EMEA Geographical Business Analyst Review

I have thoroughly enjoyed my 13 month placement at Intel due to the opportunities they provide you with as well as the support system they offer. Initially at the start with a smaller roll and have the chance to increase your workload and broaden you knowledge into different areas as time goes by. The office is a friendly environment and during your first month you are trained by another intern which eases you into the role.

Throughout my internship I have felt equal to those within my team as a full timer rather than an intern and have never been asked to do a 'pointless' task. Clearly at the same time they understand you won't always have the potential knowledge, especially at the start, to understand everything and undertake tasks with ease, luckily everyone within the department is willing to help.

Intel provide their intern with excellent support, especially within BMG. At the start of the internship you have an intern to help train and guide you through all of the basic training and help you ramp into your role. Anyone within the team including your manager is always willing to provide any assistance as required and are more than happy to have regular meetings. Alongside this you are assigned an 'on the job coach' who's main aim is to prepare you with the necessary skills to be hired as well as making sure you are enjoying your work.

Generally I found I was fairly busy, with work there were always peaks and troughs so it's expected that you work slightly longer when required but can then take the time back at a later date when you aren't so busy. However during the quieter period you have plenty of opportunities to take on projects, assist with others in the team as well as taking on more work- there is always something for you to do!

At the start of my placement I was surprised at the level of responsibility I was given when dealing with my stakeholder network and was provided with lots of support from the team in order to be confident within the new job role. As time went by during the placement naturally my responsibility grew more and more allowing me to branch into new areas and increase my level of interaction with a number of internal and external contacts across the business.

During my time on placement I developed a number of useful skills including a greater level of organisation that is required with the role. Another area I had the chance to improve was with soft skills when speaking to people you hadn't met before as well as speaking to a number of different people across Europe, the Americas and Asia during my time on placement. I believe this 13 month experience was very valuable and will help massively when moving into my first full time job when I graduate from University.

The atmosphere in the office was a fairly relaxed one, everyone got on with there work but you didn't feel you were being watched all the time and you had the freedom and independence to come and go as you please throughout the day, organising your own meetings etc. Other co-workers were very friendly and many used to be interns too, so they understand what it is like.

The internship is very well organised, the business has had interns for many years, therefore many of the roles are very well defined and have been worked by many full time employees previously. This also means a number of stakeholders you work with are used to the yearly rotation within the role and are there to help provide any support needed. Due to there being so many interns in one site you are well looked after and there are other interns who can help assist you with your role.

Personal development and training at Intel is great, they allow you to push yourself as much as you want. Initially you will be learning and developing lots at the start of the internship and then later have more formal plans about your development throughout your internship of where you would like to end up and what skills you would like to develop.

Intel do hire back a number of interns every year which provides you with the extra incentive of trying to stand out and excel within your role. Once back as a Grad you are expected to learn more of the basics within the business before having the chance to progress.

There are two aspects with the social engagement with Intel. Firstly there is within you immediate team you work with on a daily basis who are all friendly and up for a laugh whilst getting the work done. Also there is the Intern aspect of the social side with our year having a good 50+ interns to socialise with.

The cost of living in Swindon is definitely cheaper than other areas I have lived previously, especially when looking for housing/ flats if you are looking to relocate. There is the outlet centre down the road and some shops in the town centre, but clearly Swindon isn't like living in a city.

There are a few good clubs and bars in Swindon however they do get a bit repetitive, generally people try to go out for a few drinks on a Thursday and have the weekends free. However, within your team and within the BMG organisation there are often meals, activities and events planned on occasions.

Due to the large number of interns on site there was always the opportunity to go an organise something with friends in the town in your own time. There is also Intel FC and the opportunity to get involved in 9 aside football with work if that is something that interests you.