HR Assisstant Review

I was made to feel very involved with current projects and took on some roles where I could really contribute to the business. There was some work that was more dull and administrative, but I felt this was well balanced with more interesting and more challenging projects I was involved in.

Everyone I met was very helpful, encouraging and welcoming. I got on extremely well with the teams I worked alongside and will keep in contact with many of them. There were loads of great people there, especially the ones which frequently brought in cookies and Krispy Kremes.

People within the teams I was working with offered me plenty of guidance and support when I needed it and were easy to approach. The 'Emerging Talent' team who were actually managing the interns collectively were dissappointing regarding support and guidance. There were a few too many 'Out of Office' replies to queries and they could even often sound annoyed that you had contacted them in the first place.

There were some quiet times, particularly at the beginning of the internship when I was less known by others in the division. On the other hand there were points when a lot of work would flood in and it was a struggle to complete it. Usually there was always something to do, even though sometimes it would be more mundane administrative tasks.

I was given a fair amount of responsibility in some areas of my work, including involvement in highly confidential projects where I was given charge of work that had would have a direct impact on the Wholesale division of the business. There were some projects where quite a lot was expected of the work I delivered as it was to be implented across the division and represented the team I worked in.

I learnt some really valuable skills while I was on the internship, most notably how to interact with people in a professional environment and also make myself known to people, i.e. finding out that 'networking' is more than just a buzzword. I learnt key skills with IT programmes, including Microsoft Office, which I had believed myself fully capable with until I began the internship. Doing 'Geography' for my degree, funnily enough I learnt nothing to assist in my studies.

I was in different offices and it varied between them. One had a very busy atmosphere and the people there were a lot of fun but it was a pressured environment at the same time, which I liked. Another office was a lot quieter and the atmosphere wasn't so great, but the people were still very nice which made up for it.

It wasn't that well organised. We were only told two weeks before the internship began where we would be located and offices were all over the country, which didn't give a lot of time to find a place to live. My internship was good because I was lucky to be in the team I was rather than the organisational aspect.

I don't feel that the company itself invested that much, it was more individuals in my team who had input in my development and made the effort to ensure I had tasks that would be beneficial for me. In ten weeks it's difficult as a company to invest much time in your development though, this is more applicable to the grad scheme.

I am going on the Grad scheme, mainly because it is well paid. The opportunity to progress through the company through this scheme is also good and you move onto a good role very quickly after the scheme.

We organised nights out every week and also dinners and lunches, so I really enjoyed the social life on the scheme. Numbers did deplete as the summer went on though, and in the end there was only a small number of us going out on Fridays, which was a bit annoying. But I made some really good friends that I'm still in touch with and we still meet up since the internship ended.

Living was fine because we had a flat in London already. Food is obviously quite expensive and alcohol extremely expensive. We managed to find places with decent happy hours though, which made it a but more affordable, but most of the money I aimed to save went on nights out...

Being London, night life was obviously great. Also discovering all the bars in the City which I hadn't really been to before was great and they all had a really good atmosphere. As always, wish the tube didn't stop so early because it meant most people left by midnight to get trains home.

I helped out on a charity day which was nice and it meant I met members of the team who were based outside London and it was interesting working with them on something that wasn't office based. Plus it was a day out the office and got a night in a hotel. The only other activities I can think of was after work drinks with members of the team, which is always a good activity.