Digital Product Assistant Review

I thoroughly enjoyed my placement. I was given a lot of responsibility from day one and had complete ownership of my project. Everyone across the business was always very supportive and there were many development opportunities. They offered free accommodation which meant most of us interns lived in the same place, which was very good for socialising.

I was never seen as “just a summer intern”. My colleagues treated me as part of the team and were always very supportive. There were many post-work outings to mingle outside the work environment.

My line manager was an absolute star. He always made himself available and was happy to help when I needed. He challenged me with hard tasks and always gave me detailed feedback to aid on my development.

My project was very dependent on many stakeholders so there were moments when I was crazily busy and some others when I found myself with spare time in my hands. This allowed me to take on many shadowing opportunities and to learn more about the business. There were a few days I had to work until late to meet deadlines but in general it was a solid 9-5 job that allowed plenty of time to enjoy the summer evenings and weekends.

I had complete ownership of my project and was accountable for anything that went right or wrong with it. My line manager offered me support if I asked but all final decisions and presentations were made by me.

Managing many stakeholders and projects greatly improved my time management skills which I believe is going to be key on my final year at university. The excel training is also going to be helpful for my dissertation and university projects. I also believe there was a lot of personal development. I became more self-aware of the impact of my actions on others and that’s a skill for life!

One of the projects I was supporting involved working across two different offices. In one of them there was a more serious atmosphere, especially because my team was spread around different building so I didn’t use to sit next to many people I knew. On the other office people were very chatty and there was always something going on.

We only found out were we’d be placed very close to the date we moved which was very annoying to sort out travel arrangements. However during the placement everything was very well structured. We were informed of all the important dates on the induction day and received weekly e-mails with all the important things that were going to happen on the following week. We also had to keep a record of our progress in a document, which was very helpful to keep track of everything I did during the 10 weeks.

There weren’t many opportunities for technical training apart from an excel training session. There were more activities aimed at team building skills. Everyone in the business was very helpful though so if you needed help you’d easily find some support.

They have a very well structured graduate scheme. At the final week of the placement you present the work you’ve done to a graduate talent board, which then decides which interns are going to be offered positions on the graduate scheme. Sometimes there’re further interviews to assess this.

Most of us were living on the same university halls which was great for socialising. We did many things together such as day trips to cities nearby, bowling, going to the pub and to nights out or just chilling and chatting in the kitchen after work.

We didn't pay rent or bills but the pubs in our area were generally expensive for what they offered. The university we stayed at was quite isolated as well so we had to spend quite a bit of money in taxis.

There was no nightlife where our accommodation was. The closest night scene was Windsor which was also quite expensive for what if offers. Going into London for a night out was far too expensive for a student budget.

I had many social opportunities outside of work. The interns were always up for doing something and my team had many social activities as well. The company organised a barbecue for the interns so we could get to know each other on the second week and I also attended two barbecues that were organised for my team.