Sales Support Review

The work I was involved in was fairly repetitive and once I was familiar with my role, quite un-challenging. Fortunately I was given the opportunity to take on a new role within the company part way through my placement which made me enjoy the placement a little more. If it were not for the friends that I made on placement I would have not enjoyed it much at all.

My manager was keen to develop and spend time with me which was appreciated. I also received some recognition in team meetings for performing well which was a morale booster.

Although my manager was approachable and able to help I often found I did not need their guidance.

I was often without work to do even though I was involved in projects outside of my core role. Part of the reason for this is down to the fact that HPE hire too many interns and that one intern could probably take on the workload of another making them more busy.

The reports I produced were often critical to managers however I did not have any influence over decisions that would affect business.

The sales knowledge I gained has been valuable and has helped me realise what I want to do in my future career. My Excel skills improved but not as dramatically as I would have hoped.

The office where I was based was usually quite quiet as many work from home and it is a large site. If it were not for the interns, the place would be quite dull. There is however a nice outside area to relax in and a table tennis table which gives the opportunity to give you a break from your desk.

There is dedicated people in HR in charge of the Internship scheme so it is generally quite organised.

After the initial onboarding period, it was the responsibility of the interns to arrange their own training and development for the most part. If the development lead on the Intern Committee is good then this won't be a problem however if they are not competent at their role, some opportunities could go missing.

The graduate roles that I would be interested in at HPE are in Scotland where I would not like to relocate, so it is unlikely that I will come back. If they created Sales roles for graduates in the South their intern retention would be A LOT higher.

Social Secs are elected to the committee so there are often socials all interns can get involved with. We also have an end of year Summer Ball and this year we were able to go to Royal Ascot together paid for by HPE.

Most interns lived in Reading and commuted from Bracknell. Rent prices in Reading are fairly high and the intern salary HPE provide does not reflect the rising rent prices in Reading each year.

Reading is a uni town so has multiple clubs to go to. The student union is also good and cheaper than a night out in town.

There was an intern football team which played in a local business league but HPE stopped the funding for it so it's unlikely it will carry on so there are very limited opportunities for activities outside of work.