Partnership Marketing & Community Engagement Review

My internship has made me realise what i want to do after university. It has given me an insight into the day to day work in an office environment as well as the range of different sectors within the area i was working in. My internship was really interesting and I enjoyed it more than i anticipated.

My colleagues made me feel welcome from the start. The area in which i worked in was very relaxed and they made me feel like i was an actual colleague rather than just an intern. They trusted me with different tasks and would always ask me how i am or how i was doing, and showed a genuine interest in me.

My line manager supported me to ensure I was able to do my projects. The stake holders i was involved with provided me with support and guidance throughout the entirety off the assigned projects. My manager was around and available to talk to the vast majority of time and ensured that we had weekly catch ups and that i was achieving the things i wanted to, for instance setting up shadow days.

Some days I had no work or I had finished the assigned tasks really quickly whereas other days I had many deadlines and felt under pressure to get the work finished. I would have preferred to always have something to do, without the pressure of numerous deadlines at the same time.

I was given a lot of responsibility for instance creating content for new websites as well as project managing my own project which involved liaising with external stakeholders. I was also given the responsibility of creating social media posts for our facebook and twitter accounts.

The skills which i have developed will greatly help me in my degree, for instance creating content for the websites meant i had to re-draft and re-read which will be essential when i come to write my dissertation. It has also provided me with new confidence when it comes to taking the lead which i should be able to implement during presentations in university and during my career.

The atmosphere was very relaxed and people were very friendly. There were always people having a laugh and you were made to feel at home. The dress code for our office wasnt too strict which enhanced the way in which you were made to feel comfortable.

My internship was very slow to get going when i started however this was due to the nature of the work, as my projects were not active yet. In terms of finding out where i was going to be based, it was very last minute and I would have preferred to find out sooner,

Lloyds banking group provided me with a lot of opportunities, I have been able to go to edinburgh to see our offices there as well as being able to go to the children in need offices which i would not be able to do if i wasnt on the internship. They have also made sure that i have visited the areas i want to for instance digital and the PR offices.

Next year I have another internship at Lloyds and i hope to be in the same area again, as this is the area i would most like to get a job in. I would like to be accepted onto the GCA graduate scheme after another internship with them next year.

All of the other interns were mainly in the same accommodation therefore we socialised on a regular basis, from nights out to doing tourist things in London. With colleagues we had after work drinks on some occasions or work lunches.

For me, I felt that it was really expensive to socialise the majority of the time, However this is because I am not used to London (or southern) prices. Although, i didnt let this stop me from going out i just didnt go out as frequently as i would in university.

The nightlife was good however it was very expensive especially since we were students. although regardless of this, we were able to have a good time, and a lot of the time we were able to walk to the clubs or the bars.

As the interns were all in the same location we would go out for after work drinks or for a meal or go to the tourist attractions. There was always something to do whether after work or on the weekends. All of the interns made the effort with each other as we were all away from home with no family or friends near us in most cases.