Marketing Intern Review

It was a new experience to communicate with the team online but despite the distance it was a very enjoyable and interesting experience. We were encouraged to interact with each other (other interns) throughout the process, even though this is obviously somewhat minimised across a virtual rather than in person situation. The calls were organised so as to be useful not only to our development within the company but also for our development at university and in our personal lives.

The team at Centrica made us all feel highly valued and therefore I felt as if we were given a very high quality of content throughout the summer, and a very high level of engagement. All of the team were easy to talk to and made time for us, both within the calls and in emails and messages beyond the calls themselves. Despite the pandemic situation we were not made to feel like inconveniences, making it a very positive experience.

Our talent managers were incredibly helpful and informative throughout the whole experience, we could contact them whenever we needed and were always met with friendly and considerate responses. I always felt as if we were considered in their actions. Abhishek specifically was incredible at organising calls for us which he went above and beyond to make sure were suitable for us and which were filling in the gaps in our knowledge as we'd raised with him.

Despite not doing a degree directly associated with marketing, the scope of talent and job variation which we were exposed to during this time was very useful. It lent an insight into the job market and what to expect from a large company, along with giving me a lot more confidence about going into the job market upon finishing my degree. The information we were given about the process behind web development was very interesting and lends a lot of insight into other topic areas.

The virtual experience was very well structured given the very short notice which Centrica were working on. The pandemic obviously meant that some adjustments were made, but the team overcame difficulties very well to make sure we all felt as if we were following along with a well planned program. We were always informed of meetings weeks before they happened, allowing us to plan ahead and have time to digest the information we'd been given

The atmosphere was very friendly and accommodating. It is very useful to be in direct contact with a manager who has been on the graduate scheme and who isn't dissimilar in age to most of us on the virtual experience. We were never made to feel like unnecessary extras, we were very much treated as the upcoming employees which the team wanted to help improve and develop. Everyone was very easy to speak to, despite not having met many of these people in person.

Centrica were interested in not only our professional development but also our personal development. We had calls with mental health professionals to help us prepare for our final year a university, along with calls by senior professionals within the company who wanted to invest some of their time in explaining how their own career progression worked and what they would recommend for us. It was very useful to gain an insight into the company on this level.

As previously mentioned we had calls with senior professionals across the company, explaining their career progression through certain roles and their experience with the company. The ethos of the company was very much clear in the positive way in which we were welcomed in, and in the way that all employees connected with us. We were always made to feel like valued employees, even across the distance and the virtual experience, which was very beneficial.

As the virtual experience was taking place during key parts of the pandemic in the UK we were exposed to the company as they were going through very difficult and changeable times. Despite this, everyone was incredibly welcoming, taking time to make us feel a part of things within the new setup and within their new work environment. This is itself was a great insight into the company culture, as it was clear that the people working with us were very adaptable and friendly.

The content of the experience was useful because it lent insight into different parts of the company, not just the marketing section. We were told about various roles within the marketing department, and how these roles worked, including being given some demonstrations. Beyond this we also had calls with people higher up in the company who gave us some advice about what to look for in job roles and how to make the best of various roles.

Due to this experience being a replacement for the in person internship to which we'd initially applied (due to the pandemic, not due to the company's own choices), we were given a goodwill payment which more than covered the cost of the hours we worked with them online. The in person internship also included the accommodation costs, and a full salary for the time working, therefore was a more than reasonable initial and eventual setup

There were opportunities to meet other employees of the company throughout the experience. Our manager made sure to put us onto calls with senior employees in order for us to understand their roles and to be able to ask them questions about the roles and the company itself. We were made to feel that we could contact these people and others if we wanted to, and these people were all very friendly and welcoming to us.

The social event opportunities within this experience were somewhat limited due to the online nature of the work, however as much as was reasonably possible we were given the opportunity to casually interact with each other. As for networking we were put into contact with various senior employees who we were able to talk to whenever we wanted. All of the people we talked to were very friendly and it would have been very easy to add them on LinkedIn etc

Again this was somewhat minimised by the online nature of the experience and the fact that the virtual experience was an amendment to the in person internship. However the company culture was very accommodating and friendly so it would not have been hard to have found a way to socialise beyond the work itself. A lot of the younger employees had lived with each other at some point and were therefore a very helpful insight into the social life at the company.

The experience with Centrica has been extremely positive and useful. The company have been accommodating of the unusual global situation we're all going through, and have made us all feel welcome within the company. Especially for people who feel threatened by the more aggressive nature of bank and finance internships, this experience has been a nice insight into working in a company which cares about your wellbeing and your personal development as well as your professional development.