Project and Process Management Review

I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at HP and have gained many skills and attributes that I will take with me throughout my career.

I worked amongst a fantastic team at HP, everyone was very welcoming and gave me the time to develop into my role. Once I progressed into the role I was seen as a full time employee and became a vital asset to the team. My team were always looking to push me into different areas of the business.

I was always given help and guidance by my team, if ever I had any issues or questions at all. I had regular face to face meetings with my host manager on a weekly basis, as well as a half year review to reflect on my yearly objectives, and a chance to set new goals for the remainder of the year. All interns were assigned a mentor a few months into the internship that provided guidance from outside the team. It also gave us a chance to learn more about the company itself.

As the course of my internship progressed, I was exposed to more projects and consequently acquired more responsibilities. The project work would come in peaks and troughs, but I would also have a consistent level of work to balance alongside it. The internship has given me a great experience in balancing my workload and what it is like to work in a corporate environment.

The responsibility I have at HP is great, from day one I was trusted with numerous tasks to help develop my role in the team. I worked on a number of different projects that have had a great effect on the company and have been assigned project manager on many smaller projects. I was also lucky enough to take the lead on hiring the new intern for my role.

I have been exposed to real-life scenarios that sometimes are hard to understand at University from a textbook or in lectures until you see them pan out in reality. This has helped enormously in my critical ability to analyze situations and not always take them at face-value. I have experienced what is like to work in a virtual team and tackle the issues with barriers to communication. The software skills I have developed will benefit me greatly in my future career.

General atmosphere was great, there is a varied mix of employees at the site that I was located. I sat at a 'hot desk' amongst other interns which was very beneficial if I ever struggled with a task they would be willing to provide their advice. The site embraces the value of interns so this helps with the overall atmosphere. There were also many events held by interns or the organization outside of work that I was encouraged to take part in.

Very well set up, my team have had a steady flow of interns each year and are very experienced in the internship procedure.

There has been many chances to get involved in different training events across my time at HP. My skills in software tools have improved dramatically and I have become a lot more confident in my role.

Future employment prospects are great within HP if you perform well and exceed expectations on your internship. There is a great graduate scheme in operation that is very appealing.

Yes there is a great social scenes amongst interns at the company from day one. There was always something taking place every weekend and we were provided charity targets at the start of the year which we had to meet. I have had the opportunity to take part in climbing the 02 and completing the 3 peaks challenge to raise money for different charities. At the end of the year a intern handover ball takes place to welcome the new interns and celebrate the year as a whole.

All interns lived together in shared houses based in Reading. The cost of living was reasonable and the nightlife in Reading was great.

Reading was good for nights out, there are many restaurants, bars and clubs and we also had the student union which we were able to use during term time.

There are many opportunities to get involved in outside of work. HP have YEN - Young Enterprise Network which held events on a regular basis. There are also many charity events such as the 3 peak challenge, 02 climb and Palace to Palace. We also had a HP intern football team where we competed against other companies such as; Waitrose, Dell, Microsoft, Fujitsu.