Food Intern Review

Overall, the placement was a great experience. I learnt a lot on a personal level - on how I work best, work in a team and about Tesco as a company – its culture and the retail industry. I felt the tasks and projects given were suitable and my interests in them were considered.

My line manager, team and colleagues were friendly and supportive throughout the internship. I was invited to weekly team meetings, sent all the team emails and asked to attend any relevant meetings or insights with other colleagues which were useful to my tasks.

I feel a good support network is given by Tesco in terms of communication to the interns as a cohort and for any questions you may want to ask (not so specifically related your role but about Tesco as an organisation). The two main lines of support were : the Early Careers Team and HR Team. My Line Manager, team, grad buddy, Early Careers Team and People Person were all regularly in contact with the me. My Line Manager booked 1:1’s with me check progress and the Early Careers team would be in office in a open session for a hat once a week.

On average, I would say fairly busy. My timetable was adjusted by myself, in where some things were set on a weekly basis, such as team meetings and other meetings were booked between myself and colleagues – this could change quickly and on the day. Tasks varied in terms of skill but I feel were set were at the right level and responsibility.

Tasks varied a lot – but I was surprised by the amount of responsibility given. Some of the tasks I were given, (although small at times) could potentially have a big impact on the customers, if information was incorrect and may have greater implications for the team to correct them.

The most useful skill improved was interpersonal and team work. Looking back, I think this was a crucial skill to learn, as it’s different in the work place compared to University. The Early Careers Team also provided “development days” to help emphasise qualities they like to see in leaders and was good to be aware of this for any type of job opportunity.

Day to day, the office was a good working environment. Some days were quieter as several teams were out of office on day visits or at other meetings. If I had to work with colleagues from different teams, all were easy to work with and happy to help me out.

The internship was well organised and run by the Early Careers Team and People Team. Early Careers made regular communication in the run up to the internship by letter, email and setting up of a Facebook group. We had several development days placed throughout the programme, an ongiong “intern challenge,” meetings with directors and a celebration event at the end, which made it a lot more interesting and fun.

Tesco were great at focusing on our personal development, by running the intern development days with guest speakers and activities to complete with the other interns helping us to develop our skills. I was invited to attend an upkill and training session by one of Tesco’s marketing agencies to be familiar with the software and essentially be able to use it to complete my project. There were also several “taster sessions” organised for the interns to explore other related areas of the job, to know what future aspects of roles may include.

Having completed and enjoyed the internship with Tesco, this has given me a good view of the company and retail/grocer market. The graduate scheme is a very good starting point for a career in this area and I’m sure will offer good training on the scheme building on what I’ve learnt from the internship.

The social side of work was really good, as we had two social reps nominate themselves forward to organise events without interference from the Tesco team. This was a great way to enjoy time outside of office, mostly in central London.

I was in the Cheshunt office and cost of renting was fairly expensive as was travel. Socialising in Cheshunt (although there aren’t many places to go) was much cheaper than central – but most of the socials were in London.

Nightlife wasn’t great in the area, mainly a few pubs near the office. The train into London was the best option.

Other activities we were invited to were sports days, function day and our Intern Charity Challenge.