This review was submitted over 4 years ago, so some of the information it contains may no longer be relevant.
Rating
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The Role
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The Company
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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
Although it was a relatively a short working experience, the intership was very enjoyable and insightful. They do put a lot of effort in allowing their employees to choose to work in something that interests them. You get to choose a few areas that interest you before the start of the internship, and throughout
It is surprising how quickly you get to settle in and integrate with the team. Even though you are there for a short period of time, you get to work in pojects of great importance and your input is greatly appreciated. Team is really good at rewarding individuals that work hard, but they are also very understanding and helpful when they see that you are struggling.
This is obviously dependent on the specific team that you are assigned to. You do get all the support you need to make a start on the project that you are assigned on. Personally, i found that once you get to grips with everything, they expect individuals to ask for help if they are struggling. And if that is the case, there is plenty of help available, within your team and outside of it.
Workload did vary a lot. There were times when I wasnt given a lot of work to do, and there were other times when your team was given a very strict deadline and everyone was expected to complete a lot of tasks in a very short period of time. In most of the cases however it wasnt very busy.
I was given a lot of responsibility considering I alwas only going to be there for a short period of time. Managers and other team members are happy to get everyone involved in projects, without forgetting everyones experience levels. They do encourage employees to take a challenge and help them succeed in it
Working in an evironment like American express does prepare you for a career in the tech industry. During that 10 weeks i learned new skills that I wouldnt have learned from univeristy. Now i can choose to develop them further and use them in this year for the project that i will be developing for my final year.
The Company
For a financial company american express was a very relaxed environment. People were all very helpul and friendly and eveyone that was there had been working for american express for years! The balance between work and leisure is really good, with activities during and after working hours. Working-life balance is much better than what i expected.
The whole process was immaculate, from the onboarding process till the end. Hr really worked hard to place us in projects that were of interest to us, to make our experience more enjoyable. All avtivities that we undertook were planned well ahead of time, including charity day and other leisure activities.
During the 10 weeks with american express, apart from technical skills, we learned a lot about the company itself and all the departments that run within the company. They really want their employees to understand the core business initiatives and general picture for you to understand the impact that your job is having in the company. They also are very generous with training programs, giving their employees the chance to explore new areas.
Flexi Time
Subsidised Canteen
Sports and Social Club
Company Parties/Events
Staff Sales/Staff Shop
Healthcare/Dental
Going back to work for american express is always a possibility. Only personal issue with it is the location, not very ideal at the moment
The Culture
For everyone that lived nearby or brighton, they did really got the full american express experience. Every weekend they had at least one night out planned. there were also a lot of activities to take part in During the week, pun lunches, ping pong games, tennis and other forms of sports.
I was commuting to the office in burgess hill every day, which is not very cheap. Licing in the area wasnt very cheap either. Although it was much more affordable than london prices. Socialising costs in the area were very reasonably priced. You could find mice palces to eat or drink that had discounts for amex employees, which was very convenient.
There is no nightlife in burgess hill. However brighton is very closeby
There were always a lot of activities to take part in, involving sports, charity etc. During that 10 weeks we spent most of our time either learnig things outside of what we needed for our current projects, or taking part in fun activities, like charity day, mystery tours in london etc. It was not the typical intership you would expect from a financial firm.
Details
Internship (1 Month+)
Computer Systems Engineering
South East
October 2016