Intern Review

Was a great experience organised in really short order during COVID. Team trained the interns very well and the work enviro emend was friendly. They made efforts to make sure that everyone became friends even over video call and social events were set up so that we were comfortable with everyone. There was an opportunity for a lot of independent work but also networking. The work environment was quite relaxed so you could video call anybody in the company and talk with them about their job.

The work environment was very friendly so it was easy to feel as though you were a valued employee. Feedback was useful and often people were very positive about my work which was reassuring when this is the first major internship I have had. There was indication that the projects we worked on actually were useful to the company and that our perspective had been considered. This is quite difficult to do over video but Tesco managed it.

There was a mixture of support available. The trainers were very supportive on a social level but also with regards to work. People would respond quickly to your emails and help you with any queries that you had. The independent work felt quite difficult at times as briefs were not as clear as I would have liked. In times like this it was sometimes best to knuckle under, give the best you had and then see if it was along the right lines. However, they made it clear you could contact them at any time for support or help with regards to work.

The presenting skills I learned were essential. Presenting every week to a minimum of 10 new people on a topic I was previously unfamiliar with was good experience. It is particularly difficult to present on video call so having that experience will be extra beneficial. Time management was also quite important when trying to deliver a strong report on a project whilst also juggling other tasks and meetings. Overall it was a good experience to have for future work and employment.

With the time Tesco had to organise the internship it was incredibly well structured. At a time where every other firm closed their internships and graduate schemes it was really brilliant to have something and for it to be a positive experience. This is the first time they have tried to do a virtual internship also so it is doubly impressive from that perspective. Areas to work on with regards to structure and timings but overall pretty great.

Really fun and friendly atmosphere! Something going on every day so if you wanted to you could video call someone or you could go to a training session and see other people there. The work was not too time consuming so that there was no time available to relax and have fun but it was also suitably challenging so that we got the right experience out of it. Really pleased and surprised how such a big corporation can be so friendly.

They invest a lot of time into training and there are lengthy courses available for almost any form of training/qualification. Often the training I did not find to be entirely essential but perhaps that is a reflection of the fact that I was only on the internship for 2 months and not there for several years. There is clearly a big emphasis put on training and the training staff are fun and very well rehearsed.

I had very little understanding of Tesco work life before the internship, or the job that I wanted to do post graduation. Tesco is such a large company that they have almost every single career/job title available. They also made an effort for us to have conversations to people from incredibly diverse and interesting career paths so we better understood the lifestyle and ethos of Tesco. I have a much greater understanding now than before and would definitely consider a career at the firm.

It’s very difficult to convey a companies culture and ethos when you are not working at their main site, however, the internship did it very well and demonstrated how friendly the environment is. They also conveyed the companies essential values which I was not familiar with before. Often with firms they state their values and then practice something very different. It is evident that this is not the case at Tesco. People really care about the work that they do.

Very valuable. There are so many career paths available at Tesco and we got to experience a lot of them from the speakers that they brought in. One weekly session that I found particularly interesting was the ‘Meet the Execs’ session where we met and talked with about 8 members of the C suite about their jobs and career paths and had the opportunity to ask them questions. I personally contacted one of the UK directors and had a 1 to 1 with him which was an amazing opportunity.

I was paid very well for the internship.

Really incredible. The colleagues and trainers made it very clear that we should network as much as possible and they even gave us contact details for employees they thought we would benefit from talking to. I had 3 1 to 1 sessions with employees that were very high up in the organisation, including a director for the entirety of the UK. This was a superb opportunity and really not available elsewhere. The fact that these colleagues all set aside time for an intern still at university is just brilliant.

I had 3 1 to 1 sessions with employees that were very high up in the organisation, including a director for the entirety of the UK. This was a superb opportunity and really not available elsewhere. The fact that these colleagues all set aside time for an intern still at university is just brilliant. Conversations with these colleagues were also very relaxed and friendly. It made an organisation that’s 450,000 people feel like one that is 450 people.

Activities outside of work were originally social meetings organised by the trainers. However, as the interns became more friendly, we organised our own meet ups. This involved pub nights at central locations like London and Edinburgh and also involved fun video calls where we would relax. One that I remember being quite fun was an art class led by another intern who was particularly talented in drawing. These meetings were very fun and a good way to make more friends and wind down.

Absolutely. Overall it was a really great experience and awesome that it even went ahead in the first place. Whilst it is a shame that it was not in the head office I feel as though everyone still had fun, we learned a lot about the company and we gained a lot of experience in quite difficult skills. In addition, it paid well (especially so as we did not have to pay for accommodation) and opened my eyes to new career paths.