Finance Intern Review

I have wholeheartedly enjoyed my work placement at Church and Dwight as it is such an inclusive and supportive environment to work in and has allowed me a raw insight into the world of Finance. The company has an amazing community atmosphere and the different departments/teams/individuals are easy to talk to and always happy to help. I have met so many lovely people on my year placement who have helped me grow both professionally and personally to whom I am thankful.

I felt as though I fit into my team/department almost instantly and better than I had expected to. My team were so supportive, funny and made me feel welcome from the second I started. As I was able to pick up my daily tasks quite quickly, I was trusted to pick up other tasks for my managers which made me feel valued as it said to me that they had faith in me and the work that I produced. I was also given opportunities to see outside the normal life of an intern and was involved in areas that would normally go to an assistant/more qualified role.

I was greatly supported by management/my supervisors. I was invited to multiple training sessions that were aimed at me and the other interns to help us find our feet in the professional settings that we were starting out in as well as access to many resources in order to build specific skills (e.g Excel). I was always assured that if I needed any help that my managers were always there to give me guidance and support when needed (especially with tasks that I may have been less familiar with).

For my role, how busy I was during a particular day varied as we had busier periods of time such as the end of the month. The end of month/start of the new month was always a busy time as we would close off the previous month's financials and was when majority of my deliverables were due. During the rest of the month, it was quieter but we still had tasks to be getting on with. Also certain months were busier than others, April - December is a particularly busy period of time.

At first, I was given small amounts of responsibility in terms of the tasks I had to complete as part of my main role. Once I had become comfortable with my main tasks that I would do on a monthly basis, I was given more responsibility and more tasks to take up from my managers and the Financial Director. I have also been given the responsibility of my own projects such as training a department on how to use the financial database and an analysis piece which was presented to the VP of the company.

I believe that the Excel skills that I have developed will come in extremely useful in both my degree studies and beyond as it is an increasingly used computer software. Receiving training on assertive communication skills has also taught me that everyone has their own way of working and it won't always be the same as yours which will come in handy when trying to engage different people during work tasks. Also, leading a training session with other departments in the business has developed my presentation skills and listening skills as the training I completed was more of a workshop in which I interacted with the people present to help them with the company database.

During busy periods of time, it could be a bit quiet and tense but everyone would try their best to still engage with everyone else and still keep a supportive environment. Most of the time, the atmosphere in the office was a fun one, where every now and again we would have a chat and banter with each other. We used it to take a break from looking at the screen and to just have a break. We would always make each other tea and coffee.

It was set up very well in terms of I received the training I needed when I started and continued receiving it within the first 6 months of when I started. I was trained very well by my mentor who was the person holding my role previously and was given a few test tries of the tasks that I would have to do on a monthly basis. There were a few blips with organising who was able to do what when certain members of the team were not present however we were able to sort this out by delegating tasks and understanding each others tasks.

The company invested in me and the other interns by having specific training sessions just for us as they understood that for many of us this would be our first professional setting. They also offered many different training schemes dependent on our departments and resources to further our skills (excel, specific industry trainings). Overall, the company is very dedicated to making sure their interns receive as much as they can out of this placement year.

They are very appealing as learning so much within this company makes you an asset within the company and you add value with the work that you do. It is a very fast paced environment and once you get used to the rhythm of the company, it becomes easier to navigate and so being used to it after a year's placement would make it easier for future employment prospects. However I am not sure whether there will an opportunity for my department to have a vacant position once I finish university but I believe there could be opportunities throughout the business to return as a full time employee.

Yes, there was a very good social scene amongst fellow interns as well as full time employees. With the interns, we were all put into contact with each other and would make plans to go around the town (mainly to Wetherspoons and restaurants and the beach). We had a few movie nights and also mingled with some full time employees, going on weekends out with them and on brunches which helped us to become more comfortable with them and integrate ourselves a bit more.

The cost of living was quite standard. Main cost of living was rent and groceries and those were pretty standard. The cost of socialising was dependent on where you went as we had a wetherspoons for cheap drinks and food and independent restaurants and bars were decently priced. However, more upscale bars/restaurants can be very similar to London pricings. To socialise, we also went to nearby towns/cities (London,Canterbury) which were slightly more expensive as we had to pay for transport there and back.

Nightlife was mainly bars and pubs in the area where I worked, there was one main club as it was a small town. You could have a good night drinking at the Wetherspoons and other bars (a bar crawl) and check out some of the cool underground bars. There is one which has an underground gaming section which is fun (JamJar) and lots of hidden gems around the town. You could also have a nice drink by the beach on days which hold nice weather. However, it was again close to London and Canterbury which were better for going out for drinks and such as they have more bars and clubs.

There were a few opportunities to get involved in after work activities, mainly in the summer in terms of BBQs, Cricket matches, Quizzes. Many people in the company play golf and there is a golf club near the office which has lead to the organisation of a golf day. There was also a Christmas Office Party and meals with your different departments. As well as team building trips and lunches.