Customer Business Analyst Review

I can safely say that I have thoroughly enjoyed every minute of this placement. It has been a great introduction into a full on working environment where I was given responsibility and learnt that I was accountable for all my actions. I have been able to communicate and work with people based in other Intel offices around the world, build up a relationship with a customer and even had the opportunity to go visit them face to face. Having other interns doing the same placement as you is great as you are all starting in the same position and you can share tips and knowledge with each other throughout the year.

Even though you are an intern, you are considered by everyone else in the organisation as a full time employee as you are doing similar work to someone who is there as a full time employee. The team I was in was very supportive from the moment I started and were happy to provide guidance and advice where needed. There is a huge range of people all with different backgrounds and roles who were happy to have 1:1s to provide support and answer questions, or even just have a catch up.

Throughout the internship, I have had a number of 1:1s with my manager, some of them being career development focused too. I was able to choose the frequency of how often I saw my manager as I wanted to have them bi-weekly as I felt that I would get the most benefit out of them this way as there is more to discuss. My manager throughout the internship made sure that I was receiving the right help and provided guidance on how to get the most out of my placement. Intel also provided an on the job coach, someone who was in my team but didn't work on the same accounts as me. They were there to be someone who you could talk to about anything including topics that you wouldn't necessarily speak to your manager about. Using both my coach and manager well this year has helped me get the most out of the placement.

When first starting the placement, I was very busy learning the role but also trying to learn about what everyone else does and more about the company as a whole. Being based in operations provided me with the opportunity to get an insight into all the different parts of the business as I worked closely with people in different departments (sales, finance etc.). About midway into the placement, I had ramped up into my role so had some spare time, which led to being able to do additional tasks, also providing the opportunity to network with more people in the organisation and learn more. I wasn't just limited to the tasks that were associated with the role I was given, I was able to take on more work and there was always extra projects available if wanted.

I worked in the Customer Business Operations team so I had a lot of interaction with procurement contacts from Intel's customer organisations. As previously mentioned, being in operations gave me the opportunity to work with people from other teams based in other regions (supply, finance, logistics) so I have a broader understanding of how the different functions of the business work. I was given a lot of responsibility when I visited my customer in a face-to-face as I created and presented a business review, something I never expected to be able to do at the beginning of the placement.

This placement year has helped prepare me for full time work once I finish university. Being able to do a placement at such a large company I feel is so beneficial to have on your CV as you learn so much about how a global business is run and all the skills you learn are transferable. Intel regularly provided a huge mix of different training sessions that you could attend/watch online to further understandings of new products, what different roles entail, and even simple things such as presentation training and mind mapping which I will most likely use in final year, and future career.

In the part of the office I worked, there tended to always be a good and cheerful atmosphere but you didn't forget that you were doing an important role. Intel has a "Great Place to Work" scheme where throughout the year and in seasonal periods, you could receive a gift or food etc., which is a good perk. The office is all open plan and managers sat within their team so if you ever needed to approach someone with a question or for a chat, you could do so with ease.

As I was taking over from a previous intern, the first 5 weeks were a handover period so I was learning everything as quickly as possible so I could do the job when they left. Throughout the year the scope of my role changed so even 6 months into the placement, I was doing different tasks to what the previous intern was doing. As Intel has had many years of previous interns, there is a good network already built up and processes in place to help interns settle in as soon as possible and develop throughout the year.

Intel provided training sessions throughout the year for topics such as presentation skills and mind mapping which I found to be beneficial. A lot of my development came from working on new projects or alongside different people, which meant I had to change the way I was working to complete tasks, ultimately helping development. Having a regular 1:1 with my manager or coach gave me the time to discuss what areas I wanted to develop and they'd help direct me to where I can develop that skill.

Essentially the placement at Intel is a year long interview, as people who are considered for the graduate program will need to have been previous interns. There tends to be a lot of people moving to different roles internally and doing job rotations which enables other people to move into new positions which ultimately puts gives people the opportunity to do something new. The additional work perks such as the subsidized events tickets and and Sports and Social Committee events make it event more inviting to want to come back.

As there were around 50 or so interns, it meant that there was always at least a small group of people who were keen to do something. All the interns tend to live in houses with other interns spread around Old Town in Swindon which meant you were never too far from people. The interns had a Sports and Socials Committee who arranged nights/meals out and other events to get everyone together which was good.

Swindon is good value for money in terms of rent costs, especially when you house share with 2-3 other interns. For eating, there is a wide range of places to go that suit everyone's budget and there are plenty of bars to go to for drinks, even a couple of clubs for the weekend. There's quite a lot of places to socialise - trampolining, mini golf, bowling etc.

Thursday nights tend to be the night when all the intern events were done as there are a few places to go to. There are a couple of bigger nightclubs open at the weekend. Swindon has a lot of bars that are open most of the week so there always was somewhere to go if you fancied a mid-week tipple. Bristol and Bath are only a 25/40 minute train journey away as well so for bigger events there is always that option.

I played regularly in Monday night football where a group of Intel employees played 9-a-side along with some people non-Intel people living in Swindon, which was great from a networking perspective. Personally I didn't get involved with any activities outside of work that weren't with Intel or interns, however, some interns got involved in sports such as basketball/cricket with people from other companies like Nationwide who are based just down the road from Intel.