Commercial Analyst Review

I did the Marketing internship working within British Gas. The placement is well strucutred and the Centrica employees are really welcoming. I worked in the London office just off Oxford Street and it was great fun to work in the city.

I was put in the Commercial Team and everyone was really happy to have me there. My line manager introduced me to my colleagues, and I was able to go for a coffee and 'catch up' with not just my team members, but also with colleagues who I would not work all that closely with during my placement. The London office has a team of about sixty and you can quickly start to grasp all the names of your colleagues.

My Line Manager was great at understanding when I needed some more work, or when I had a lot on and would judge accurately when to give me a new task. The Graduate Team really helped answer some tricky questions on the Facebook group or via email. It made it easy to understand what I needed to do to have a successful placement.

To begin with, I did not get a great deal of work. Saying that, it is impossible to walk into a totally new environment and not have some time to adjust. In the first few weeks I would be requested to undertake a task, when I had very little idea of how it fitted in with the overall scheme of things. After that initial first few weeks, when I understood more about what my role was and the goals the team was trying to achieve, I was given a diverse workload. I was managing several projects at a time, all of which had a genuine impact on the team. On a day to day basis, however, I never felt like I was at breaking point. There were some slow days, but also some really exciting ones, and so the two balanced each other out.

I was in charge of projects which required liaising with different areas of the business every few days. I received daily management information defining sales and trends which gave me the opportunity to constantly look to optimise my project. I was also given a lot of diverse roles, and my responsibility ranged from helping launch propositions to market, to analysing data and trends of online traffic. All of my projects have been used by the team to achieve their goals, and several of my creations are being kept on after I have left.

The Centrica team really look to develop you personally, which I think is a really good aspect of this placement. They offer Development Days and Excel sessions for you to attend, which can be easily transferred to your degree or your lifestyle.

The London office is a little different to the normal British Gas offices. The dress code is a little more relaxed and the atmosphere is a slight movement away from business. I compare it somewhat to what I imagine the Google offices to be like. Downstairs is full of techy people on their Macs while upstairs everyone is happy to have a joke and a laugh. At the end of the day though, the work had to be done so there is a balance to strike there.

The overall placement was broadly well structured. On receiving the offer, wheels began to turn to integrate you into the British Gas culture. Facebook groups were constantly buzzing, and the Graduate team's emails made sure you understood what was going on. In terms of your role and projects, it is very much down to your Line Manager to decide what work he wants to put you on. There are days organised by the team to help your development and these are a lot of fun. The broad structure is great, while the more specific day-to-day roles are set out by your Manager.

Centrica start you off with an Induction day, which lets you meet all the other interns on all the other streams. They put you up in a hotel for those of you who are working around the country and need to travel. Then there was a Development day which let you bond with your fellow interns; we went rock climbing on ours. And they also give you skills you can use, like an Excel session.

If you are on the summer placement, Centrica understandably invest a lot of time and money in you. At the end of the placement, you give a short presentation on how you have impacted the company and what you have done during your ten weeks. Following this, you may or may not be asked to attend an interview for a possible place on the grad scheme. Of the ten Marketing summer placements, six will be offered interviews. The chances are good but by no means guaranteed.

The interns are all really nice people. We went out a few times, but the most socialising occurred after work, going for a beer at the local pub was a popular option in the evenings. London was only forty minutes train journey away and so that is an option.

Cost of living was reasonably cheap. We were based in Egham, near Windsor and so commodities such as pints were not cheap. There was a Tesco's nearby so food was never an issue. Centrica gave us full accommodation for free in Royal Holloway University halls so that helped a lot.

London was only a short train journey away (about forty minutes) and so a night out there is great. For the most part, we went out in Windsor which wasn't cheap but was a reasonable night out. The clubs were quite cheesy in general and wouldn't wow anyone with the diversity of music but it makes for a good night out with friends.

If you want, you can take opportunities to go and visit different areas of the business outside your role. I visited some creative agencies in London. The team often are happy to go for a drink after work, and my department had a monthly get together where they got in a few pizzas and drinks which was great.