Food Summer Intern Review

I really enjoyed my summer at Tesco. It was my first time within such a large business organisation and I feel that the jobs and the role I was given were at the correct level for me to learn whilst still feeling like I was making a contribution to the team within which I was working.

At the beginning of the internship I struggled to see where I was able to make a tangible contribution within my team however as time progressed my level of responsibility also increased. This meant that I was able to see the value I was adding, and I also very much felt valued by my colleagues and part of the team.

There were two avenues of support and guidance during the internship. The first was by the central early careers team who were responsible for our induction, and for the various development days. They were also available for support and guidance if we needed it. The second was from the people in my team and my manager. I very much felt supported within my team and always had someone to talk to if I wanted to. This went much further than professional support and I believe that the people in my team went above and beyond in their guidance and support of me.

Day to day I had the right amount of work in general. There were points in which I felt I wasn't doing enough however as soon as I flagged this to a member of my team I was given realistic and manageable tasks to complete and I then felt much happier that I was making more of a contribution and I was happy with my workload.

From about half way during my summer I was astounded at the responsibility I was given and I believe it is this that has made me gain so much from the internship. Instead of doing jobs that people may perceive an intern to do, I was given a real job which allowed a real insight into the job alongside both development of hard and soft skills.

I think that I will now approach tasks and situations in my final year at university and beyond differently after doing the internship. I am much more aware of the skills I need to improve and things I need to work on and I am making steps to do this, and I can now also take all of the new skills I have gained into my approach from now on.

The atmosphere in the office was a lot less corporate than I expected and although I have never been in an office environment before I was surprised at how relaxed it was and how sociable people were with each other.

The internship was very well set up as there were many different levels of organisation. There was the central early careers team who organised the intern induction week including the store placement and development days. Each of us had a buddy and a line manager who were there for advice and support within our individual teams and who got in contact with us before we started the internship. We also had a people person assigned to the food interns specifically who arranged sessions and days which were specific to us.

I feel that a lot of consideration was given to our development as we had multiple development days and sessions. I feel that people cared about my development and listened when there were things I wanted to work on and helped me with my development of these specifically.

At the end of the internship we had a sign off meeting in which we presented our perspective of our summer at Tesco, and this was then followed by a few questions. We were then asked to leave the room whilst it was decided whether they would like to prioritise us for a position on the graduate scheme with no further assessment centres or interviews

There was a great social scene amongst the interns and this played a massive part in my enjoyment of the internship. Whilst this was mainly organised between ourselves, this was very much encouraged by the early careers team. It is great as I now consider the other interns great friends and we have already met up after the internship and have plans to visit each other at university. During the internship it was also great to have people to chat to outwith our teams that were going through similar experiences.

It was quite expensive living costs as I was renting in Hertfordshire, and most socialising was done in London.

Where we worked there is not great nightlife however the close proximity to London means great opportunity for a variety of activities.

The early careers team were great for encouraging us to socialise with the other interns and other early careers delegates with challenge teams and a sports day. I also went out with my team on a team day and on leaving do's