HPE Aruba UK&I Indirect Networking Sales Intern Review

I have absolutely loved working for HPE Aruba over the last 13 months. The internship program is simply fantastic. I was not entirely sure what my placement year would entail but I could not have asked for a better year. What HPE and Aruba put together for myself gave me all the opportunities I needed to develop and grow as an individual. The placement year gave me a perfect introduction into the working world and I just loved it.

This was one part I was concerned about being an intern at a company. However, from day 1 I always felt valued by my team and I could clearly see the positive impact that I could have on the organisation. Personally I found this really important and this continually motivated me over the 13 months to give my absolute best to the team. I am particularly thankful to my manager Helen Speak regarding this topic.

This is one of the greatest strengths of the intern program. The support and guidance was brilliant, particularly from my team and my manager. This really helped shape my intern year and heavily impacted the amount of responsibility I had and how much I learnt.

This fluctuated during my time on my placement year. Of course in any business you are going to have busier days than others. I found personally the level of busyness was of a good balance however, there were days were I had very little to do and others were they became almost unmanageable in comparison to my other interns.

I was given far more responsibility than I could have ever imagined and this was a real factor as to why I valued my placement year so highly. A particular highlight was when I had to manage our Aruba Partner Briefing Events for FY20 in London and Manchester. My Manager gave me the lead role and put her trust in me to deliver a smooth and successful event. Luckily the events went really well and I received very nice feedback. To be given this opportunity was just brilliant

I have learnt tremendous amounts on my placement year and I believe I have truly come on leaps and bounds during my time at HPE Aruba. I do not exactly know in what way this will assist me specifically with my degree of studies but 100% the training I underwent and the skills I learnt will massively benefit me moving forward in life. I can already see the positive impact this has had on me and I can't thank HPE enough for this.

I absolutely loved the office. The atmosphere was brilliant and there was a perfect balance between social and work conversations. I did not feel under pressure in this environment where I could not ask questions and I had to sit quietly by myself. Instead I felt confident to speak up and share my ideas and have conversations with any member in the office. This massively impacted my motivation and performance during my time at the organisation.

The work placement was incredibly well organised. HPE have a fantastic program on offer and I highly recommend it to any future intern desiring a top and worthwhile placement year.

It was clear to see from the very first day that the company really invested into us as interns. Training ranged across all forms. One program which I particularly valued was the Sales Readiness program, a program unique to HPE. The course is just brilliant. This course really enabled me to develop my sales skills and opened my eyes to the sales world. As a result this has helped me determine the path that I would like to currently progress down.

Future employment prospects are very appealing at this organisation and they have a great history with hiring back interns who then remain at the organisation for a long time. The graduate program on offer is also very appealing and I know that roles are of high competition. There are multiple ways and roles which interns can return to the organisation. Having this in place also had a massive effect on my year personally as it encouraged me to network and put myself out there and gain as much experience as possible.

The social scene was very good across my colleagues and students. The office was always buzzing and there were multiple events during and after work for interns and colleagues to come together. The relationship I eventually had with my team was far closer than I expected and in cases I was a lot closer with my team than the inters. Unfortunately with so many interns living at home I don't believe it was as social (outside of work) as we expected.

Luckily living at home the cost for myself was manageable. My travel to London was luckily expensed which helped a lot. Nights out London and travelling into Reading was quite expense however, as I said living at home this was manageable for me as I did not pay rent.

The Nightlife is very good particularly in London. There is always something for everyone in London and this is important.

This is a real strength that HPE can offer. There are multiple opportunities for employees to get involved of activities outside of work. From the general culture and structure of the organisation to the HPE Inspire Program, being involved in these activities you can really make a difference and they are in high demand. Whether it be volunteering, Charity work, Global day Of Service, Palace to Palace or celebrating religious/pride events there is so much to get involved in and be a part of.