Downstream Commercial Review

I really enjoyed my summer internship. I was given a very interesting project with large responsibility that also gave me the ability to be creative whilst learning a lot. The working environment was great, the people were very friendly and the location was amazing.

As I had a large responsibility and regular deadlines, this meant my team really relied on me doing my part and therefore appreciated my efforts. The regular feedback gave a formal time for colleagues to recognise the work you have done.

Despite my manager being on summer holiday and sometimes being based home, I had so much support. She always called, checked how I was finding things and was very understanding and always happy to explain things.

I always had something to be getting on with but I was still able to make sure I had time to meet people from across the business and visit other Shell buildings in London.

I was given a lot of responsibility and at first I was a bit daunted about how much I was given because, I was expecting to go into more of an analytical position with my Chemistry background, but I was put on a very creative project which meant I was able to learn so much.

My project was completely different to my degree (Chemistry) and I was expecting to go into more of an analytical role, but instead ended up in a very creative position. I was really thankful as this gave me an opportunity to build up other important skills I will need after my degree.

Great atmosphere, busy and lots of talking on headsets but really friendly and supportive.

After hearing that I had passed the assessment process in October, I didn't hear anything concrete until May. This happened because Shell make sure they give you a real project, not just an intern role so they can't give you anything until they know for sure which departments have a position available. Whilst this meant that all interns got given projects that were better than you would expect from an internship, I was very worried about whether they would find a position for me.

There was no set training program, but you are always made aware about developing personal skills. As my project was very flexible, when I noticed that I needed to develop certain office skills my manager encouraged me to do what I thought was best to develop it. For example, I was initially nervous about leading group discussions so I then was given the role of leading the weekly presentation and summary for my team to give me more confidence. Also, at the end of your internship, HR provide you with feedback they have collected from over your internship to tell you about your strengths and weaknesses to work on which was very useful as I find self evaluation hard.

Great company to work for.

Big graduate community always organising lots of events, lots of people to socialise with after work.

Southbank in summer is lots of fun and they have amazing food markets and lots of bars pop up in the evenings. Not too expensive.

Lots of bars

Lots of company sports games and gym classes