Language Intern Review

The internship was very well structured and challenging yet not intimidating. It was a fantastic opportunity to use my language skills in a business environment and also to develop new skills, particularly in accounting. Being responsible for an entire project and seeing it run from start to finish was extremely rewarding and made me feel I was part of the company, rather than just an intern. I was also given excellent support by all of my colleagues, in particular my 'buddy' who was a fantastic support throughout the internship.

Everybody was very welcoming and friendly and I felt that I was treated with the same respect as the permanent employees from day one. I attended team meetings with the rest of my colleagues and instantly felt like part of the company.

I had weekly meetings with my manager to discuss my progress and any queries and he provided fantastic guidance whilst still leaving me to make the decisions and lead my project. The buddy system in particular was excellent in providing support; my buddy was extremely helpful and it was great having someone to talk to who understood exactly how I was feeling. I could talk to my buddy in confidence and knew that I would not be judged.

On the whole I was also busy with my project and when I had completed my initial project brief I was able to expand the project, meaning I was never bored. Sometimes I felt I could not move forward with the project because I was waiting for email responses or return phone calls, particularly as it was a summer internship and many people were out of office, however in this time I was able to complete online accounting training that was made available to me.

Although slightly daunting at first, the amount of responsibility I was given is probably what I enjoyed most about the internship. Being responsible for an entire project meant I learnt skills in many different areas, and it was extremely rewarding seeing my project through from start to finish and knowing that it had benefited the company. Having responsibility for my project from the beginning made me feel valued as a colleague and not just an intern.

I furthered my language skills by using them in a business environment and improved my communication skills, both of which helped me during my final year at university. I also learnt new accounting skills, commercial awareness, computer skills (SAP, Excel), how to adapt to a business environment and networking skills. I consider all of these to be vital skills that will no doubt be of use to me in the future.

The working atmosphere was excellent. Everybody worked extremely hard at their desks but there were also plenty of rest areas to use when you needed a break which had comfortable seating, coffee areas and even a Nintendo Wii!

I knew exactly how it would be structured from the beginning which made it easier to stick to deadlines. Two weeks of training was provided which was great to help my settle in and to teach my the basics of accounting and the final week was spent on my final presentation, leaving 7 weeks to complete my project.

I was given training sessions at the start of the internship, as well as online courses to complete to further my knowledge throughout the internship.

I was offered a permanent job and will start working there this year.

Great - I was introduced to the other interns at the beginning of the internship and we completed training together. We met for lunch most days and travelled to work together. It was good to get to know others in the same position. There was also a staff Family Fun Day that we were all invited to and a Summer Fete.

Fairly cheap as it is a student city.

Great - once again it is a student city and there is a huge variety of enterntainment available.

Yes: Family Fun Day, language courses, lunchtime walks, salsa classes.