This review was submitted over 4 years ago, so some of the information it contains may no longer be relevant.
Rating
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The Role
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The Company
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The Culture
- 1. To what extent did you enjoy your work placement or internship?
- 2. To what extent did you feel valued by your colleagues?
- 3. To what extent were you given support and guidance by management/your supervisor(s)?
- 4. How busy were you on a daily basis?
- 5. How much responsibility were you given during your placement?
- 6. To what extent did/will the skills you developed, and training you received, assist you in your degree studies and beyond?
- 7. What was the general atmosphere in your office?
- 8. How well organised was the overall work placement or internship set up?
- 9. In terms of personal training and development, to what extent did the company or firm invest in you?
- 10. What were the perks on your work placement?
- 11. How appealing are future employment prospects within the organisation?
- 12. Was there a good social scene amongst any fellow placement students/colleagues?
- 13. What was the cost of living and socialising in the area you worked in?
- 14. What was the Nightlife like in the area you worked?
- 15. Were there many opportunities to get involved in activities outside of work?
The Role
I really enjoyed my time at Tesco, it was a really welcoming and easy going atmosphere which was ideal as someone who was entering the commercial/business sector for the first time. The role was quite challenging but very rewarding. I was given quite a large project which involved working with a wide range of teams within Tesco and their suppliers.
As I was given a set project for my time at Tesco, you really do become an expert in that field during your time in the company. Therefore I was highly valued by my other colleagues and seen as another equal team member rather than an intern at the bottom of the food chain! They made a strong effort to include me in all social events and team events.
I felt very well supported by my managers during my time at Tesco. The team is quite large with various levels of management in the team, which created a good support network for me. It meant that not only was my direct manager looking out for me, but everyone else in the team at a higher level was also very supportive and helpful.
Due to being assigned my own project for my time at Tesco, I was almost entirely in change of my own schedule. I know I work best when busiest, so always scheduled meetings with as many people as possible that either related to my project, or just held a position in the company which was of interest to me. You are completely in charge of how busy you are, which is quite refreshing.
I ran my project completely alone after a few weeks into my placement, so work load-wise, a lot of responsibility was given to me. Of course, my team and managers were there, easy to contact and always very willing to help me out when I needed it, but it was on me to organise the majority of meetings after the first few weeks.
I came into the role with a strong science and medical background. I was very focused on this area and career path before arriving at Tesco, but this placement has given me a great opportunity to expand my knowledge of the retail and food sector exponentially. Although quite a few of the skills seem very specialist, they are also highly transferable. It has given me an opportunity to develop skills and training that I otherwise would not have gained if I remained in my comfort zone of scientific research.
The Company
The office had a very friendly and welcoming atmosphere. It was relatively easy to settle in as it is quite a relaxed feel. Everyone works very hard and has extremely important roles, but they are still always happy to sit and have a catch up with you over coffee to make you feel more welcome.
Overall it seems very well organised now I have almost completed my time here, however to begin with there definitely were some discrepancies between the set up from the Internship Team, and my actual work team. To begin I did feel quite lost and unsure what I was doing/what my role was because my team expected HR to have told me and visa versa.
Although I didn't attend any development courses directly, I feel as if my development and training has been very well supported. I have been invited to a number of different meetings and events to shadow to get an idea of the whole business, and people always took time out to show me how to do complex tasks.
Flexi Time
Subsidised Canteen
Subsidised/Company Gym
National Travel
Company Parties/Events
Working from home
The next step graduate scheme seems like a very appealing next step on from the summer internship. It seems that a lot of work has gone into ensuring that the internship and graduate scheme flow through to each other well. It also seems like there is a wide variety of different areas to go into, even though the internship was focused on just one area.
The Culture
Within the smaller group of interns in my department, we did make quite a bit of effort to meet up at lunch etc. However, wider than this it was quite difficult as people are living in a wide range of places. There didn't seem like much time to get to know the other interns in the initial introductions.
Living costs were higher than expected but not extortionate, for living in a house share. However, I stayed in Welwyn GC so travel expenses were extremely low to non existent. Socialising was quite difficult as Welwyn is a very quite area socially, so you either stay at HO which is very cheap, or go into London.
I staying in Welwyn GC as it was easiest for travel purposes. However, socially there wasn't much to do. A couple of us went to the pub or dinner a handful of times, but apart from that you have to head into London really, which is easy enough but quite a faff.
Within my team, a couple of sport competitions and social events were held during my time at Tesco, which was really nice as it was a good opportunity to meet more of my team and become a bit more confident around my team. However it did depend on your team a lot.
Details
Internship (1 Month+)
Consumer Products/FMCG, Purchasing and Supply, Retail
London
August 2018