Communication intern Review

by The Body Shop

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

Rating

1.8/5
  • The Role
    2.8
  • The Company
    1.5
  • The Culture
    0.9

    The Role

  • 1. To what extent did you enjoy your work placement or internship?
  • My work placement was very enjoyable and gave me the opportunity to learn a great deal as i was treated as a full time employee. While this meant i didn't have much chance to learn from my role i took the opportunity to learn outside of work and this helped me in both life and the role. As with any job there were areas that were un-enjoyable and unsatisfying but overall the company is an okay one to work.

    3/5

  • 2. To what extent did you feel valued by your colleagues?
  • I felt very valued as again, i was treated as a full time employee and this meant that i was leaned on for quite a lot of things. Including, but not limited to manual and administrative tasks but overall i did tasks that greatly benefited the team that they were grateful for.

    4/5

  • 3. To what extent were you given support and guidance by management/your supervisor(s)?
  • Not much support is given by the managerial team - especially at the start when it is most required and you are left to feel alone and lost and due to this the start of the journey is a difficult one. There are processes that should be followed to ensure that you are guided and looked after (such as reviews and 1 to 1's) but this is dependent on your line manager actually doing them and i have found that not many follow them.

    1/5

  • 4. How busy were you on a daily basis?
  • There were days were i felt like i had the heavy weight of the world on my shoulders and more and more kept being piled on. I requested help and support but it was made clear that the rest of the team was busy. My manager tried to help but our skill sets are quite different and she does not have the software expertise to help which meant that i was alone to deal with a lot of the issues. Which is the same with most the roles at The Body Shop. The interns fill a void that a full time employee would be filing. The role (as im sure is the same with any retail role) is very reactive and is not at all proactive which is why it can feel like someone is piling more on top of the already harsh workload. So, in short. Yes i was very busy.

    1/5

  • 5. How much responsibility were you given during your placement?
  • I was given a lot of responsibility straight away and was left alone to do most of my tasks without much supervision so i would say that yes i was given a lot of responsibility during my placement year. The Body Shop is very good at ensuring that their interns are doing tasks relevant to their role, so 'being the tea and coffee person' won't ever happen.

    4/5

  • 6. To what extent did/will the skills you developed, and training you received, assist you in your degree studies and beyond?
  • The skills i developed won't necessarily help my degree but they will help my future career (which i now feel i have more defined) and i have without a doubt developed skills for life. Not only does all the work and responsibility teach you things but it also gives you a sense of confidence that can only come from working full time.

    5/5

    The Company

  • 7. What was the general atmosphere in your office?
  • Everyone in the office is very busy and does not normally have time to speak to each other or interact in anyway which can make the environment feel somewhat lonely but i think this is very dependent on the team that you are in and the time of week it is.

    2/5

  • 8. How well organised was the overall work placement or internship set up?
  • Very badly organised overall. You get one week where the previous intern hands the job over to you but unless your line manager ensures that this is done well you could end up knowing next to nothing - without knowing that you know nothing. There is no real plan on how to help you learn and progress in the role and no set meetings with your line manager.

    1/5

  • 9. In terms of personal training and development, to what extent did the company or firm invest in you?
  • I received no personal training at all apart from my one week handover. For most roles you are recruited with the exception that you are equipped to do your role. I am not sure what type of training i would have received if i had no previous knowledge of what i needed to do. There have been a few training sessions available to the wider company but no specific to interns and none that i had the free time to attend.

    1/5

  • 10. What were the perks on your work placement?
  • Subsidised Canteen

    Subsidised/Company Gym

    Company Parties/Events

    Staff Sales/Staff Shop

    4/5

  • 11. How appealing are future employment prospects within the organisation?
  • For me there is no appeal as there is no longer a graduate scheme and the previous scheme had no roles that would suit my career choice (there were only 4). The grad scheme is quite generous but due to the general office environment i would probably have decided against applying.

    1/5

    The Culture

  • 12. Was there a good social scene amongst any fellow placement students/colleagues?
  • The interns interacted with each other but as time went on and our workload got worse we stopped making time for one another. In your teams, again you are very busy so no one really spends much time with each other outside of work and this is also due to the fact that there isn't much in the area.

    2/5

  • 13. What was the cost of living and socialising in the area you worked in?
  • The area, despite not having much around is quite expensive to live in. The house that i lived in was very expensive and this is due to a lack of options in the very small area. Because things were so pricey there was very little socialising as the cost to get anywhere was more than the cost o the night out.

    1/5

  • 14. What was the Nightlife like in the area you worked?
  • There was no nightlife. Littlehampton is a very small town and because of this everyone just wanted to go home after work.

    1/5

  • 15. Were there many opportunities to get involved in activities outside of work?
  • We have two volunteer days a year but other than that there were no activities to do after work. Most (if not all) employees just went straight home after work and didn't consider socialising. Again, this could be due to the fact that there isn't much to do in Littlehampton.

    1/5

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Details

Placement (10 Months+)

South West

June 2018


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