Corporate Tax Analyst Review

Overall I really enjoyed my placement year at Intel. There are a lot of interns on the Swindon site therefore the social aspect is really good. You are given a real job with real responsibilities and I felt that my colleagues valued my input. My colleagues were also very welcoming and always happy to help which made the transition in to working life a lot easier.

I felt that my colleagues valued me a lot. They were initially very welcoming and continued to be great support throughout my placement. I was given responsibility from the start of my placement which only increased as time passed therefore I felt like I was making a real contribution to the team and that the work I was doing was appreciated and valued.

Both my supervisor and manager were very supportive and always open to questions. They were always willing to sit down with me and help with certain aspects of my job where I required more help and training. They encouraged me to not be afraid to ask questions. Only downside was due to their job roles, they were sometimes very busy so I would have to wait to have a lot of one on one time however they always made the effort when time was available.

This varied week on week. I have monthly tasks that need to completed, which I usually did in the first 2 weeks. The rest of the month would depend on what my supervisor had me working on and what kind of emails I had coming through, therefore sometimes towards the end of the month, work would slow down. Quarter closes were always extremely busy and required me to work extra hours.

I am happy with the amount of responsibility that was given to me throughout my placement. My role required me to complete important tasks by certain deadlines which was quite a bit of responsibility. I felt that after gaining my supervisor and managers trust I was given even more responsibility as my placement progressed.

Intel provide brilliant training. When you initially start you are trained by the intern who was in the job role before you for 5 weeks. This provides a brilliant foundation for your job role. There is also skills sessions set up specifically for interns which are very beneficial. Even after your intern has gone, managers are available to help train you further.

The atmosphere in my office was great. All of my colleagues both in my department and in the wider finance team were all very friendly. It was a social environment and colleagues would include me in their conversations. The downside sometimes was that a lot of people in my department needed to travel sometimes for work therefore the office was sometimes quiet as not a lot of people were in.

I think that the actual placement was quite well organised. You have a clear training period and training sessions to help your development. You are assigned a 'buddy', who is a manger in another team to help you develop even further. Unfortunately you are unable to experience much of the other finance roles within the organisation as you are trained specifically for your role, it doesn't allow for rotations. However you can shadow a department you are interested in.

The company invests quite a lot in you. They are essentially employing 2 people to complete a job role in the first 5 weeks of your placement to ensure you receive training from your previous intern. They run a lot of training sessions in the first couple of months to help develop soft skills such as communication and presenting. You can sign up for other training sessions throughout your placement such as body language in the office environment.

Intel does not have an official graduate scheme and only hire if they require somebody for a specific job role. The demand for graduates can vary between departments. Usually the highest performing finance interns will be offered a job however it may not be in the finance department you completed your placement in.

There was a very good social scene as there was 50+ interns based in the Swindon site. The majority of these interns also relocated to live in Swindon therefore a lot of our spare time outside of work was spent together. There is also a social committee set up by the interns where all kinds of events are arranged. For example we've had boys vs girls netball, pub quizzes and nights out. We even organised a weekend away.

The cost of renting isn't very high in Swindon compared to cities and university housing. Renting a room in a house share is more expensive than getting in to a group and renting a house. The bars and pubs in Swindon aren't that cheap therefore nights out and meals out could be quite expensive depending on where you go.

There are a lot of pubs in Swindon therefore there are plenty of places to go for a drink. There are however a very limited number of clubs. There are about 2 clubs that the interns would go on nights out. However for big nights out, Swindon is very close to Bristol, Bath and Reading therefore nights out in these places could be organised.

Intel encourage you to volunteer. This can vary department to department. Some departments actively arrange regular volunteering projects. I managed to get involved in a few volunteering activities. This involved helping out at a local school by giving mock interviews to help give Year 10's and Year 11's interview experience.