This review was submitted over 4 years ago, so some of the information it contains may no longer be relevant.
Rating
-
The Role
-
The Company
-
The Culture
- 1. To what extent did you enjoy your work placement or internship?
- 2. To what extent did you feel valued by your colleagues?
- 3. To what extent were you given support and guidance by management/your supervisor(s)?
- 4. How busy were you on a daily basis?
- 5. How much responsibility were you given during your placement?
- 6. To what extent did/will the skills you developed, and training you received, assist you in your degree studies and beyond?
- 7. What was the general atmosphere in your office?
- 8. How well organised was the overall work placement or internship set up?
- 9. In terms of personal training and development, to what extent did the company or firm invest in you?
- 10. What were the perks on your work placement?
- 11. How appealing are future employment prospects within the organisation?
- 12. Was there a good social scene amongst any fellow placement students/colleagues?
- 13. What was the cost of living and socialising in the area you worked in?
- 14. What was the Nightlife like in the area you worked?
- 15. Were there many opportunities to get involved in activities outside of work?
The Role
I really enjoyed my internship at Boots as the working environment is very friendly and relaxed which makes it a very comfortable environment to work in. The culture is very encouraging and proactive which is a motivating aspect of the company and allows you to be inspired by people everyday.
I felt very valued by my colleagues. Every member of my team ensured I was comfortable from the moment I started, making the settling in process a relaxing experience. Every team member would always reiterate the importance and creditability of my work, making me feel like a valued member of the team, not necessarily an intern.
My line manager was a very important and inspiring individual. With such a demanding role, it would be expected that he wouldn't have a significant amount of time for support and guidance. However he made it his priority to support me and we worked together closely.
On a normal working day, I would have a healthy balance between being busy with work and also being able to network with people across the business and develop sustainable working relationships. There would never be a day just sat at a desk, there was always a mixture of meetings and events as well as desk work when necessary.
Personally, I was given a great deal of responsibility. My work will be submitted to the CEO of Boots UK as part of a proposal and therefore needed to be of superior quality to truly reflect the standard of work and the copious amount of effort that went into the business plan.
My experience will significantly enhance my capabilities at university. This varies from my strengthened time management skills to efficient prioritisation of work. The most important learning I took away was the ability to network and formulate effective working relationships with unfamiliar colleagues and how important this is in the working environment.
The Company
The atmosphere in the part of the office I was based in was very vibrant and fun as I was surrounded by young, energetic, beauty infatuated, hard working individuals, from the beauty trading team and this is a culture I personally thrive in. Each individual is very committed and positive about their work which makes for a very inspiring working environment and one that stimulates being pro-active and creative.
My specific internship was introduced very late in the general summer internship application process which meant decisions were being made relatively late. However, to say how little time the talent team had to put the internship together, it was definitely the best working experience I have endured and the dedicated line managers and projects were well suited to the programme.
The company were really committed to developing our skills as individuals. Each of us were given opportunities relevant to our work whereby we could leave the comfortable of our working environment and be exposed to new and different aspects of work. These included; interviews, meeting suppliers and networking, as well as opportunities to use our initiative and test our capabilities.
Flexi Time
National Travel
Staff Sales/Staff Shop
Working from home
The opportunities at Boots are endless. There's a vast amount of ways you can apply to join the business; from the graduate scheme to applying to be an assistant and quickly moving up through the hierarchy or horizontally across departments. Theres a huge range of different categories you can work in which means you will always be working in an area you are passionate about, as well as possible international working opportunities.
The Culture
There wasn't a significant social scene as each intern had their own individual living situation which varied tremendously and there wasn't a mutual preference in terms of social outings. Each individual had different work commitments as well which meant there was rarely a time when everyone was free. Although there were opportunities to meet up at work to go for lunch or visit an event on-site together.
The cost of living in Nottingham is fairly reasonable with house prices being average. The cost of socialising is also reasonable with cinema, restaurant and drink prices ranging from expensive to very cheap, depending on where you visit. There's a lot of opportunities to use student discount at these places which helps.
The nightlife is very vibrant on the weekend during the holidays, with around 5 different clubs to go to and over 50 quality bars, these are all very reasonably priced, with a few priced a little higher to reflect the quality and experience. During term time, week nights also become very business as the students are back from university. During this time, there are generally more clubs to go to with better events.
There were a few opportunities to get involved in outside of work such as; charity work, conferences in London and visiting Boots stores. Frequently there would be teams leaving work to take part in a form of charity work and raising money for a specific cause. As well this, there was the opportunity to meet with huge suppliers in London and also interview Boots store colleagues in various cities.
Details
Internship (1 Month+)
East Midlands
September 2016