time to shadow my team to learn from them and increase my knowledge and skills. In addition, although I haven't started this yet, during the last 4 months of my internship I am thinking of using my 70/30 split to explore the Legal department in line with my University degree.

I have been given a lot of responsibility during my placement. As soon as I was trained, my role requirements were solely my responsibility. From the beginning my team set the expectations, and I was left to my own devices to meet them! On a day-to-day basis I am expected to scan and check documents when received, some being worth millions of pounds, to ensure that they are compliant, approved and correct, in addition to getting them signed correctly and released for booking before quarter end to ensure that SAP can recognise this revenue. I am one of the last people to touch a deal before it is completed, so the pressure is on to make sure any last minute discrepancies are spotted - my team put a lot of trust in me!

Working in a company, especially one as large and fast paced as SAP, has definitely helped me improve my time management, organisational skills and my confidence when working under pressure. I believe this will massively help me during my third year at University when balancing projects, presentations, exams and coursework. In particular, I have improved my interpersonal skills by working with all types of different people everyday from varying levels of the company whilst learning how to balance the wants and needs of multiple people to work towards a common goal. These are skills that will be useful to me in any future job! In addition, I now have a solid level of knowledge surrounding technology, in particular ERP and cloud systems, which will benefit me hugely if I choose to work in a tech company after University.

The general atmosphere in Clockhouse Place is extremely open and friendly. The layout is deliberately made open plan to encourage interaction and communication between teams and departments, and I believe this is the case. No matter how high up the hierarchy someone is within SAP, they will still sit with the rest of their team. I sit very close to the CFO, and get to interact with him on a fairly regular basis. It's a really useful opportunity for interns to make themselves seen and heard. We also get free lunches and a free gym, and there are regularly events held to encourage you to socialise with new people - so there are a lot of great opportunities for networking.

The internship was well set up, and the Placement team are constantly asking for feedback from the previous cohort to improve the placement as much as possible every year. We were given two weeks when we first started to get an introduction to SAP, learn about the company (what we do, our values, our goals etc) and to get to know the rest of the interns. After this, we were then introduced to our teams and had 2 weeks of solid learning with our current intern. This is a lot longer than most internships provide, and it makes a huge difference when settling into the role!

Throughout this year I have had daily emails about opportunities and projects that interns can get involved with, in addition to providing sessions to improve our skills and knowledge when doing things like presenting, using excel, or making the most out of LinkedIn. If there is something we want to learn that isn't yet included, then it is extremely easy to raise this with the Placement team to try and get it added - if not for the current cohort, then for the next. SAP really do try to grow you as an all round individual, not just within your own specific role.

There are good chances and opportunities to get future employment at SAP. Within my own team, most interns from previous cohorts have ended up returning to SAP, either in the same team or in a different one. SAP is a company that is extremely open to people moving around within the company in terms of job role, and they appear to actively encourage this. If they believe you have talent and are an asset to the company, they will do their best to keep you.

In terms of fellow placement students, there is a great social scene for everyone. Interns tend to go out for drinks every Thursday either in Richmond or Clapham, which is very useful at the start for building friendships and relationships. A lot of teams will also have Offsite's, where your team will go away for a day or overnight to build relations and celebrate everyone's hard work. I have also been lucky enough to have very social team, and all of my Offsite's so far have been incredible.

Being in London, it is very expensive - especially as an intern if you don't live nearby and will be required to move. However, it is still possible to have fun and go out! Having the free bus from the train station to work and free lunches definitely helps bring the cost down, and it definitely teaches you how to budget!

There isn't much nightlife in Feltham, however the nightlife in the surrounding areas like Richmond and Clapham is great and definitely makes up for it. Most interns will tend to live in these areas as they are great for young people. There is also great access to central London by train and tube, so you're not limited for places to go.

There were good opportunities for the boys especially. There is a football team that play matches every week at a small cost, which is a great way to get to know each-other. And, if you're dedicated to going every week, there is a trip abroad you could get to go on too.