Product Manager Review

I really enjoyed my work placement. It was a fantastic opportunity to develop my employability skills, as well as meet some great new colleagues and appreciate how a shared set of values can unify a highly diverse group of people. The responsibility that I was given throughout my internship meant that I felt engaged and stimulated everyday, and excited to fulfil my potential for the future.

I feel like the fact that I was interning didn't get in the way of being valued as a member of the team by my colleagues. I took part in team events and meetings, and thought that the internship was a great opportunity to help build my confidence for when I work within a team in the future.

I feel like that the amount of guidance that I received by my managers could have been improved. I was administered tasks that I feel even experienced colleagues in my area might have struggled with, and it felt like I was assumed that I knew how to complete them. I felt well supported in terms of other questions/my general wellbeing however, although my managers were often busy.

There was barely a moment on this internship that I wasn't working towards completing a task, which helped me to learn a huge amount about improving my time management ability. I enjoyed this, as it made me feel like my internship was a valuable experience, and I was never bored.

I was given considerable responsibility throughout my placement. For the product that I managed, managers' mobile phones, I helped to decide which apps were installed on it, run its pilot, uncover security issues and run reports on it through large IT systems that enabled us to measure the devices' health and their success within the workplace. This made me feel that the time that I spent at Tesco was really worthwhile.

I believe that the skills that I've learned at Tesco will stand me in very good stead for my future. In terms of at university, I've learnt to manage my time very effectively, which will prove useful when managing coursework and exams in my final year. When I enter employment, I've learnt a huge amount about how to work effectively within a team and within a business in general, which I think will give me a real competitive edge.

My team all got along well, which really motivated me to come into work each day. I was given several good opportunities to socialise with my team out of work hours, which I took happily. The office atmosphere was nice and relaxed, different to other firms I've done work experience at.

Overall, the internship ran well, however there were some issues. I believe that there was a considerable amount of miscommunication between the central internship team and the tech internship team, which meant that our internship events and completion process was very different to that of other interns. Whilst most of the events that were organised by the tech team ran well, the lunch with the CTO were constantly reorganised. In addition, our trip to the CFC was changed to a different location, and we had to arrive early (at 8) which meant waking up at 5. We were only given a very short tour (30 mins, which should have been 1hr 30) and the day that we arrived was the one day every 6 months that a stock take was being carried out, which meant that we saw no operating machinery, and even the colleague shop was closed.

I believe that we were very well invested in. All of my travel arrangements were reimbursed, I was given a brand new MacBook Pro to use and I generally felt well looked after. I also really liked the interns induction pack that we were given at the beginning, which included a tech travel flask and pen. I think that items like this, although small, really help interns to feel valued and well looked after.

I would say that future employment prospects within Tesco are very appealing. I like the ethos amongst the employees, which feels like just the right balance of relaxation to hard work ethic. I never felt like I was being really pressured, which meant that my own motivation to excel was what pushed me to work hard.

I think that the social scene amongst the other interns could have been improved somewhat. I think that some centrally organised social events would have proven highly fruitful (the only social event appeared to be the end of internship social event). Such social events would have proven a good opportunity for interns to talk about their experiences with other interns, and relax with colleagues their own age (interns are always going to be the youngest on their team, hence may feel somewhat overwhelmed at times).

I was lucky enough to be able to commute from home, hence the cost of living was fine for me. Socialising in Welwyn is fairly expensive, and aside a few pubs there aren't many social hotspots. However London is easily accessible by train, although this is also quite expensive to do.

The nightlife in Welwyn is fairly poor, with few socialising opportunities available aside a few pubs. St albans has slightly improved socialising prospects, although not by much. London is probably the best opportunity for vibrant nightlife, however this is dependent on an ability to get to the train station easily.

There were a few opportunities to get involved with out of work opportunities. I played badminton weekly with my team, and also enjoyed taking advantage of the table tennis facilities available on campus. I know of a few interns who took advantage of the gym facilities on campus also. I would have preferred if my team had held more social activities however.