Finance Intern Review

I really enjoyed my placement at Airbus. It was a steep learning curve and at times challenging, but I learnt more in a year than in my first 2 years at university. The practical experience has been invaluable.

I worked in the Facilities Management office, and the atmosphere was great. I felt like a proper member of the team. Everyone was easy to get on with and really nice to me. I made lots of friends and looked forward to going into work everyday to see everyone. I also felt relied upon; my job was to provide financial support and I would regularly receive queries from my colleagues and feel that the advise I gave them was well received and valued.

I had both a supervisor and a manager. Although my manager was out sick for 5 months I never felt unsupported as my supervisor stepped up. I had weekly face to face meetings so that I could raise any concerns I had and give my opinion on my work volume/how I felt I was getting on. These regular meetings were informal and confidential so I knew I could be honest. It was also a good chance for me to receive feedback on my performance.

There was variability throughout the month and year but it was rare that I was left with nothing to do. Usually I would be given certain tasks to do and then receive ad-hoc work by email/telephone and it was up to me to balance my workload so I was keeping on top of everything. The flexi time on offer meant that I could also vary my hours to match my workload if I wanted to.

I was given a reasonable amount of responsibility during my placement; I provided my colleagues with support without having to constantly check with my supervisor that the feedback I was giving was adequate.

The experience I gained this year is invaluable. My confidence and work skills have improved vastly. I feel that I am going into my final year at university with a lot more accounting knowledge so am on target to achieve a good degree. The practical experience will also hopefully help me get a job after university.

There was a good atmosphere in the office. Everyone was friendly and would chat to me. It was a good laugh.

The handover I received from the previous intern when I arrived wasn't the best, but the set up of the placement was good. I spent the first 3 months running parallel with another intern on my team learning the ropes. After this initial stage I spent about 4.5 months supporting one member of my team on operational spend whilst the other intern supported another member of my team on capital spend. We then swapped and I spent the last 4.5 months supporting on capital spend. This meant I got to participate in a wide range of activities. There were chances to meet other interns across the business on a monthly basis.

Sessions were run for interns on subjects such as assessment centres and interviewing as a graduate which was useful. In my team my colleagues helped develop my IT skills vastly and also my knowledge of accounting concepts which I had not previously understood.

They have recommended that I apply to the graduate scheme, however in finance they do not guarantee graduate jobs.

Its upto you how much time you spend with fellow interns. Students moving to Bristol from other areas spent a lot of time together. However as I already live in Bristol I did not see the other interns outside work much.

Bristol is a good city for students and can be as cheap as you make it depending on where you go.

Bristol nightlife is good. There are lots of pubs, bars and clubs.

There were some opportunities to get involved in charity work. I participated in the reading buddies scheme; this involved going into a primary school on a weekly basis to help a child develop their reading.