Business Analyst (Logistics) Review

I really enjoyed my internship at BMW. There were so many oppertunities available to me and BMW Group has provided a strong platform to build my career on. The work was a good balance of challenging and rewarding, I rarely felt out of my depth but I also felt like I was making a positive impact on the company.

One of the main reasons I enjoyed my year so much was down to the friendships I made in the team. I feel extremely close to my immediate team and I felt comfortable speaking with them about difficult topics. I will definitely stay in touch with them all in the future.

My manager was fantastic in supporting me and getting me known around the company. I would speak with him every day and had monthly reviews on my performance and how best to move forward. We have agreed to stay in touch post placement so we can look at future job oppertunities within the business.

The only small negative I have is the variable work load. Some days I had very little to do and was looking for work, but others I would stay a bit later due to a heavier work load. My manager was good at supporting me when he knew I had little on. This wasn't too much of an issue though as we had flexible working hours, so I was able to start earlier when I knew I would have a busy day. A lot of the variable workload also came when COVID19 became more prevelent in the UK. I cannot blame the company for having unpredictable amounts of work during this time as nothing like this has happened before.

I really felt like I have made a difference this year. I was given the oppertunity to run my own project and support on big scale projects such as Brexit. My manager was very good at creating oppertunities to suit me and to help me make a real difference. I often found myself taking minutes which frustrated me as I thought I was capable of more, but someone has to take the minutes in meetings.

I study maths but I did a placement in logistcs. I learnt a lot about computer systems and excel, but we rarely study these in my degree. I wasn't expecting this year to assist with my degree directly, but I feel like I gained a lot of confidence in my own abilities and I am looking forward to taking my positive approach to work into my final year.

The office was great - there was always a positive atmosphere and we had hot desks so we weren't sat next to the same person every day. There was a good amount of chat but we knuckled down to do our work when it got busier. The meeting rooms were nice but were difficult to book.

I had a good handover from the previous intern so I knew exactly what my role was in the company and what I would be doing over the year. My manager kept me informed of any updates to our team and I never felt at a dead end, I always felt I knew what was happening and what I needed to do.

There was training available to me, but I had to go looking for it. I booked onto a few courses, but I learnt the most from within my team. They assisted me with my day to day work and pointed things out which helped me learn more about the role and what I was doing. Sometimes the team would all go on a course and I wouldn't being invited, but that only happened once or twice and they spoke to me about why I wasn't going so I never felt left out.

I would love to go back to BMW, however the normal 'speed up' scheme they run to bring back interns was cancelled this year due to financial uncertainty around coronavirus. I understand why this happened but I was very dissapointed as I have really enjoyed working for BMW. My manager said there was still a chance for me to come back in the future and I should stay in touch, but I don't think i'll be going back as soon as I graduate.

Like with anything, the social scene depends on your peers. We had a few gatherings across the year, but my role was sat quite far away from the other interns and it was quite cliquey. There are a lot more interns in the marketing department and they often had their own socials, but I still had a good time when the whole group went out together.

It was fairly expensive, but cheaper than London. I lived in a fairly nice house in a nice area so you get what you pay for. Pubs and bars were expensive and I often found myself going into London at the weekend which obviously isn't the cheapest, but when you're getting paid it's definitely affordable.

The nightlife often got mixed reviews, but I thought it was great! There was one club in the town where I was staying and it was within walking distance of our house. We were close to a train station so we could always travel to Guildford, Reading or London if we wanted to go out there, but to be honest I quite enjoyed going to the local weatherspoons and then across the road to the club afterwards, even if it wasn't everyones cup of tea.

I joined the BMW football group which I really enjoyed. A lot of the interns played together and it was well organised and a good standard. There weren't many other clubs apart from the running club as far as I'm aware. If there were, they weren't well advertised! I joined the local gym outside of work which I went to with my housemates. There was also a local cricket club, swimming pool and rugby club. There were often open mic nights at one of the pubs near us and my housemate played there regularly.