Ingredient Research Intern Review

Couldn't recommend it more, I was given real responsibilities within about two weeks and the only reason it wasn't sooner was because I had a lot of health and safety and inductions to cover. Since then I've basically been in charge of my own work, making my own decisions and more or less been told what needs to be done, by when and then let loose to complete it. The work itself is really interesting (I mean its chocolate making, how could it not be!) and I've picked up a large number of important skills that are relevant to my degree course, despite the fact I'm a Chemistry undergrad rather than something directly related to food. The company has also been very understanding and supportive with some personal issues which I can't thank them enough for. In short, can't recommend it enough, it's a fantastic place to work.

The office is open plan which means everyone gets to know each other very quickly. Interaction across teams is common and within about a month, you get to know pretty much everyone you work with fairly well. There's also a strong global presence, I've had regular online meetings with colleagues across the globe and have had people come to me in turn when they needed something.

Regularly scheduled 1:1 meetings with my boss, fortnightly meetings with the team at large and quarterly meetings with everyone in the division. At these meetings the state of projects would be discussed and plenty of direction and input given, often using colleagues who operated outside of the team directly to bounce ideas off and get a different point of view.

Although there's always more to do, the pace is reasonably set and it's rare I've had to work at an excessive level to get things done on time. The only time this has been more of an issue is when thing's have gone wrong and that's usually due to an accident or an equipment failure, so is basically unavoidable. If something does go wrong, expectations are reasonable to set things right.

I was essentially in charge of my own project, under guidance from the higher-ups. Although they'd decide what needed to be done and when, it was almost entirely up to me as to how to go about doing it. There've also been a couple of times when people from outside the team have asked for thing's to be prepared for them which again, I was trusted to do relatively unsupervised if I felt capable of doing so.

I've picked up a large variety of skills, some transferable, others less-so by virtue of being in a food environment as opposed to a Chemistry one. If you're doing a food based course, or have a particular interest in cooking/food creation, then this would be a 10.

Friendly, jovial and co-operative. There's also a large emphasis on teambuilding and volunteering in the local community, which meant that everyone tends to get on very well with each other. Diversity events are also specifically highlighted, with occasional speakers from within the company giving presentations on a unique aspect of their culture.

I had a placed carved out in the team before I'd even arrived and it was very clear who would be looking after me, what I'd be expected to do and how it would be accomplished from day 1. There's not an awful lot I can say about organisation because it's all perfect, chains of command are very clearly established and everyone fully commits to their duties.

The company regularly ran personal development weeks in which courses could be signed up for to enhance ones skillset. There's also a lot of training offered, whether that's for bits of equipment to gain certificates of competence, or level 2 food safety training, both of which I've passed at various points during my time here.

The company has taken to only taking graduates from its Internal placement program, which obviously makes job prospects a lot better than they otherwise might be in such a competitive field. There's also an "intern of the year" programme in which the best intern from the crop is offered a position after graduation, if they've impressed enough during their time.

All 12 of us regularly socialise, with the majority living in two shared houses. We'll usually go out at least once a week and colleagues often have parties or celebrations for important events.

My placement was in reading, which was very expensive (rent in a bedroom house was £450 a month, each) and generally the cost of going out was quite high. That being said, there's also placements in Birmingham which are obviously a hell of a lot cheaper. I've yet to need any outside money from beyond what I've been paid to live quite comfortably though.

Can't really comment as I'm not the biggest nightlife person, however colleagues and the other placement people all report having a fairly decent scene and there's plenty of clubs and bars in reading itself.

As mentioned above, there's a large volunteering ethos at the company and at least one day a year is put aside to engage with voluntary activities, of which there are several. Colleagues also often planned theatre and film trips which tended to be very pleasant occasions.