Strategy and Operations Review

I thoroughly enjoyed my placement at HP - I was given a high level of responsibility and the opportunity to work in a professional environment has greatly developed my skills. The opportunities that my placement have offered me have greatly enhanced my skill set and prepared me for my future career. I feel confident in a professional environment and feel in a much better position to get a job after graduating.

I was treated as a valued, permanent member of my team. I was valued by my colleagues and felt comfortable asking anyone for help.

I had a weekly one to one meeting with my manager to align on what I was working with and gave me opportunity to ask any questions and receive guidance. I was assigned a mentor and had regular calls with them to discuss my development and possible career paths after my internship. Their knowledge and experience of the business was really valuable and helped me throughout the year.

No two days were the same during my placement. I was able to balance my workload well and through my weekly one to one meetings with my manager, I was able to discuss my workload to ensure the best use of my time.

During my placement, I ran monthly programme calls and lead projects. I had full responsibility of these and was relied on by the teams giving me a huge amount of responsibility.

The skills I have developed throughout this year will help me in every aspect of my degree studies. I have developed my writing skills, confidence, and project management as well as many more.

The office is a corporate environment but there is a very friendly atmosphere. HP operate an 'open door policy' meaning everyone is happy to be approached if you are in need of any help

HP's internship scheme is well established and therefore is set up really well. Halls of residence are booked for the first month and there is an intern committee each year which brings together all the interns and focuses on fundraising, offering the interns more than just their job role.

HP organise Intern Development talks with senior management throughout the year and have both online and offline training courses to help you develop your skills.

If you do well in your placement year and network well, you can be fast tracked through some of the recruitment process for graduate schemes. The opportunities to shadow other areas of the organisation throughout the year allow interns to find out what areas of the business they want to come back into.

With a community of approximately 70 interns, there is a great social scene. Interns are put in halls for the first month of placement to get to know each other and then move into houses. Every year, the interns organise an intern handover ball and nights out are organised throughout the year as part of the intern committee. There are also team dinners and nights out throughout the year.

The intern committee organises fundraising activities both in and outside of work. Every year, interns are invited to take part in the Three Peaks Challenge which is the biggest fundraising event.