This review was submitted over 4 years ago, so some of the information it contains may no longer be relevant.
Rating
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The Role
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The Company
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The Culture
- 1. To what extent did you enjoy your work placement or internship?
- 2. To what extent did you feel valued by your colleagues?
- 3. To what extent were you given support and guidance by management/your supervisor(s)?
- 4. How busy were you on a daily basis?
- 5. How much responsibility were you given during your placement?
- 6. To what extent did/will the skills you developed, and training you received, assist you in your degree studies and beyond?
- 7. What was the general atmosphere in your office?
- 8. How well organised was the overall work placement or internship set up?
- 9. In terms of personal training and development, to what extent did the company or firm invest in you?
- 10. What were the perks on your work placement?
- 11. How appealing are future employment prospects within the organisation?
- 12. Was there a good social scene amongst any fellow placement students/colleagues?
- 13. What was the cost of living and socialising in the area you worked in?
- 14. What was the Nightlife like in the area you worked?
- 15. Were there many opportunities to get involved in activities outside of work?
The Role
Very enjoyable. Treated like one of the team and was put to work straight away. This wasn't a 'make me a cup of tea' internship. It was working for a professional company within a professional yet enjoyable atmosphere.
Very valued. From day one you were put to work on really clients. You were an intern but expected to produce the same quality work as a graduate. If you did so, you were praised and welcomed into your team. There were also some good incentives with working hard like going to a T20 cricket match on the Friday evening social with your work colleagues.
You were assigned both a 'buddy' and a 'supervisor'. Your buddy was a graduate in their 2nd year who you could quickly bond with whilst they taught you the ropes. Your supervisor was essentially the person that kept you in check to make sure you were doing the right things, but also getting as much out of your internship as possible. My supervisor and I were able to organise for me to go down to the London office for my final week of my placement, just to see how the office environment differed at the head office.
Fairly busy. If I wasn't in the office I would be out on site at a client. In my 6 weeks internship I was in my regional office for 3 weeks, at the various client sites for 2 weeks, then in London the final week. There was always work to do regardless of your location. As I say you were there to work, not just pass the time.
A lot! You were entrusted with sensitive information about clients that you had to put into various formats correctly. The calculations that you did had to be accurate as they would eventually be seen by the clients' stakeholders. Apart from this you were trusted to approach the clients and gain the correct information when needed. Failure to do this would mean another person would need to do the job for you which was not possible with some of the time constraints.
The skills that I learnt during my placement are invaluable for my future career. Looking forward it will be these analytical, communication and team work skills that I have learnt that will see me in good steed for the future. In terms of how my internship will help with my degree, the advanced excel and report writing skills will be of great benefit for my extended masters degree.
The Company
Really good atmosphere. The office environment was always professional but you could still talk and have a laugh. There weren't any major rules, providing you got the work done and to a good standard you were free to chat away.
Very well organised. All of the regional office interns had a 3 day induction in Manchester where we learnt about the company as well as it's key morals and future targets. We also participated in a very well organised CSR day at the local community garden. Apart from that, the student requirement team kept in contact throughout the internship to make sure you were enjoying the placement but also getting the most out of your 6 weeks.
Each intern was able to shadow a senior partner for a day. As well as this you were encouraged to learn as much as possible about the job roles so you were allowed to take time out of your day to ask fellow employees about their individual roles.
Flexi Time
Subsidised Canteen
Sports and Social Club
Company Parties/Events
Very appealing. The conversion rate to graduate schemes is around the 70% mark. I have been lucky enough to be offered a graduate scheme role that I have accepted happily
The Culture
Yes very good social atmosphere. You wee given a budget provided by the student recruitment team that meant you and your fellow interns within your office could go out at do various activities together. My office interns decided to go bowling one evening to get to know each other a bit better.
Fairly cheap. Leeds was not an expensive place to go out for lunch with your supervisor or go for some drinks after work with your colleagues.
Good. Although you had to pick the right places to go and on what night. Some inside knowledge would have been good.
Yes. Most Fridays you could go out with your team to a local cricket match. There were also opportunities to join a 6-aside football team on a Thursday evening.
Details
Internship (1 Month+)
Actuary, Audit
Yorkshire and Humberside
June 2015