Business IT Intern Review

I enjoyed a few projects and the training events however most of the days I was given administrative tasks which I didn't enjoy because I felt that they didn't really give me the opportunity to develop many transferable skills. Overall the placement didn’t meet most of my initial expectations.

I felt positively valued by most of the people and was treated with respect. However I rarely felt part of the "team" and at times I even felt isolated and left out.

I didn't have a mentor and my first manager was often travelling or unavailable so I managed to have only a single 1 to 1 in 10 months after I asked for it for several times. In general the management support felt limited and rarely anything more than a quick answer. On the positive side I did receive a lot of support from my co-workers especially from the other interns and graduates.

For the first 6 months after the initial training I was not very busy and I felt like I could have been involved in more projects. After that I started to take more on and volunteered for tasks that could fill the gaps in the day. I had periods where I had to stay extra time in order to complete all of my tasks.

I was responsible for specific admin functions which were important for the internal business. I felt that the level of responsibilities assigned to me was average and limited to small and specific tasks.

I believe that I will be able to take a few skills and use them in my future although the limited variety of tasks given to me only let me expand my knowledge in a small number of topics. I felt as if the majority of the knowledge was gained from my curiosity and research rather than specific opportunities for training.

The atmosphere was generally positive especially for special occasions like birthdays. There wasn't too much tension or major disturbances around me but other than that the office felt very average to me and with nothing too special/different.

The placement was not as structured and monitored as it could be. I feel as if a lot of the tasks were assigned to me without any specific attention to the bigger picture of my personal development. The interns workshops were well organized considering that this was the first year of the program.

Myself and the other interns had the opportunity to attend a few training workshops in different locations. These events were aimed to teach us transferable skills for our future and show the company's commitment to develop and retain its new and future workforce. These initiatives were certainly very positive although I wish we could have attended a few more. On the other hand the training locally in the office felt very limited.

Personally not very appealing in the same role as I realized that it wasn't what I was looking for but other divisions of the company seemed to be more interesting and suited to my background with roles that I will certainly consider in my future professional career.

Yes the social scene was positive as we tried to bond with each other and organized a few social events that brought us (interns and grads) closer. There were a few formal occasions to socialize with the other colleagues but it was mostly all self organized without any formal involvement of the company.

The cost of living would be considerably lower than other cities like London although rent can be very expensive if the accommodation is in a central area and/or not shared. In terms of socializing costs there are many venues and restaurants with prices to suit every pocket.

Bournemouth is very renowned for its active nightlife and being very close to the office in Poole you can live there and commute or if you live in Poole you can easily share a taxi to go to the clubs in Bournemouth.

There were some language classes and a few volunteering opportunities and weekly football games but other than that not much on offer seemed particularly structured or promoted to everyone.