Marketing Intern Review

Really enjoyed the year. Had a wide range of responsibilities (which is exactly what I wanted) as well as lots of intern-specific opportunities to get involved in outside my core role. A great place to work with a good company culture and friendly team. A big challenge but fantastic learning opportunity.

A very friendly place to work. Microsoft have the philosophy of 'come as you are, do what you love' and I genuinely felt that within the company. You are never looked down on just because you are an intern - in fact many people see that as an opportunity for you to get involved and learn new things, as they want to help you on your year.

This varied throughout the year, and from talking to other interns it seemed to be inconsistent between us. Some interns received lots of support / weekly 1-2-1's / mentoring etc, whereas others received significantly less. I often had to actively seek out the support rather than me receiving it automatically. The start of the internship was a particularly challenging time, and I didn't receive much support/training for my role which made it difficult, but once I became settled and more comfortable, I was more confident at seeking out support and knowing what questions to ask.

As I progressed throughout the internship, my responsibilities became greater and therefore took up more of my time. At the start of the internship, I often found myself with lots of spare time, but this is only natural as you are still learning the ropes and getting to know the company.

At the start, I didn't have a lot of responsibility and often found myself with little to do, but as the months went by I was gradually given more and more responsibilities. I never felt like I was treated as just "the intern" and given boring tasks - it was great being able to contribute to big projects and see the direct impact as a result of my work.

I think the main thing you learn from the year is general work ethic and professionalism, which is something uni can't teach you. Hopefully I will keep up the routine in final year - time will tell! I also feel a lot more confident at approaching tasks that I am unsure of and learning how to deal with set-backs and challenges.

Very friendly atmosphere at work. It had more of a casual, be-yourself style which I enjoyed, and it was great working with a wide range of people from not only within my team but also across the business. It was definitely not a boring, corporate place to work. Very big site at the UK HQ, but soon felt settled.

I was expecting more of a structured plan at the start to help with my on-boarding which did not happen. Besides the general HR induction that all the interns received, I didn't get any specific training for my team or role, which made the first few weeks/months very difficult as I was often left to find things out for myself. This varies from team-to-team though.

You receive quarterly 'connects' with your manager that review how you are getting on as well as areas to focus on in the upcoming period. If there is something in particular that you want to get involved in, you can just ask and often there will be opportunities for you. It would have been helpful to receive a mentor though. I did eventually find one but we didn't get assigned a mentor - you just had to find your own which is difficult at the start when you barely know anyone.

Microsoft don't have a traditional graduate 'scheme' as such, although they do take on about 30 grads per year in various roles across the business. Although I don't think they offer grad jobs straight after finishing placement, you can apply as an internal candidate which is a much shorter process and fastracks you through the application stages.

I was based in Reading which is relatively cheap (approx £350-400 p/m each). If you are based in Reading, there is also a free shuttle bus to Thames Valley Park which is a great perk.

One of the best things about the intern programme at Microsoft is that there are so many opportunities to get involved in projects outside your normal day-to-day role. There are specific intern projects called 101 teams (aka Stretch projects) that range from volunteering in local schools to setting up and running events. There are also lots of other general opportunities outside the intern programme to get involved in as well - often if they need extra volunteers or helpers at events, they will ask the interns first.