Project Administrator Review

I had a great time on my internship. I was given a great amount of exposure and treated the same as any employee. There is a fantastic culture at Computacenter to help others and work collaboratively, and this was something that made my time here really enjoyable.

I absolutely felt valued. Despite only being there for two months, and noone having a real obligation to help me, people gave up their time everyday to help me with my project. There is not a strict hierarchy enforced in Computacenter and this meant that I was able to meet with people very high up in the company. I also was given the opportunity to present back at the end of my internship to a group of senior staff, which made the work I had done feel important, and therefore made me feel extremely valued.

Again, as mentioned previously, the main factor that made this job so enjoyable for me was how supportive all staff were within the company. Firstly, my direct line manager was great and gave me time whenever I needed it. But the culture of the company isn't that you go to your manager only when you need something. Every time I met someone new they would give me their contact details and offer their time and help in the future if I needed it.

My business varied day to day. I was given a fair degree of autonomy over how I went about my work. I was given a project scope and objectives that I had to deliver on, by producing a document and a presentation before I left. How I went about completing these objectives was down to me. So I got out what I put in, and by making myself busy and getting my work done, the quality of my final presentation was a much higher quality.

Instead of shadowing for 3 months, my manager decided that it would be more beneficial to set me a unique project on determining areas for improvement within the department I was working in. This gave me responsibility to individually deliver on what I had found. While failing this project would not have had any drastic issues for the company, I had much more responsibility than I could've had.

The best skills I developed were my presentation skills, my communication skills and my ability to conduct myself in a business environment. The best compliment I can pay to the company is that following my studies, I have returned to the company on a Project Management Graduate Scheme. This is because I enjoyed my time here so much the first time round, that I was desperate to rejoin.

The general atmosphere was positive. Everyone tended to know each other within my department. Work certainly came first, but it was done in good spirits most of the time, which made it a positive and enjoyable climate to work in.

This was one of the best factors for me. The time was taken to tailor me a unique, individual project whereby I was given a bit of freedom, responsibility, and the opportunity to meet a range of people across the business. Instead of shadowing others for 3 months, this project enabled me to develop many skills that I have taken with me since finishing this internship.

Computacenter in general provide a range of courses, stemming across excel, presentation skills, finance skills etc. I did not take any official courses due to the short amount of time I was there for. However, staff gave up their time to help me practice my presentation, provide me with feedback etc., to help me with my development. I was given an overall feedback sheet with advice and an overall score, that helped me to realise my strengths, as well as areas that I should work on.

As mentioned previously, I am already back working at the company. For new graduates such as myself, Computacenter run a graduate programme in Project Management, as well as two associate programmes in Service Management and Sales. These programmes are all challenging, but provide training opportunities and career development that are certainly highly appealing to young people looking to start their careers.

I started with a group of about 8 industrial placement students. We worked together on our first induction day, and maintained contact through lunches and calls. There is a range of ages within the company, and having a group of us at the same ages certainly helped to enjoy my time here more.

I was based in Hatfield, which is relatively good value. While it is only 25 minutes from Kings Cross on the train, housing and socialising is fairly well priced. There are also towns around including St Albans and Welwyn which are slightly more expensive but really nice places.

I didn't live in Hatfield at the time, so I didn't go out there while working there. However, as a university town, there are plenty of students and young people around, London is also a 25 minute train away, so there are plenty of options for nightlife.

For me, who loves sport, these are the main activities I am aware of in the area. There are 4 or 5 gyms in Hatfield, and facilities for golf, football, swimming, rugby etc. all in Hatfield or close by. Again, London is less than half an hour away, so the opportunities for activities outside of work are limitless.