Finance Intern Review

I really enjoyed my 10 weeks with Tesco. I was working in the Finance department and found the office environment to be both lively and welcoming. This really helped for me to quickly feel relaxed in my role and get the most out of the experience. Tesco made an effort to host many events to help make the expereince as fun as possible.

I was treated with a lot of respect. This was regardless of whether I had introduced myself as being on the intern programme or not. Being younger than most people you are working with can be quite daunting, however, this was something that was definitely minimised by the working environment thought the company. I was not expecting to be given quite so much responsibility and this again helped to make me feel valued.

I had regular catch ups with my line manager. He was usually sat nearby and very willing to answer any questions I had, whenever I had them. I quickly found that working in a large company you rely on having a network thoughout and so everyone wants to get to get to know new people and help where they can. I was also paired up with a 'buddy'. My buddy was a first year graduate who had recently faced many of the challenges that I came across and so could use experience to advice how to tackle them.

Most people were given 10 week projects or smaller projects with extra tasks along the way. I always had work to be getting on with but with having more reponsibility comes more control over how busy you find yourself. You could always ask for more work or even get help on tasks if you had too much on. Tesco was very close to having the perfect balance for what I would expect for an internship.

I touched on this in previous sections, but to recap - I was given much more responsibilty than I was expecting. My team actively wanted to challange me, without me feeling like I was drowning in work. With the amount of repsonbility I was given I found that it was very important to know I was delivering to the level expected, I got feeback on a regular basis to help me feel more confident in what I was doing. Some people where left pretty much alone with projects they were doing, but this was often optional. If you wanted to work more within a team the support was there to allow for it.

I think the approach to university is very different to that of work. However, there will be some skills that transfer over. I think for me the biggest thing is the confidence I have gained during the expereince. This will help me both sociably and professionally. As well as confidence my time management and organisational skills have improved helping me to keep on top of work and stay less stressed. There was a big push for you to develop yourself throughout the 10 weeks with many courses being offered at all levels, such as: Excel, PowerPoint & Outlook training. But also presentation skills, days on helping to control mindtalk and how to network effectively.

From talking to people around the office it is clear that Tesco has invested quite heavily in correcting what was once quite a dull atmosphere. During my time here there was never a dull moment, people where always friendly and easy to get along with. The office environment was very inclusive of everyone. You could tell that people valued working in a healthy environment and made an active effort to keep it this way.

The application process was quite sudden, interviews occured within just a couple of days after hearing from them. This could be seen as a benefit or negative, as the process was over quite quickly. The overal intership once at the office flowed smoothly, with a week at the beggining to get to know other interns and learn what would be expected from you. Some of the events that where put on could have been better organised but the actual work process I had no problems with.

Tesco was very keen for you to get involved with as many training days as possible. They have a section of their website dedicated for you to sign up to events at the 'Tesco Academy'. Along with this there where a few compulsory events aimed to make us feel more comfortable in our day to day work, or how to present confidently in front of different audiences. The intership works as a feeder to the Graduate Scheme where you are able to do qualifications such as CIMA, which is paid for by the company.

Very, the intership is aimed at finding people to come back as graduates. If you are successful in your 10 weeks then you do not need to go for another interview or through any of the application process again. I would definitely like to come back to Tesco after I complete my final year of university (I find out the outcome of my process next week).

Everyone was living relatively close to each other and so it was easy to meet up. Lots of football events had been organised both through and outside of Tesco.

It was much cheaper than that of London for both accomodation and going out. However, being in a a more remote area comes with its downsides.

Easy to get into London, but still a decent night out if you stayed more local. Requires use of taxis to get around.

Everyone was living relatively close to each other and so it was easy to meet up. Lots of football events had been organised both through and outside of Tesco.