Accounting internship Review

It was okay and an interesting experience. However, although I applied for a finance internship, I was only given accounting tasks (I didn't have a chance to learn more about controlling). I did enjoy some tasks and I had the opportunity to understand what accounting really is about. Moreover, I learnt some new excel skills and to use the programme SAP.

They were really nice, understanding and helpful. Although they did not have a lot of tasks for me, they always tried to find work for me. They took their time to explain different things to me, and at the end I even got a present for my help. I really felt like I was welcome (though not a very big help).

The team leader tried to give me tasks, but was quite busy. There was not always enough work (or at least work that I could do), so sometimes she just told me to sit down and do something independently. That was a bit disappointing. However, she always tried to explain various tasks and different things about the company to me.

Usually I was quite bored as there were not enough tasks that I could not. I had no previous knowledge of SAP or any other accounting related things. Thus, I was not really of use for them. They gave me some data to copy (around 700 pages!!), but that was better than being bored. Also, they explained to me why the copying was important, and I absolutely understand that they didn't do it themselves.

There was one bank related task they gave me, which was quite important. However, I could not really do it by myself, as it was very complicated and I had never done something similar before. The rest of my tasks was quite unimportant. Other tasks involved proofreading, copying or other organization related things.

I think that I learnt some very relevant things. For example, I learnt some new excel skills (which will definitely be useful later on!). Also, I had the chance to learn about SAP, how it works and what it is used for. I am not sure if I developed any skills though. Maybe some communicational skills, however, most time I spent on independent work on my own desk.

Everyone was very nice and helpful. It was a great atmosphere and I was getting along with all of my colleagues. Maybe the manager was not as approachable, but that did not really matter for me, as he was on holiday for most of my internship. We went for lunch together every day and we did also talk about private stuff, which was quite nice.

The internship was not organized at all. Already on the first day there were not enough tasks to keep me busy, so that I spent like four hours browsing through the internet. Also, nobody told me when to leave (or come to work in the morning), so I was really confused for the first few days.

The firm did not seem to care about personal training or development. I did not have any sessions or other workshops that could have been useful for me as a person. To be honest, I think the firm was not really interested in me. However, everyone was nice and tried to get me involved. That gave me the chance to develop. But the company did not care a lot and invest nothing.

I think that General Motors would be interesting as a future employer, however, I would probably not reapply for finance. In general, GM offers many different opportunities all around the world and that's what interests me the most. They're involved in Europe as well as the US and so on. That gives a lot of opportunities. Also, it seemed to me as there are good career opportunities.

I only met two other interns on the first day, that was it. There were no other opportunities to talk to them. That was unfortunate, as it would have been great to talk about our experiences at the end of the placement. However, there were not a lot of interns in general, so it was probably not worth while to organize a meeting.

I was close enough to home, so I stayed in my own room during the internship. That was a big advantage. Socializing in the area was affordable, but I would not say that it is very cheap. I do not think that GM would have helped with finding accommodation, most interns (probably all) seemed to live at home.

Next to or in the area of the company directly there is no nightlife. For more nightlife you would probably need to get more into the city, but as I did not really meet any other interns, I also did not go clubbing or socializing after work.

There were no opportunities to get involved. There might have been some opportunities for the other employees, but I'm not completely sure anymore. There was nothing on offer for interns and we also were not really involved in what other employees did.