WAF Operations Intern Review

I really enjoyed my internship. I was placed into a role that added real value to the company and I was feeding back to the traders that I was working for directly. This meant that I got to meet many people within the business and understand the real commercial value of my work. I was working with the operations team, and gained valuable regional knowledge that I did not previously have, as well as technical skills on a variety of different software types. Throughout the internship I have had the opportunity to work on a number of different projects, and this variety kept me motivated to continue performing as best I could as I was continually learning. The working hours were also very good, and as one of 20 interns there was always a potential to integrate with the graduates and do social activities, some of which were organised by the company. I thoroughly enjoyed my time here.

Working in a direct team of 6, but with a wider global reach of many more, I was able to get to know the specifics of my work and people were open to mentoring me. Throughout the 11 weeks I was given different projects by different members of my team, and this made me feel heavily valued as the information was used by them to add commercial value. Building relationships with my team over the two and a half months meant that I felt very valued by them, not only as an intern but as a person who they got to know, and it really helped to involve me in the company more.

Different managers had different amounts of time to offer, especially as they are working important roles themselves, however all members of the business make sure to dedicate time should you need it and I received large amounts of support at the start of my internship to help me settle into the role. There are also structured feedback meetings in the middle of the scheme and at the end to ensure you can improve and take something more valuable than experience away with you.

The workloads differed for different interns as we were spread around the business, however my role was always busy and interesting. I was working on a project for a region which is constantly changing and so I was very busy, but still had time to take on new projects when I wanted to. At BP the business culture is great, and allows for you to ask for more work if you are feeling there is too little, or to ask for less and have a discussion with your manager if you think it is too much. There are also many events run throughout the scheme to teach you about different parts of the business and to allow you to interact with areas you may not have had a chance to beforehand, and this is all adds to the experience.

Every role here is considered for how much value can be added, so no intern is given a role where there is nothing that would be used by the business. My role in particular was aimed at providing key information directly to the traders involved in my area of the business, so I had quite a lot of responsibility. This responsibility also spread to meeting with and discussing the key elements of my project with key stakeholders on a couple of occasions.

As part of the internship all interns had to take part in a group project which was presented back and then subject to a Q&A with many senior members of the business. This experience helped me greatly to develop my presentation skills and to work and manage a full workload for an extended period. My discussions and feedback to key stakeholders and networking events with senior executives and leaders within the business meant that I am now a lot more comfortable in speaking to and approaching individuals who are senior to me, while understanding and respecting the different workloads they will have.

The office is a vibrant environment that can only be understood by experiencing it. There is a really positive an exciting atmosphere, and I was sat on the trading floor so that improved the buzz. There is a culture of approachability and friendliness within BP which is seen throughout all of the employees, and this makes for a very positive place to work. Even during difficult periods, there is the potential to meet with people and learn something and meeting different people was easy.

The internship was organised to a point, and timetables were given out at the start with structured sessions organised by HR to teach us about the business, but the best thing about the structuring was that it gave enough free time outside of organised events to arrange your own shadowings and business meetings that were specific to what you wanted to do or to your project. The organisation was very good in terms of internship set up, and HR ran weekly drop in sessions to get feedback and took on board anything that was said to improve the experience.

At the start of the internship, everyone was given Excel training to ensure we would not be disadvantaged in our roles. This was then followed up with the opportunity to take further sessions to develop your knowledge in more specific areas. Lunch and Learn sessions were held where you were able to listen to talks and demonstrations from people in different business areas (Upstream and Downstream as well) to learn what opportunities are available. For more specific interest areas, people were always more than willing to help with teaching you and sharing their knowledge, and I never felt like I was judged poorly for not knowing any information.

After seeing the company in such a detailed way for the last 3 months, I am sure that it is somewhere I would enjoy working. The values that thread through all of the business are things that I respect a lot and would want in a workplace, and the knowledge sharing culture makes it an exciting place to work as there is always the potential to learn. many people within the business have stayed here for many years due to the ability to move around within the business, and they really invest in your as an individual, so I think it would be a fantastic place to work.

Yes, we went out at least once a week and a close relationship with them was encouraged by HR through social events and volunteering days. The interns also had the opportunity to integrate with grads in 1st year roles and incoming grads through socials that were organised by us and a ball on the Thames that was arranged before we started. All of the interns had lunch together everyday as well and it allowed us to become very close.

The cost of living was expensive due to it being Canary Wharf, however this was reflected in the economic benefits from the company. Many of the surrounding restaurants and bars have very good deals and there are a number of supermarkets nearby that can help to keep costs down.

Every Thursday is the night when Canary Wharf comes alive with business people going to local bars. However, the nightlife and social scene in the area has been great every day that we chose to use it, as there are many bars to go to and many restaurants. The tube network meant that even if there was nothing of interest within walking distance you could travel around with ease.

As part of the scheme, there was a volunteering day, a ball on the Thames, and an intern social, however, as a group of interns we organised our own events and attended socials with the Sunbury team as well to improve our experience. The sociable working hours also allowed for this.