HR Summer Placement Review

I have really enjoyed my placement because I got the opportunity to lead my own project and engage with senior stakeholders to help them take action and make progress. The work was really varied and I had the opportunity to learn more about the wider business and HR processes which was extremely insightful.

I felt extremely valued by my colleagues. Everyone at Centrica has time for interns and any questions or queries. This really surprised me in a corporate environment the amount of care and interest people have in us and our projects. The recognition tool really embeds this value which is used widely across Centrica.

Despite the extremely hectic diary my line manager had he always ensured I had time to ask questions and understand my work. I have learnt so much about stakeholder management, simplifying complexity and being agile through our 121 conversations. These are development skills that I will carry through the rest of my career.

My workload varied depending on when meetings were however every day I had work to do and I never felt that I had nothing to do. I think during this internship you really have the opportunity to choose how busy you are. Even if you don't have loads going on with the project you can take part in other activities e.g. Customer Safari and arrange meetings with a wide range of people across the business to learn and develop further outside of the area you have been placed.

I was very surprised with the amount of responsibility given. For my project I had to set up meetings, make key decisions and analyse and deliver independently. I really value this opportunity to be independent because this is rare to experience particularly in a large matrix organization. I really respect the trust the company puts in interns.

Over the course of the internship I developed both skills useful for my degree: Analysing data, Presentations, Excel , Team working. Whilst also developing skills that i will carry forward in my future business career such as: stakeholder management, accepting change and the importance of referring to fundamentals when working on a project.

I really enjoy the office atmosphere at Centrica. The offices are really modern and in Staines they have hot desking which allows you to chat to a wide range of people as you are likely to be sat to a different person most days. Everyone is extremely welcoming and friendly. I really liked that there is no hierarchies. As an intern you could be sat next to someone really senior.

In terms of Project I think it really depends who your line manager is. For the general programme I would argue it was really well organised - we had different development sessions planned throughout and every week from the graduate team we received emails about actions we need to take or what is happening soon.

I think the company really invested. I would not expect the development day, excel training and presentation training that we are given on the scheme. Additionally Centrica has a really large learning and development area so you can take part in these modules whilst you are here. The power presentations one was really useful for final presentations.

Very Appealing- I have thoroughly enjoyed my work placement and really thrive under the working environment Centrica has. It is really apparent the values do lead how people work here and I think makes Centrica a really positive and agile company to work for. The opportunities are really exciting for a young person beginning their career.

Yes - We stay at Royal Holloway so it is very similar to staying in halls at university. Centrica made it very easy to get to know all the other graduates well via the development day and activities we did on our induction. We have had BBQ's, Nights out together. I have made some really good friends through this internship.

Egham was relatively cheap I did not notice much difference to where I am from there is a Tesco's so food is standard pricing. Windsor is a bit more expensive but I think with the payment received for doing the internship this is not a big factor at all. I would not say this is significant.

Egham is very quiet however Windsor has Atik which is like a standard university club which is fun. We also went into London which is not a far commute and you can get back cheaply via Heathrow. I think because there is a big group of interns you can make anywhere fun and enjoy going out.

I would not say directly by Centrica. They did have socials and team drinks. However if this refers to sporting activities or 'clubs' I was not made aware of these. I am sure they would be happy to introduce suggestions. The gym classes are fun and sociable to attend.