Marketing intern Review

Generally it was really good. It was my first time working in a corporate environment, but both the Graduate HR team and my department did very well at making us feel welcome and helping us settle in. There were no days I woke up dreading to go to work!

No one treated me as if I was the 16-year old work experience guy you get at some companies! I was treated and valued just like any other employee. Obviously due to my inexperience there were some things I could not do, but with everything else I was tasked with I was given the same level of appraisal and critique as you would any employee.

Like at most corporate internships you have your line manager and your 'buddy' who are on hand to answer most queries. But everyone in my department was incredibly friendly and supportive to each other. Of course you are expected to operate independently and not badger your boss 24/7! Nevertheless if there were any problems whatsoever I never felt awkward of uncomfortable asking someone to help and they really went out of their way to make me feel welcome. I think Amex really excel at this generally as this is something that is built into their culture.

For the first half I had slightly less to do than I thought. However towards the second half of my internship I began to take on more responsibility in my project which forced me to increase productivity! In any job you have periods where you get really busy and Amex is not an exception to this. But if I felt I was getting snowed under at any point I could always talk with my line manager who would help me sort through any immediate problems. I was aware of some people who had very little to do for quite a while, so I suppose it is a bit of a lottery depending on which department you are placed in. However if you are concerned that you will be slogging it out each day with no lunch break you do not need to worry about that at Amex. Occasionally it is tough, but no one is going to expect you to work extra late like at certain investment banks!

One of my first tasks was to draw up a market comparison of our products for a top client that had to be finished by the end of the day! So that was a bit scary, but wasn't impossible and once I had completed it I felt more comfortable with taking things on. After this my main project started which involved me working in a team project which had to be completed towards the end of the internship. So although I was taking on more responsibility here (including monitoring the project) I was not solely in charge of it. In a way this was pretty good as you could demonstrate how much you could take on whilst at the same time if any major decisions were to be made we could discuss them as a group. So for me it was a good balance.

I gained a load of skills which I could demonstrate in my CV and in interviews with further job/graduate applications. As well as general transferable skills (presentation skills, teamwork etc.) I could point to specific projects and tasks relevant to the business environment which could be valued by future prospective employers. My manager was exceptionally helpful in this respect as at the start of my project we went over any things I would like to have achieved in this respect by the end. Again this is always a lottery as you never know who your manager/department will be, but I think American express is the sort of place where if you want to gain/work-towards certain skills as long as you make this clear (and demonstrate your enthusiasm) they will go out of their way to accommodate this.

Can't really compare to other companies as I haven't worked for too many others! But everyone was nice and got on well with each other.

The HR team went to exceptional lengths to give us a range of training programmes and talks from senior leadership (even one from the CEO!). But they also organised trips away to the London eye and other things. Individually and work wise I was quite lucky with how my work was layed out too.

They don't offer personalised formal training programmes. HOwever as mentioned previously, my manager went to exceptional lengths to set me up with projects that developed the skills that I wanted to gain. This wont be possible all of the time. However if you make it clear at the start what you can offer and what you want to learn they should go out of their way to help you do that.

I was left with the impression that American Express is a great place to work and I think many emplyees would agree with me. In terms of taking on interns into jobs however, you have to be exceptional. They offered very few interns full-time jobs from my contingent. I would suspect this is more to do with costs rather than anything else. It is not like (although don't quote me on this!) at Loyds Banking Group where the majority of interns are offered a job. Nevertheless having Amex on your CV and the skills you gain put you in a very good position to apply to virtually any other firm.

Its London, what do you expect!