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
It was a great experience where I got to experience a diverse range of tasks. I felt that my work was valuable and had an impact on the team I was working within and on the company as a whole. I was also able to see a wide range of the business through the range of trips that were organised.
I felt a part of the team I was in and fully included in events such as the team lunch and a 'all hands day'. I was made to feel very welcome and helped when I needed support on that which I didn't understand. I was able to work with a range of colleagues who explained problems so I could then tackle it.
I was really supported by my line manager who helped me when I was struggling with adjusting to the larger company that I was not used to. The advice given was really useful and I was checked up on throughout the process to make sure that I was getting everything out of the experience that I wanted.
I was very busy but this was more down to me being open to all the different tasks. Although I did have some dependency on my colleagues which was frustrating when they were ill, there was always something to do if I wanted it. The best advice I had was to be as pro-active as I could be which meant that I often sought out work to keep my busy.
I was given a surprising amount of responsibility but in the areas where my team trusted me in that area. I was able to contribute a lot to projects and felt that my work had value. I was able to contribute to meetings and correspond with colleagues in an informed manner.
It has been an extremely useful process and has made me change what modules I want to do in the future as I have found a new passion for data science work that I had never experienced before. I was able to discover a whole range of different tools and learning how to use them has been very useful. Even learning about the different processes within the business has been valuable.
The Company
It was a very balanced office where the working hours were not too long and there wasn't a sense of people working very late. Although a little bit out of London, it had its benefits and the weekly team lunch was very enjoyable. There was less of a sense of going for drinks after work which I preferred. The office itself was quite spacious and it felt very open.
It was very well organised as there was both a central team organising it as well as the role specific team who were organising our placement within the exact teams. The only problems were with organising trips etc. were they would often change the date/time on a regular basis which was frustrating. However, working within my team itself was quite well set up. Though added communication could have improved things.
There was a good sense of training with a lot of opportunities throughout the placement. There were sessions that helped overall skills such as networking, Excel etc. and more specific training through an online site. I completed training on one particular tool which was very useful. Overall, there was a lot of opportunity if you wanted to develop yourself or simply learn from those around.
Subsidised Canteen
Company Parties/Events
Working from home
The future prospects were well set out for us and we were able to see the ladder that we could climb depending on which part of the business we wanted to look in. There was development on a technical side as well as managerial. There are also good graduate programs and future placements. Although the pay isn't the best for the technical sector, there are several factor to consider versus conventional technology companies.
The Culture
There were lots of events organised throughout the program itself where you could get to know the other interns. This included the charity challenge where we tried to raise as much money as we could throughout the program by running events. However, there was a little lack of uptake on these events apart from those organised centrally.
I stayed on the other side of London with my family so I didn't have to live in the area or pay rent so it is difficult to say. The train fair is a little pricey especially around London. However, in Welwyn Garden City itself, it isn't too bad due to the distance away from London.
The nightlife wasn't great. There are a couple of pubs in the surrounding area where people would go out to but apart from that it is a very quite area. For a real night out you are looking to travel into London itself. Mainly a commuter town so a busy train station and shopping centre but not much else apart from restaurants and pubs.
Mainly sporting activities such as football matches between teams or the gym within work. There were also plenty of charity events going on such as the 'Race for Life' which is good fun to take part in. However, other than that it was very limited and most things were involved in work. Although there was a Hackathon which was good fun in technology.
Details
Internship (1 Month+)
London
August 2018