Intern Review

Overall I enjoyed my placement at BMW. I was given many opportunities to explore different areas of the business I was interested in and was able to get involved in some various large scale projects. However there were some times where I felt I was not always being challenged enough, and at times I questioned how relevant the work I completed was for my degree.

Throughout the year I have felt valued by my colleagues and as a result my responsibilities have increased substantially. I often receive emails from team members asking for assistance with specific areas of their projects where they think I can make improvements and I have become relied upon whilst here

I had regular catch up meetings with my supervisor to discuss: workload, any issues I may be experiencing and further opportunities which I could take during my time at BMW. Sometimes I felt that instructions from management were too vague and I was left unsure of my end goal for a project.

When I first started I had very little work and was incredibly bored. After repeatedly asking for more work my workload increased throughout the first few months to a point where I was sufficiently busy. From this point on I kept a high workload, but as with any jobs there are busy and quiet patches.

As my time at BMW progressed I was given more and more responsibility. I think that in order to be given real responsibility here you must first prove you are capable of handling it, and producing work to a consistently high standard. The more work you put in, the more responsibility you get out.

I developed a number of skills which I think will be transferable to future employment, and the experience has opened my eyes to how many aspects of business actually work in practice. I think that my placement will benefit me for my final year at university as my organisational and time management skills have improved substantially as a result.

The atmosphere in my office was very friendly, positive and productive. Everyone was on hand to help when necessary and made themselves very approachable. Everyone is allocated a large workspace and there are a number of "hot desks" which colleagues from other departments or sites can use.

The application process was very straightforward, however once I was told I had the placement I received incorrect communications, didn't receive the communications I should have, and it took a long time for the specifics of my contract to come through to me. One result of this is that when all the other interns were put in touch with each other to arrange housing I was not included in this and hence had to find somewhere alone. Once I started at BMW I was greeted by my supervisor and introduced to the team and he explained the role I would be filling, from this point onward it was well organised.

When I started I was run through the training material which had been prepared for all new company personnel. Once I had completed these there was no more formal training provided. I was given "training" on how to use different systems however when it comes to the area of personal development I think I learnt significantly more from being involved with members of my team and seeing how they handled things.

Whilst here I have spoken with a number of employees about opportunities and the general impression I get is that it is incredibly difficult to be promoted, made more difficult if you don't speak German. In addition to this it is very rare for BMW to offer interns work after their placement, no matter how well they do. This is incredibly frustrating as one of the main aims for a year in industry is to secure a job offer at the end.

There was an intern social every Thursday where we could meet up, go to the pub etc. There is a group of interns which took responsibility for organising these meet ups weekly. Whilst there were a lot of interns working, very few of these actually turned up to the socials which was disappointing.

Living in Oxford for this placement was incredibly expensive. Trying to find somewhere cheap to rent in Oxford is nearly impossible, and with pubs charging £5 per pint and relatively expensive buses I felt that my pay was barely sufficient for the area. Clubs varied in price depending on which club you visit on which night, however I found that on average prices were similar to London.

The nightlife was very average in Oxford. Pubs and Clubs are overpriced, the events I attended were some of the worst I have been to, and as a result I don't think I had a particularly memorable night. Don't bother visiting the bars, pre-drink and go straight to the club.

Apart from the intern social every week we organised an intern football team which would play weekly. This was a great opportunity to meet other interns and continue with playing sport. There are a number of classes which you can take in Oxford if you are interested in taking up a new hobby.