Public Sector Sales Support Review

Massively enjoyed it. Going into the internship the concept of working a 9-5 sounded pretty awful but working alongside a large cohort of interns made the year a lot of fun. The freedom and responsibility given to me made me feel valued and able to do my job my own way which was massively motivating. Further, the opportunities I was given to travel across the country (pre-COVID) to our various offices and customers made the experience even more enjoyable.

I definitely felt valued and that my job had a real impact on the company and within my team. Being the only intern in my team meant that I carried a lot of responsibility which is great. I would often have team members come to me for help which proved my own worth within the company. Furthermore, the way the company invested in me through training and sending me across the country proved that we were valued by HPE.

It was a great balance of being able to get support when I needed it, but also not being watched over with everything I did. This sense of independence showed me that I was trusted and let me get on with the job whilst knowing i could reach out for support if necessary. At times it could be hard to get responses from certain people but this will always be the case as everyone has their own job to do. Building up a network within the company helped me get support from various people other than my assigned manager/supervisors.

The workload varied massively as is to be expected in a sales organisation. Certain periods are busier than others. In periods where I was less busy I wouldn't be given redundant tasks for the sake of it which I appreciated, however there was also personal development opportunities for me to get on with in quieter times. In busy periods, I would have to work later some days which I was happy to do given the flexibility I was given throughout the rest of the year. I would sometimes be quiet but never had nothing to do.

This was the best aspect of the placement for me. I truly felt valued and that I had a lot of responsibility within my team for various critical tasks and other ad-hoc requests at my team's request. I would only be given high-responsibility tasks in areas which my manager knew I could handle so never felt too pressured but massively enjoyed the responsibility I had.

I think they will pay dividends in the rest of my career undoubtedly and certainly in my next year of university. Namely, time-management and communication skills built up by working within a busy team and working for an organisation driven by the sales cycle which meant frequently working to tight deadlines. There were certainly opportunities to develop skills which I could have taken more from but I value to experiences I had greatly.

The office was great due to the massive number of interns within HPE, I was surrounded by experienced professionals but also my peers which made the whole experience shared and more approachable. It was a great mix which made office life enjoyable.

It was well organised with a dedicated team to support us through the onboarding process and beyond with quarterly check ins. Further, there were regularly events organised by the Early Careers team and opportunities including volunteering days where we worked off-site on causes within the local community. There was a clear structure and I never felt abandoned or lost within the Early Careers community.

We had a few development days and early careers events where we would receive talks, including one from the UK&I Managing Director which was massively useful and insightful. There was also opportunity to take part in sales school and other such things.

I am certainly looking to apply for the graduate scheme after being given a few presentations on the scheme. I have also worked with many graduates throughout my internship and traveled to Manchester where they work to get an insight into what a days work looks like there. The scheme looks really good and having previous experience within the organisation is a big bonus, knowing people who will still be there if I were to join would make the process much more appealing.

Yes! The size of the Cohort meant that you were sure to find like-minded people who you could get on with outside of work. We often met up outside of work and when working from the London office would go out for drinks after and do various activities. This made going into work a much more enjoyable experience as you would always be surrounded by other interns.

I already lived in the area, however Reading is well priced and the social life is alright. It's certainly not an expensive place to live relative to the rest of the south and especially London.

The night life in Reading is nothing special but as long as you go out with a good bunch of people there are loads of good bars where you can have a laugh.

The intern community was good at organizing fundraisers, social and sporting events. If you are keen to get involved you easily can, you can also suggest stuff to the Early careers team and they will look into making it possible.