Commercial Analyst Review

I really enjoyed the virtual internship experience with Centrica, and I benefitted from the experience despite the fact that it could not run in its usual format. I felt as though Centrica kept regular contact with all interns throughout the year and still made the effort to allow us to meet one another virtually, and created a group where they provided regular correspondences. I felt appreciated by Centrica throughout the summer even though I was not doing the internship in person.

I felt valued by those that worked at Centrica as there were various events held by a variety of colleagues aimed at giving interns an experience as close as possible to what the in person internship would have entailed. I was kept in regular contact with colleagues at Centrica and always knew that if I had any further questions or queries about the role/ the company, there would be someone more than happy to help.

The highlight of the virtual experience, for me, was the opportunity to complete an excel training session with a Commercial Analyst via Teams. My session went on for approximately two hours, and I was able to follow along easily on Excel despite the new online format that Centrica had to adopt in light of the situation. Even though it was virtual, I felt supported and guided in the training task, and completed work following it and received detailed feedback.

Given the virtual format, I did not have many tasks to do throughout the summer. There were talks held on zoom several times, and the training task took several hours. However, as the internship was formally cancelled and the online events held were to replicate some aspects of the internship, I wasn't too busy at all.

As the internship was cancelled, I was not responsible for any tasks relating to the business.

I feel as though following the experience, which Centrica did try to make as engaging and informative as possible in light of the pandemic, I was still able to gain many skills and determine if the role as a Commercial Analyst suits me. The excel training exercise allowed me to feel more confident in my skills on the platform, and the experience gave me an insight into Centrica's values and what it takes to be a Commercial Analyst.

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Centrica did as much as possible to keep the internship as engaging as they could, and in doing so we were made aware of the dates of talks in advance, and a lot of flexibility was given regarding the excel training exercises. The presentations given by those working at Centrica were of high quality and all of the events ran smoothly over the summer. Whenever I sent e-mails I received responses quickly and my questions were answered.

The excel training exercise was very informative and Centrica gave time to each individual on the summer placement in arranging 1 on 1 calls whereby I could ask any questions that I had in particular, and could get to know a Commercial Analyst graduate myself and ask questions in a more informal environment. I do wish there had been more opportunities to complete more training throughout the summer as this was the aspect that gave me the most insight into what working as a Commercial Analyst would entail.

The future employment prospects with Centrica are very appealing to me a the moment. I feel as though I was able to gain an insight into the kind of company Centrica is, and gain an insight into what they aspire for in staff members and what I would gain from being employed with themselves. The virtual sessions gave me this insight into future prospects following the internship and future employment opportunities that Centrica has to offer.

Where I was given the opportunity to chat with other interns, I do feel as though everyone was incredibly friendly and it would have been ideal if the internship could have gone ahead as usual as I could see myself getting along well with the other interns. In light of the Covid situation, obviously there weren't many opportunities to get to know each other, as in the usual internship format we would have been living and working together.

`I stayed at home so can't comment on this.

Once again, there weren't opportunities to take part in this due to the pandemic.

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