Summer Finance Intern Review

by Severn Trent

This review was submitted over 4 years ago, so some of the information it contains may no longer be relevant.

Rating

4.2/5
  • The Role
    4.6
  • The Company
    4.2
  • The Culture
    3.8

    The Role

  • 1. To what extent did you enjoy your work placement or internship?
  • I thoroughly enjoyed my placement over the 10 weeks that I was with Severn Trent. All members of every team that I rotated across were friendly and always on hand to help, constantly helping me to develop my knowledge. As their are numerous teams in the Finance department, at first I thought it would be overwhelming, but after just a few days, I felt comfortable within each team.

    5/5

  • 2. To what extent did you feel valued by your colleagues?
  • Severn Trent is such a friendly place to work, and I believe that the majority of colleagues wanted to assist me with my development, giving me tasks that made a real impact to the organisation. For example, I was given the opportunity to post journals, which make a difference to the accounts across the organisation. When ever I had any queries, nobody was ever to busy to help, and so I really felt like I was a valued member of the team.

    4/5

  • 3. To what extent were you given support and guidance by management/your supervisor(s)?
  • As our line manager changed every two weeks, we were constantly given new support and guidance in order to be able to complete the tasks at hand and to a high level. We had the opportunity to meet with members of the HR team to find out our progress and answer any concerns. This was a great help, as it gave us the opportunity to give praise and or feedback anonymously. Additionally, we met with Graduates who were leading the scheme weekly, and this was brilliant as we could also gain a better understanding of the Graduate schemes and other information regarding the company.

    5/5

  • 4. How busy were you on a daily basis?
  • At the start of each placement, I was given a list of tasks to complete during my time with the team, and these often lasted the entire rotation. The tasks kept me busy, as they required a great deal of thinking and concentration, due to the impact they made to the organisation. If I ever ran out of work to do, asking for more work was never an issue, and there was always somebody on hand to assist. Additionally, we were set a task to complete an end of placement presentation, and so if on the rare occasion my line manager was unavailable, It gave me time to work on this.

    4/5

  • 5. How much responsibility were you given during your placement?
  • Many of the tasks on the placement made an Impact to the company, and so I felt as if I had a lot of responsibility. When posting journals, I could approve them up to the same threshold as the associates on the team, which I can safely say none of my friends doing placements elsewhere had to the opportunity to do. All of the tasks such as analysis of cost centres, leads and pipes inputting and creating Comm Cell Boards all had different impacts, but often required independent working. At the start of our placement, we were told to 'Make an impact, not a coffee'....I can safely say, I didn't make a tea or coffee once during the placement!

    5/5

  • 6. To what extent did/will the skills you developed, and training you received, assist you in your degree studies and beyond?
  • As I study a scientific degree, the skills I developed are making a massive impact on my degree. Since working at Severn Trent, I have altered the way I undertake analysis during my lab projects, and I have been able to work through them more efficiently and effectively. Additionally, my time management and stakeholder management skills have.improved dramatically. I have the ability to plan well in advance in order to meet deadlines and targets frequently. Often during my degree, much of my time is taken up by waiting for developments in cell growth to occur, or waiting for responses from emails. Now, I can plan to work during the 'waiting' periods, and to be adaptable when communicating with different people, In order to reach the desired goal much quicker than usual.

    5/5

    The Company

  • 7. What was the general atmosphere in your office?
  • The Severn Trent Centre has the mostly friendly and welcoming atmosphere possible. Everybody is at hand to help, and it would feel incredibly wrong to walk across each floor and not say hello to any and everybody you pass. There were times when I was unsure of certain things, and there would be somebody to help instantly. During my time, there was a Finance Social BBQ and a Charity Bakeoff, which involved colleagues of all levels, including the CFO. This was a great experience to be able to network with professionals of all levels, and take advice that will help further my career.

    5/5

  • 8. How well organised was the overall work placement or internship set up?
  • The internship was incredibly well set up, with communications well in advance of my placement starting, in order for Severn Trent to understand my preferred placements. I had my planned rotations weeks in advance, which gave me the opportunity to research a little about each department in order to gain a better understanding of what I would be doing. On the first couple of days, we had an induction and meet and greet sessions with Senior Leaders, which was a great experience to learn of their career progression.

    5/5

  • 9. In terms of personal training and development, to what extent did the company or firm invest in you?
  • The organisation places a large emphasis on personal development, and after each rotation, I met with each line manger in order to gain feedback. This enabled me to learn of the skills they believed I needed to improve, and gave me to the opportunity to me more self aware, and focus on that skill or attribute in the following rotation. Additionally, there are numerous training sessions on wellbeing, such as a resilience session I attended. This made colleagues feel able to discuss their concerns and issues that may prevent them for working to their full potential.

    5/5

  • 10. What were the perks on your work placement?
  • Flexi Time

    Sports and Social Club

    Staff Sales/Staff Shop

    Working from home

    3/5

  • 11. How appealing are future employment prospects within the organisation?
  • There are great prospects within the organisation, and the graduate scheme is extremely well structured, focusing on development and future career progression. As colleagues are frequently recognised for the great work they do, I believe there are also opportunities to progress to senior levels within the company. The perks, working atmosphere and career opportunities make it an extremely appealing place to work, and is why I am keen to get onto the companies Graduate Scheme.

    4/5

    The Culture

  • 12. Was there a good social scene amongst any fellow placement students/colleagues?
  • As there was only one other intern in the Finance Department, we formed a sound relationship socially, and we used this opportunity to go for drinks and food. It was difficult to organise socials with interns on other placements such as the engineers, as they are based at different locations across the country. That said, there was a strong social scene between the graduates, and they tried to incorporate us wherever possible.

    4/5

  • 13. What was the cost of living and socialising in the area you worked in?
  • Coventry is a reasonably priced location to live and socialise in. There are many houses nearby to the Severn Trent centre where I believe many of the graduates live, all priced well, and well within walking distance to the restaurants and bars of the city. The bars and restaurants are well priced, with many being chains, and so are very competitive.

    4/5

  • 14. What was the Nightlife like in the area you worked?
  • I didn't have the opportunity to experience the Nightlife of Coventry, as I was commuting from about an hour away, however when talking about it with the Graduates, many said how it had some good nightclubs. There are numerous bars which appeared to be lively, and due to the location of the train station, had easy access to Birmingham which has a thriving nightlife. If there isn't anything taking your fancy in Coventry, being so close to another city, enabled people to travel a short distance for an array of events.

    3/5

  • 15. Were there many opportunities to get involved in activities outside of work?
  • There were numerous opportunities to get involved in activities outside of work, Including the Finance Department Socials, which are organised by the Social Committee. Additionally, there are many opportunities to take part in charity and volunteering events. For example, I took part in a Virtual Football game in order to raise money for Wateraid. This gave me the opportunity to be apart of the Management Accounting team, and network with new members of the Finance Team.

    4/5

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Details

Internship (1 Month+)

October 2017


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