Food Buyer Intern Review

I learnt a massive amount during my internship and was involved in a large variety of things, from internal meetings to off-site visits. I was really lucky that I was in a friendly and welcoming team and asked along to a lot - but I am not sure other interns in other teams were so lucky! I wish I could have stayed for a few weeks longer and got a bit more stuck in to things, as I felt it ended just as I started to gain and understanding and be able to contribute.

I felt like I was really welcome in the team, and that I was invited along to everything that they were doing and that I was included in everything - I did not feel like a nuisance. However, I did not feel like I could contribute anything in terms of productivity and useful day-to-day tasks as I simply didn't have the knowledge and so I was not asked/given a lot of responsibility.

Again, I was very lucky that I had a really supportive line manager who always explained everything to me, took a lot of time out for me, and invited me to everything they were doing- but I do not think other interns were as lucky, and were left on their own a lot and not included in their manager's day-to-day activities a lot. So, I think it really does depend on which team and aspect of the business you are put into, but when you are in a good team, there is a lot of guidance and a lot to learn from your supervisor and everyone else in the team.

This was the most variable thing. There were days when a lot of my team were out of the office, and I wasn't and so I was left to work on my project on my own/arrange meetings with other departments and keep myself busy. However, on other days I would be on visits out of the office and it would be a long jam-packed day, or I would be doing a lot in one day. Again, it completely depended on the day, what was planned, and what I was invited to. There were times where I was twiddling my thumbs a bit but this was also more down to me - there were things to be done if you took the initiative to meet with other people.

You were given an independant project, but I feel like alot of the projects were research, and did not hold a lot of responsibility or make a lot of noticeable difference to how the business operated. I would say that for a lot of interns, this internship was a lot about shadowing and learning, and kind of slotting into the business and not so much being given a lot of responsibility to complete things independantly without your team.

For me, this internship has taught me a LOT, about the industry I was working in, the business world as a whole, supply chain, finance, and through networking with other departments, a lot of other aspects of how a business works. I have a lot of first-hand knowledge, examples and insight that will massively help me contextualise and understand concepts more in my degree. I also think the workshops on project management and leadership were absolutely brilliant and the notes I made I will use in my career and beyond.

It varied depending on the day and who were in, but the office is definitely not a massively corporate atmosphere and it is really chilled. There is quite often things going on, a lot of different food to try, and everyone is friendly. I think this may change in the next year, as they are combining two offices into one building, and so things may be a lot more crowded/people won't have their own specific area to work, and so you will not see the same people as much everyday.

I think this is the one weakness of the internship - there didn't really seem much structure, and I think each intern's experience was very dependant on what team they were put in, and how involved their mentor got them, as opposed to the internship have a structure, goals to hit, and activities to participate in. I advised that there should be a bit more collaboration between interns and a bit more of a structure, but again this can be difficult as that may restrict you going on certain trips/doing certain things if you are lucky enough to be put into a team that allows this.

The workshops put on for the first two fridays were really good and really interesting and taught a lot. In terms of personal training, a lot of it was independant learning, which I think it a good thing, as it teaches you the skills of networking and using the resources around you to learn. There are plenty of resources within the company that you can use, and other departments other than the one you are placed in are always willing for you to join their team for half a day or so to learn more about what they do etc.

I know that the Grad scheme is alot more developed than the Intern scheme as looks really interesting in terms of development and progression. As part of the internship, you are encouraged to join the company in the future.

You have to arrange all of this yourself as their is nothing arranged by the company, except for the two workshops for all the interns out of office. You are encouraged when you join to create a whatsapp group with other interns, and have a drink together. We all met for lunch regularly in the office, as the atmosphere is quite relaxed that you can go to the canteen and eat with who you want. I think there were events arranged within certain teams between colleagues, but while I was there, there was nothing arranged in my team.

The office is in central West London, and so it is not the cheapest area at all.

I cannot say, as I never really went out, but I know that there are A LOT of bars around the office as it is in a newly developed area, and it looks really good to go out in.

Not really for me while I was there.