European Film Business Intern Review

I really enjoyed my placement year at Warner Bros and I am grateful to have had the opportunity to work for such an exciting and well established company. I have developed many new skills through my day-to-day work, as well as gained a deep insight into the entertainment industry. I also had the opportunity to get involved and attend exciting events throughout the year. The large presence of interns across the company meant there was a social aspect to the job and I made some great friends, so I would highly recommend this company for a placement year.

I felt valued by all colleagues at Warner Bros, and it was reassuring to know that interns are viewed as a valued asset to the company. Everyone in my team made me feel welcome and I was treated as a full-time employee.

My manager was very supportive throughout the year and always welcomed asking for help and asking questions. We had catch-ups throughout the year to assess my progress and check that my workload was appropriate. If any issues ever arose we would always tackle them together to ensure they were solved appropriately.

The nature of my job was quite repetitive, meaning I had a set to-do list every week. I found that as I progressed through the placement, I completed my tasks fairly quickly so I was not always very busy and sometimes found myself with little to do. If I was less busy, I would offer to help the team with various tasks and they often set projects for me to work on independently, which I particularly enjoyed.

I felt I was given a good level of responsibility throughout the year. My day-to-day tasks largely involved ensuring integrity and accuracy within the database systems that the company rely on, so although some tasks did not feel like a big responsibility, my attention to detail was vital to ensure the database systems were correct, as these systems would then be used by the wider company to inform business strategy and decisions. There were times where I was given tasks of higher responsibility, and I enjoyed the challenge of this.

I have gained many skills and experiences from this year, most importantly, skills that could not be gained from a degree alone. I know that these will assist me in both my degree and beyond university in future life. The intern training programme was useful for developing both personal and professional skills, and the experience of working in a professional environment has given me a lot of insight into working life.

The open-plan nature of the office encouraged communication between colleagues and so the atmosphere of the office was very friendly. Everyone I encountered in the office were approachable and welcoming, which was reassuring, particularly when I first started. The company hosted various events within the office that employees could get involved in, which created a fun and collaborative atmosphere.

I was impressed with the organisation of the internship programme, and their focus on making you feel welcome and part of the company. Before the placement started, there was an opportunity to meet the other interns in a social setting. The placement started with a week long handover period, where the previous intern taught me how to do the job, which was an integral part of my learning process. The intern training programme was also well structured and very beneficial.

The company really invest in the training and development of the interns, particularly through the intern training programme. This involved developing personal and professional skills through workshops and courses that were interactive and interesting. My department also sent me on an external intermediate Excel training course, which was hugely beneficial and improved my productivity and efficiency at completing tasks using Excel. These are skills that I can now use to benefit my future career as well as my degree.

There is no graduate scheme at Warner Bros, however many people who have completed an internship are hired in the future, it's just a case of waiting for a role to become available.

There are many interns and apprentices at Warner Bros so the social scene is great, as there are always social events organised such as going to the pub after work. I have made some great friends this year that I will stay in contact with.

London is an expensive place to live and socialise in, however I did not find this to be a problem because the job was paid well. The salary allowed me to live in a good area with a decent commute that meant I could go out and socialise easily. It is easy to source bars and pubs that have student deals or are slightly cheaper if you research well.

There are plenty of bars, pubs and restaurants around the office that we often went to after work, and the location of the office is within walking distance of popular areas such as Soho and Oxford Circus, so there is huge variety.

The nature of London means there are plenty of opportunities to get involved in extra activities, and there is definitely something for everyone. I joined a local gym that I enjoyed going to after work, and I know of interns that joined local sports teams. There is also plenty of culture on the doorstep such as landmarks and museums.