Sales and Operations Intern Review

I feel like I have come away from Verizon having had a valuable experience that has been both challenging and enjoyable. I have been given excellent opportunities and had a good balance of work-load and development. The time has been enjoyable because of a number of factors including; the people, the varying activities and supportive culture.

Working in a sales team meant people were often out the office with clients, despite this I felt well supported throughout my time. and valued by the sales team I worked with. The other placement students also provided a good support base and interaction throughout the year as we were able to discuss challenges we were facing

My management valued the input I had and were willing to give me guidance when I needed it. When I was proactive I felt that the team were willing to give me opportunities in areas that interested me. When I struggled with things I always had people I could ask for advice.

During my time I had a day-to-day job role that I was responsible for, this took a lot of my time but also gave me opportunities to get involved with project work. If I had time spare, there was a large selection of personal development training available which meant I always had things to be doing.

At the beginning of my placement I was not expecting to be given lots of responsibility. Despite this, as I learnt how Verizon operated and began to understand business processes, opportunities for further degrees of responsibility began to open up. I was given a customer facing role which enabled me to learn how to conduct myself in a professional and business-like manor., I was given the opportunity to be involved with sales reporting and meeting committed figures.

I feel the skills I have developed during my time will be valuable for me going forward in my degree but more importantly, my future career. With Verizon being a multi-national company, I have gained a good experience of using basic business applications but also how to operate and get things done in a large organisation. I have also had the opportunity to go on highly respected training courses to broaden my skills base in skills such as presenting.

The atmosphere in the office was often quiet but this was the nature of working in a sales team. Despite this, there was always a good number of people around to discuss and socialise with.

The placement was well organised and structured in a way that made goals and objectives clear and achievable. I felt that I was also pushed and challenged to reach my highest ability.

The company invested in a lot in me and sent me on expensive training courses. As well as this, high level individuals within the company gave us valuable time and in-site into their experience.

Job prospects within the company are good if you complete a successful placement. A graduate scheme has recently been started giving opportunities to move up in the company quickly.

There was some social scene amongst placement students but limited due to the fact that we were living in different locations.

The cost of living in Reading and surrounding areas is expensive but there is a good student scene in the area because of the university

Despite not living in Reading, I know there is a good variety of places to go out to suit different tastes.

There was some opportunities to play sport outside of work but these were limited and ran fairly irregularly