Customer and Marketing Intern Review

I was placed in an exciting new area of the business which gave me an opportunity to add real value to the company. The internship programme was run very well, with a great deal of social events and help for interns when they needed it. However, I believe the new nature of my team (it had existed for less than a year) meant that I could be left with too much or too little to do, depending on the day. I was also left completely alone by team on certain days as there was no one in the office to help me, and the weekly 1:1s I was scheduled to have happened only four times in total. I thoroughly enjoyed the work I was set and the social aspect of the internship, but I feel like I was put into a team that couldn't cater for me, and at times I felt like more of a hassle than a member of the team.

My colleagues made a real effort to make me feel included at the start, inviting me to events outside of work, as well as in. I did feel like a real member of the team. As they were so busy though, I often didn't see them, or felt like a hassle when I came to them for help. I think as the team was only made up of three plus myself by the end of the internship, it was a real struggle to keep seeing me regularly, especially as a member of the team left half way through my internship. They did try hard to include me, but they still had work to do on projects that predated my internship and this took a lot of their time.

Again, as my team were so busy, I did not meet with my manager very regularly. In the meetings that we did have he was very good, helping me overcome work struggles that I was having and giving me feedback on what I could do better.

My business on a daily basis was very hit or miss, depending on what our team had to do that week. In one week I might have left at 3:30 everyday as I had so little to do, whereas the next week I might have been in until almost 6 on a Friday night as the work was important for the next week. I feel like it was more the nature of my team that meant this happened, rather than through any fault of theirs. The team worked on lots of different projects, despite being so small and these had very strict deadlines. However, the team also had lulls in between different projects so it was tough to keep me a constant level of business.

I felt like my team really trusted me during my internship. I was able to plan my own project and take control of the ideas that came out of it, leading to tangible output that I can say I created. Furthermore, I was tasked with writing a progress report on my team which was read by some of the upper echelons of the company and would determine the future actions for my team. I am very proud of the work I did and I am glad that my team enabled me to have such an impact in such a short time.

I feel like my work here has really helped me in a few areas. My confidence and presentation skills have greatly improved due to the presentations that I had to make throughout my internship. The area that my team worked in is hugely innovative and being able to put it down as a skill will be aid me in any future job applications as it is rare and sought after. Finally, I feel like my time at Standard Life has instilled a much better work ethic within me, as well as given me office skills like organisation, business writing, outlook and others that I could not have learned at university.

The office atmosphere was pleasant. Everyone was happy to speak to me and it never felt negative around the office. There was not constant fun but the environment was good to facilitate good work and I did not feel bad coming in to work ever. As my team was so small I did feel at times that I had no one to speak to on my floor, but luckily I had another intern nearby to talk to.

From a really broad perspective the internship was well run. There was an induction day on the first day to embed all of the interns into the company and regular intern events to aid our development. Although at times I was left with little to do, I loved the work that my team did so I would not change the team that I was on. The charity challenge was a particular highlight and this event was very well run.

There were many intern development events throughout my internship. These helped with presentation skills, career paths and many other areas. We were also given the chance to take the Gallup Strengthsfinder which was really interesting and something that I will take forward beyond my internship. I was also given the opportunity by my team to go to the Gherkin and present an idea to customers which made me feel like they really wanted me to succeed.

I am unsure if I would come back to work for Standard Life as my interests do not really lie within the financial sector. The work that my team did really opened my eyes to new career opportunities that I would like to explore and there are many other companies who do the same work on a much bigger scale as their process has been developed. When I spoke to a marketing trainee just before I left, he summed it up really well: "I came for Standard Life, and ended up in marketing. You came for marketing, and ended up in Standard Life."

The social scene amongst the other interns was very good. As I am from Edinburgh I was living at home during the internship and I worried that would mean I would be a bit excluded from the social side of the internship. However, I feel like I made some good friends during the internship and was often busier with the other interns than my school friends during the internship. There was normally something to do each night with the interns, especially on weekends and most made an effort to socialise and have a good time during the internship.

As I was living at home I cannot comment on this exactly. However, I can say that Edinburgh can be expensive, depending on where you go, especially during the festival. I knew some cheap places to take the other interns though, and they actually showed me some places that I had never been to before and it was really nice to see other parts of the city.

Edinburgh nightlife is pretty good, although not amazing. There is a good range of clubs to suit what type of music you like although I would not say any of them are incredible. The festival massively improves the Edinburgh nightlife. There is a constant buzz around the city and lots more places to go out. Having the option of going to hundreds of shows is great as there is constantly something to do during August and I know that all of the interns loved the festival during their time here.

Outside of work there were a lot of social opportunities to get involved with. Most of these were organised by the interns although there was a social committee set up by Standard Life so that a group of interns could discuss different activities that the whole group could take part in. They were given a small budget and enabled us to go to a ceilidh at the Ghillie Dhu for a reduced price which was really good.