HR Summer Intern Review

I really enjoyed the human resources placement over the summer period. The work was fairly engaging, the team were extremely friendly and the office atmosphere was great. As a result of my experiences I am looking forward to returning to the same department n a year for a graduate position.

The project that I was given over the summer period was something that could have a significant impact on many of the employees within the team I was working. I was pleasantly surprised when many of them became very engaged in the work, offered great feedback and genuinely appreciated and valued my findings and recommendations. I feel like the work I produced was received extremely well and the network built as a result will prove to be a very useful tool going forward. I was a real part of the team all the way through.

I have been extremely fortunate during my time at E.ON to always have managers and supervisors who are always accessible, extremely friendly and often act as much as mentors than managers. Throughout this internship my manager was fantastic. She often challenged me on my work, provide guidance and direction where necessary and gave credit and praise when required. She also allowed me to utilise much of my time to develop myself and often encouraged me to do so when I became very focused on other things.

Throughout the beginning and middle of my placement I had a lot to do. I was meeting new colleagues, learning about the business area and carrying out all the necessary tasks, research and engagement to complete my own project. Once this was finished, however, I found that the work seemed to drop off and by the last week there was not as much to do. Despite this, however, colleagues were always happy to provide you with smaller tasks or even give time to have an insight into their area and this could quickly fill up time.

The responsibility I was given was significant, especially for an inexperienced summer placement student. I was asked to complete reviews of certain areas and provide recommendations as well as proposing new ways of working for work experience programmes etc. All of this had senior leadership insight, whilst the latter was a proposal that was delivered to the HR director. This level of responsibility certainly made the work more challenging, more engaging and more valuable.

The ability to think critically and analyse information with real business context is something that I believe will be valuable when continuing my studies next year. Additionally, the fact that I will be returning to E.ON's Graduate Programme mean that all of the training and skills I received throughout this placement will be hugely beneficial. I hope to be able to utilise those learning as a platform when I start in order to make a positive start.

At E.ON the HR area is separate from the rest of the office and can only be accessed by people within the HR function. This meant that that the 100-150 people within the office all seemed to know each other more than other parts of the business did and often collaborated better as a result of this. I immediately felt welcomed and found that by simply knowing a couple of people, I was soon introduced to many more and established positive relationships.

My placement was organised on an ADHOC basis due to the fact that I had previously worked n the finance department and wanted to gain an insight into HR before commencing their Graduate Programme. Despite this, however, there was a clear project with key deliverables and objectives. The on boarding for summer placements could possibly be improved as many of us started at different times and didn't know each other until a community event a few weeks after. Despite this, however, I always knew who to contact with questions and generally had sufficient workloads and guidance.

I was always encouraged to spend time with all the various areas within HR that interested me for the future and so spend significant amounts of time gaining insights and developing myself. E.ON operates in its learning by utilising the 70/20/10 model which suggests that 70% of learning or developing happens 'on the job'. This was true for me. I was always permitted time if I wanted to also visit other sites and am sure I would have been permitted to attend various training sessions if required.

I have already been accepted onto E.ON's HR Graduate Scheme which is fantastic. The scheme is one that offers great future prospects, opportunities for international travel and exposure, sponsorship for the CIPD qualification and a competitive salary. This package together means that the employment prospects are very appealing.

In the HR department there was quite a good young social group. The graduates and undergraduates would all get together on a monthly basis and go out for dinner etc. The engagement with undergraduates in other schemes, however, was lacking.

Fairly average. I lived in Mansfield, a local town near the Sherwood Business Park offices and rent was cheap for a nice house. Due to the fact that Nottingham is close and transport is frequent and easy it also makes it fairly easy to find a cost-effective living solution.

I don't really go out at night

As previously stated there are some events that take place within the HR department. Also, because of the location, it is easy to organise local events for people in or around Nottingham and everyone lives fairly close and in an accessible area.