Female Discovery Week Review

I really enjoyed the insight program. Despite covid restrictions the team at BP did a really great job making sure we got the same amount out of the program despite not being there to complete it in person. Most of the sessions were really informative and getting to hear from a wide range of employees really gave me a great feel for the company and its culture. It also made me feel very well prepared to apply for jobs at the company in the future.

I felt like BP seemed really invested in making sure we got the most out of the experience. With every session there was plenty of time at the end to ask questions and get what you wanted out of the session. I feel like BP really put a lot of effort into making sure the experience wasn't diminished by the fact it was online and that made me feel like they definitely value students and graduates and young people looking to join the company.

About half of the sessions were about listing to employees and hearing about their experience, the question session at the end of those sessions gave some insight and guidance. The most helpful session in terms of guidance for applying was the technical interview session which allowed us to see how technical interviews are judged and what the interviewers are looking for. This was really helpful as by attending the insight program we get to be fast tracked to this stage in the process in future applications so this really was a key area to focus on, so I'm very glad they chose to do that.

I don't think I learnt much that would help me with my degree but I think what I learnt would help me if I was applying to the company in the future and potentially other similar companies. The only skill based sessions were really a public speaking based session which is useful for the future in general, and the practice interview session which was quite specific to the company and the field that it's in.

The program took into account that people were attending from different time zones so I thought that was well done. The insight program was spread out across the summer instead of being just a week. This was quite nice in a way because it wasn't very intense but it did sometimes mean you couldn't make a session because you weren't free which was a shame. But given the pandemic I think this was probably the best way they could have done it.

The general atmosphere was really good, everyone seemed really nice, from the people running it to the people taking part. Everyone running the sessions was really supportive and very keen for people to contribute so it was a very friendly atmosphere. BP setup a networking session that allowed us to meet other people on the program as we weren't there in person. This was definitely my favourite part and really made the program atmosphere just a lot more fun.

I don't think they particularly invested anything in training me. They probably would have done if it had been in person but most of the online session were more us just listening to employees etc. so it didn't really feel like I was learning lots of new skills, more like they were just trying to make the company seem as interesting and attractive as possible so we'd want to apply for graduate roles or internships.

We probably heard from over 12 different people about what it is like to work for BP and we got to hear about their whole journey and how they got to where they are now so that gave us a very good idea of what BP is like as a company, its culture, the types of job progression opportunities there are etc. so I thought this was something they really focused on. An understanding of what a full time role would be like was probably the main thing I took away from the program.

Again being able to hear from over 12 different people about what it is like to work for BP and we got to hear about their whole journey and how they got to where they are now so that gave us a very good idea of what BP is like as a company, its culture, and what people are able to do alongside their job within BP was very interesting and made the company culture seem very attractive.

Yeah it was definitely helpful. Probably not as helpful as actually being able to do it in person but given the circumstances I thought they did a good job at trying to give a lot of insight into what a job would be like and what an average day looks like etc. Hearing from so many people was helpful to get an idea of what it would be like to work in different roles and in this field.

Considering that the entire program was moved online and they still paid us the same amount they would have done that was really good of them considering there wasn't really any obligation to go to any of the sessions. The pay was very generous and if we'd done the experience in person they also would have reimbursed travel expenses and paid for accommodation so financially there really wasn't anything to worry about. I would definitely recommend the program because it's very generously paid!

Yes there was an opportunity to network with other students on the program which was a really lovely session. Probably my favourite part and so it was definitely a shame that there wasn't more of it and we didn't get to do it in person. Would have maybe been nice to have more of an opportunity to specifically network with employees but obviously again it's quite difficult to do that when the entire program is online.

Yes there was one networking session that was organised. There were no socials organised.

Yes, there seemed to be a wide range of opportunities that employees could get involved in. We heard from lots of employees who all seemed to be involved in something alongside their work. One had even completed his PhD alongside working at BP so that was really cool to hear about! Hearing about all the different things to get involved in definitely made me like the company more and see it as a more attractive company to work for.

Yes I would, it was very easy and very helpful and not very much effort. The application process was fairly easy and I definitely felt like the experience was worth while. If you're interested in energy definitely apply, it's a great experience, you'll get to meet and hear from some interesting people and it will give you a really good idea of what it is like to work at BP or a similar energy focused company.