Mechanical Engineering Summer Intern Review

My team and I were responsible for researching and reviewing recommendations from a workshop held by the Energy Transition team, and proposing the most valuable recommendations that would add value to the development concept and the company values. We mostly worked as part of a team, however, we broke off and done individual tasks and research that related to our discipline. We prepared a report and presentations to feedback our findings to the wider team.

I have learned a whole host of skills, mostly project management and the ability to prioritise work and work under pressure, particularly when we had multiple deadlines towards the end of the placement. Additionally, I learned lots of soft skills, like working as part of a team and being able to communicate effectively to ensure our team understood tasks, objectives, and our roles to achieve our aims.

I was given loads of responsibility during my placement. Our line manager would not dictate how we approach our project, presentations, report etc. They would overlook and give us guidance, but ultimately they left us to approach tasks how we felt it would be most effective. This helped build resilience and intuition and I believe this has helped me grow tremendously.

The support and guidance we were all given was exceptional. The early careers team gave us plenty of extracurricular training like presenting with impact, managing priorities, and mental health workshops. This training was excellent and supported me heavily during my placement. Additionally, my line manager was always offering professional and personal support, reiterating this throughout the duration of our placement. They checked in with daily calls to ensure we weren't left in the dark.

The culture was very positive and the passion the early careers team have for growth and development for individuals was inspiring. It is clear they value this and I strongly believe this is an environment where I would thrive under the guidance and leadership from early careers and the wider team.

I extremely enjoyed my placement. There was a good balance of project work, extra curricular training, and charity challenge, where we had the opportunity to organise stalls at the Windsor BBQ and volunteer to support local charities. I really enjoyed being around the people though. The culture was so positive and this rubbed off on everyone involved, we all looked out for each other and cared about our progress and development.

Yes

Make sure you consider the companies values as this is a huge part of who they are. Try and think of positive and negatives times where you have demonstrated these values as Centrica really value this as a company. Having the ability to understand when you have demonstrated these values, but also times where you could have developed these values as it is important to understand your strengths and weaknesses.