Sales Business Analyst (Global Accounts) Review

I thoroughly enjoyed my placement this year. Every week was different and the work culture is very positive, friendly and a work hard play hard attitude. I genuinely enjoyed getting up for work on Monday morning, something that can he hard to come by these days. Great diversity, great development and a great experience.

The work that you do is imperative to your teams performance and overall business. If they did not hire interns then HPE would have to recruit full time employees. Especially within a sales and forecasting role, the rest of the team needs your assistance and guidance in some cases to help resolve issues, forecast correctly and collate data.

You have monthly 1:1s with your manager. These can be formal but most are an informal chat about how you're getting on and any extra help you require. You also have a 6 month review and are also encouraged to find a mentor who isnt your manager to seek advice and guidance on. These both helped my progression with my role and career prospects without being micro managed.

At the beginning of placement you are still finding your feet, therefore you won't be too busy and up to your neck. They say that 70% of your time should be the day job and the other 30% should be devoted to extracurricular roles and development work. This may include being on the Intern Committee or YEN Committee, taking on additional projects, stretch challenges and networking opportunities.

As said previously on the subject of being valued, your role does contribute and if you do not complete your tasks then your team can face obstacles, especially on the sales/forecasting and reporting side. You can also take ownership of tasks and projects and be accountable for the success or failure of them, therefore developing your skills which accountability attached.

The skills I have developed and key learning experienced whilst on placement will undoubtedly help me in my final year and future career prospects. I learnt an enormous amount about business conduct, sales, finance, project management, marketing and how they all interlink in a real corporate environment, not just from a business theory text book.

The atmosphere was dependant on what events were going on in the office and the day of the week/year etc. But generally the atmosphere was a positive, lively and vibrant one. There were quiet rooms and quiet spaces for you to work if thats what you like, but most of the office has a positive working culture and everyone is very friendly and approachable. Most of the desks are hot desks, so if its sunny one day then you can work outside, if its too busy in one area you can re-locate to a quieter area to complete your work.

It is very organised, however most of the decision making is left up to the interns and the intern committee so it will vary year on year. HR have funding for social events and the 1st hand over month period is well worked out with workshops, networking events and introductions to help you settle in. HPE have been doing internships and grad roles for some years, therefore the organisation knows what the interns need/want and your managers are experienced in providing you with the best start to a professional career.

They have an Intranet where a variety of learning tools are available for you to invest in and learn from. I received a mentor who helped me in my weaknesses and gave me activities and methods to help boost my strengths. Over the year there were monthly guest speakers who spoke about a range of topics and also workshops to learn more. We get set goals by our managers to accomplish throughout the year. This can range from hard and soft skills, as well as technical and role specific goals.

I would 100% return to HPE into an entry level role of graduate scheme. Towards the end of your placement they encourage and organise networking opportunities and meetings on the grad roles available and how you can apply for them. I really like the culture and the people within HPE so I will be applying for a position after University. There is space to advance throughout your career at HPE and proceed up the organisational structure. Take HPE's UK&I MD for example.

Amongst all the interns there is an intern committee who you will nominate and vote for. Within the committee are social secs who organise weekly/monthly nights out. These are more frequent at the start and end of the year to allow people to get to know each other. There is also lots of onsite activities to keep you involved with the wider office community. This of course is dependant year on year with regards to the committee and what their aims are.

They encourage and give you a discounted fee for Reading Uni halls to stay in for your first month. This will allow you to make friends and decide who you would want to live with for the rest of the year. I lived in halls and then found a flat to live with 5 other interns. The rent in Reading for our flat was £400 per month plus bills. This is fairly average compared to student accommodation. There are lots of gyms, shops, cafes, bars, clubs and everything else in Reading. On a Friday and Saturday night the streets look like Malia due to the number of students and public going out. Take that how you want it. It's not the cheapest of places but student nights are at a southern level cheap and your salary helps covering many nights out per month.

On a Friday and Saturday night the streets look like Malia due to the number of students and public going out. Take that how you want it. It's not the cheapest of places but student nights are at a southern level cheap and your salary helps covering many nights out per month. There are lots of student bars and clubs but also more sophisticated and up market bars if that takes your fancy.

There is a HPE football team, netball team and if there is not a team that you want to get involved with then you can start one, just like a uni society. Outside of HPE there are gyms and local sports teams you can take part in. There are also non-physical clubs and teams that you can take part in. Like any other town, Reading is pretty packed with a variety of different activities and things to do.