Graphic Designer, Developer & Webmaster Review

Absolutely fantastic placement, very worthwhile and it was really great to be the first to fill a new role at such a prestigious company. As my role was new, it allowed me to make of it what I wanted. My initial role was Graphic Designer, but over the course of the year it expanded to becoming a Developer and Webmaster too. My degree title is Information Technology Management for Business, I got the job for my natural passion in visual design, it compliments my studies nicely.

On the hole the majority of my team were fantastic, they are all very senior and were understandably busy, however they always found time to thank me for my work. A little thanks can go a long way. Also being recognised for my high level of work numerous times on the internal employee recognition and a bonus around Christmas really helped my motivation.

Little support however I was informed of this from the start that I would be trusted to manage my own time accordingly, as long as I was getting all work done to a high standard by the deadlines given I wouldn't have an issue. This worked very well and it was nice to be trusted and respected.

I was very busy all the year, in such a large company there is always some Graphic Design needing to be done, I didn't just work for my team, other teams requested my help. I had to develop multiple websites, SharePoints and an InfoPath form system. As these are normally created in a team, this was definitely a challenge as I had to do all the coding, designing, and testing by myself. Also for all the systems I implemented, I had to offer ongoing support to the client.

Lots of responsibility, never a dull moment and I was always treated like one of the team from day one, no one referred to me as an intern the whole year, this made me feel valued. I had another intern in my team with me in the office, but apart from that all my team either worked from home or was global, this was a unique experience and we were trusted to do the work with no manager or supervisor watching over us. Of course we did do the work, as stated I was very busy all year.

Information Technology Management for Business, Project Management, Organisation, Time Management, HTML5, CSS3, SharePoint Designer 2010, InfoPath 2013, Adobe Master Collection CS6 and many more.

There was plenty to get involved in, in or out of the office. Every week you could have got involved in something different if you wanted, I was never bored. Due to not having a team in the office, I chose to sit with other colleagues in different teams, they were great and advised me throughout the year if I had any questions.

Initial handover was slightly disorganised as I was coming into a new role, this was understandable as nobody knew my capabilities or what the role consisted of, I had to mold this to how I wanted.

There are numerous training courses online which I attended and learnt a lot from. Also I got to visit the London office on multiple occasions and I was invited to a business dinner in London, this was a good experience.

Great company and I will be applying in September when the next wave of graduate recruitment starts. I would thoroughly recommend to anyone for them to apply here. I would also like to recommend Charlotte Betts, a key member of HR who is involved in the intern and graduate recruitment. Throughout the year I turned to her for advice and Charlotte is always a friendly face in the office, or if you would just like a quick chat, she is your lady.

Great social scene, I was disadvantaged as I joined the interns a month later, so everyone had already formed their friendship groups, however over the year I met lots of new people, all were very nice.

Reading can be quite expensive compared to Bristol, just because it was near London, however the area I lived in was relatively well priced.

Again quite small clubs and bars if that's your thing, I have been spoilt in Bristol which has a massive night life with very large clubs.

Endless opportunities, in hindsight I should have taken advantage of these more, I went home every weekend to see my girlfriend and the family so weekend activities were off the cards for me, however I could have found loads to do.