Programming intern Review

My placement year was one of the best experiences of my life. From all the events and activities my company offered to me, to the extremely friendly atmosphere of the office; everyday would bring me something enjoyable. Although there days and situations when deadlines affected my mindset negatively, my team and other co-workers were always there to support me, highlighting to me the importance of effective teamwork within the brand. My respect for Disney has only increased and I can't promote how great the placement experience was with them!

Over the entirety of my placement year, the bond I developed with my colleagues grew more and more each day. At the start of the year I was very timid in my actions, as I was afraid of letting anyone down. However over time I grew in confidence after my teammates made me feel more comfortable in my ability. I would now consider my close colleagues great friends for life and great people to support you through whatever situation.

My manager would always provide me with constructive feedback and targets to work towards over the entire year. This was done through regular meetings discussing what point I was at and where to go from there in order to better myself. The encouragement my manager/supervisor gave inspired me to push further and challenge myself, something any aspiring individual should aim for. My manager always reiterated trying my best in whatever circumstance, and coming back stronger for the next time.

For day-to-day tasks, I was always had something to do. This was overwhelming at first, but learning to better plan out my time management allowed me to prioritise my tasks. From there I would pick up a great balance of work, whilst not being stressed out. On rare occasions when I had less work to do, I would ask my colleagues if I could take on any additional tasks. This worked in reverse when I was bogged down with work, with colleagues being accommodating in helping you out.

In my role I was given a huge amount of responsibility. One such example of this was managing the market of the Nordics (including the countries Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Finland), which involved myself looking over the day-to-day progress of the market. I also had the influence of amending the functions of the market if needed, meaning I had to be decisive and accurate in my decision making process towards improvements towards my designated market.

I was able to take many of the skills I had picked up from my university course (marketing) and take them into my placement role. An example of this was data collection from consumers, which I had done for assignments at university which I then applied to view our peformance on a daily/weekly/monthly performance. I was also able to display my creative side through the use of marketing briefs for our new products, ensuring all information listed was crucial to effective communication for the benefit of our consumer demographic.

The atmosphere within the office is best described like Disney itself... magical! This was created by the vibrant design within the building, the inspiring internal events that got everybody involved and the friendliness of the majority of employees that gave off a pleasant vibe to everyone working. The only situations that affected the atmosphere was the various restructures, which in general are never pleasant and are necessary to many companies. During these times, I would try my hardest to help bring the atmosphere back to being positive.

The organisation of mine and other individuals was extremely professional to say the least. This was showcased from the assessment days when myself and the intern following from me received the role, with the day being prepared way in advance to identify specifically who was suited for each role. When I started my role during my probation period, an entire document was given to me for referral on the vast majority of situations I will be dealing with and how to overcome them.

The company were always looking to better improve the skills and development of their employees through a multitude of training courses through each financial quarter. My manager and colleagues always ensured I had signed up to these to ensure I was picking up additional skills outside of my placement role. Such training courses included public speaking, internal communication and talking like TED. The latter proved to be the most interesting, displaying techniques on how to engage an audience through whatever topic.

Whilst the organisation doesn't have specific graduate jobs related to my future prospects, I believe I have made great and important connections with individuals within or outside the company that would be able to give me a positive recommendation. I also believe my experience within the company during placement will give me a competitive advantage to a potential role in the future within the organisation; seeing as I have already experienced the infrastructure. Whether I go back to the company or not, I will always cherish the time I spent within The Walt Disney Company.

The social scene between the placement interns was extremely positive, especially seeing as there was such a large amount of us. There was many opportunities to be social such as in the canteen, internal events and outside of work. The highlight of the social scene was the Wintern ball, where all the interns were invited to dress in suits and dresses and go to a rented room in a bar/club to party all night long.

Whilst I can't relate to the cost of living as I commuted from my parents house, my intern friends who did live locally to the company said the rent was fairly expensive due to being in west London, but was covered by the monthly wages. In relation to socialising, the prices were pretty standard to London, which is generally a little bit more expensive. The best way to deal with this is by managing your finances and treating social situations more sacredly.

Whilst in west London there is less nightclubs, there are plenty of great pubs and bars to have a great night. For nightclubs specifically, central London (zone 1) has more of a selection. Thankfully the underground travel system allows travelling to such places very accessible and easy. The benefit of being in west London is it being less busy, meaning you will be able to get into nicer places without queuing for long periods of time.

There were plenty of opportunities to get involved with external activities. One related to the company itself was helping out at a local care home around Christmas, where I sat and chatted to elderly people who needed company, whilst also providing them with a roast dinner and a carol service. Unrelated to the business, me and other interns competed in 5-a-side football matches which was local to the area. Another way in which I kept active was by joining a local gym, which west London has plenty of.