HR/Schools & Education Intern Review

The placement gave me an opportunity to see what happens behind the scenes at a big company. The biggest thing I have gained is recognizing the importance of the psychological aspect to work, how people behave within an organization. Here I have seen the importance of networking and communication skills to create long-term and positive relationships and how this can influence the work I do and the positions people are able to go to within the company. I have also had the opportunity to travel for business, meaning I have met people fro all kinds of positions and backgrounds and at the same time seen the different areas in engineering at Siemens. From Healthcare to Energy Management.

All employees appreciate the work an Intern does, and are always very happy when one shows initiative. Employees especially my Line Manager made sure I was included in the most important areas related to my job. For example from being invited to events to being informed on the latest development.

The support was perfect because I had the luck of sitting directly next to my line manager which often does not happen in an intern role. This always ensures regular communication which not only helped me perform my tasks but also was essential in keeping a good relationship with my manager. This obviously meant I was supported whenever I needed it.

The answer to this depends , someone else in my role may think differently, it depends by the person. Personally I didn't feel I was extremely busy for prolonged periods of time. This is because there was always balance in terms of workload as my Line Manger likes to focus on quality over quantity.

I believe I was given a fair amount. I increased this by showing personal areas of strength and general initiative. At Siemens HR has now implemented something called the Ownership Culture which allows employees to gain full control of a particular aspect of their job. I was given total control over a project related to my Job Description but also over another project which was not initially part of my role.

Most importantly I have recognized the importance of communication skills and that this isn't simply about contributing to a discussion but it is about how you do this. Therefore I have seen that a lot of communication is about reading in between the lines, and so interpreting correctly what you read and hear and then responding in relation to that. This I believe is a crucial element to progressing in a company which is the main reason I chose to do a degree. I have also seen the negatives and positives of working in a big organization which will increase my knowledge for my last year. Through both the positives and negatives I have now a better idea of what I would like to go into in the future.

Relaxed and friendly. Maybe a bit quiet at times.

Well organized, there was a good handover period from the previous intern which allowed me to understand my role a bit more.

We take part in an Intern Development Programme which aims to improve our teamwork, presentation and career skills which was good. This also included a personality test which helped me understand the kind of person I am and what types of jobs are best for me.

Not good within HR, as there isn't a HR graduate scheme. There are other business graduate roles but they are not related to what I done on placement. This is an area that is lacking, which Siemens is trying to improve. However I would have the advantage of having the company name on my CV , get an internal reference and I get to skip one of the stages of the recruitment process. But generally you still have to fill an application form , do a video interview and go to an assessment centre.

Yes. We have a group called NextUK which is similar to a society at university which aims to bring young graduates, interns and apprentices together by organizing events. This does differ between different Siemens sites though.

Housing is cheaper than down south , the rest is the same.

Well it's Manchester , so it's good!

Yes , there are always a lot of volunteering opportunities.