Finance Intern Review

I have really enjoyed my 13 month placement at Travelport! I have worked very closely with my manager and team, enabling me to learn a vast amount of knowledge which I hope I can use when returning to University for my final year. We were also able to work on CSR alongside our roles.

From my first day at Travelport, I was treated like an employee rather than just an intern. Having the handover period from the previous intern was great as it gave me an opportunity to see things worked before I was I had to do it myself. Even after my intern left I always had the full support of my team.

I worked very closely with my manager. I would usually work independently but always knew that if I needed any help I only had to ask. Everything I worked on was clearly explained, which helped me understand the reason behind the work I was undertaking and the importance of it. I am very grateful that my manager would always take time to ensure I understood what I was doing.

My workload varied on a day to day basis, depending on which day in the month end cycle we were on. My busiest days were during month end close. We also had the opportunity to work on CSR alongside our roles, therefore if my workload was a bit quieter, I could work on organising an event for our charities.

From my first day at Travelport, I was given a lot of responsibility for my work, this is why it was very beneficial to work with the previous intern for a month. The level of training provided and support I recieved meant that I had the knowledge and confidence to complete all activities required.

I have learnt a vast amount of skills whilst on placement, from using Excel to communicating with colleagues. I hope that the skills I have learnt will help me in my final year, especially envolving my time managment. My role was always quite busy and I feel time management is a skill I have improved on the most.

The office has always been a positive environment. As interns we were able to join the Travelport Social Club who held events such as quizzes, this was a great opportunity to meet employees outside of my team who i would not usually have worked with in my day to day role.

Overall, the internship was well organised, we were a very big cohort. Each intern was allocated a mentor outside of their team, who was always available to provide support. During the internship programme, we also had development sessions which enabled us to improve our skills further, such as how to improve our LinkedIn page.

We had monthly development sessions to improve our own personal development. This ranged from how to speak with senior colleagues and how improve our LinkedIn network. We also had the opportunity to speak with senior team members such as the CEO and the CFO, to understand how they reached their position and any advice they would give to us as interns starting our careers.

Unfortunately, at the moment Travelport do not have a graduate scheme, however I have really enjoyed my time at Travelport and would be interested in returning after University should there be the opportunity. A few interns have been able to return after university and have helped us with our development which has been very helpful, as they were once in our position.

As previously mentioned, the Travelport Social Club was a good way to meet employees outside of work. I lived in an intern house, so was able to socialise with interns outside of work. There is also opportunities such as the alumni event to meet previous interns, as well as the Christmas Party to socialise with colleagues.

The cost of living was a bit more expensive than where I stayed at University but this was because it was closer to London. Some of the areas around were not the nicest therefore our intern house was a bit further away from work, however it was very easy to access London, Reading or Windsor.

The nightlife in the area was pretty quite, however work was not far from Windsor, London or Reading. There were plenty of small pubs around the area which were nice for socialising with the interns in the summer. London was easily accessible by train with plenty of places to explore.

The Travelport social club gave us great opportunities to get to know employees outside of work, this only cost £2 a month and they held monthly events. There was also the opportunity to join a work football team on a Tuesday. The opportunities from the social club have even continued whilst we have been working from home during Covid-19.