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 really good fun. Some of the work was loads of fun especially the bit on making a test plan which meant I could use my Comp Sci Skills in a useful way. Also enjoyed playing Ping pong at Lunch with another intern and being coached by another colleague.
My Colleagues were really supportive and were really nice. I was consistently given good feedback and told when I'd done well and what I could have done better. They also helped in things other than just the work though. I was coached by a colleague in ping pong and also had opportunities to work in other areas because of the support received.
My Manager was the best manager ever. She was really supportive and really understanding. I had a week where I was sick and my Manager was really nice about it. I also had problems with my mental health and concerns about work and she reassured that I'd done fine which helped a lot. Could not have got a better line manager if I tried.
I had enough to keep me busy. The work I was given from the team was often harder than it looked and combined with the development journey stuff, training and the extra work my manager gave me, I was never short of something to do. In the free time I had at work at lunch I played ping pong which was really good.
I was given tasks that actually supported the team and that actually had an impact which felt really good. I also the usual responsibilities of ensuring I turned up to meetings, events and stuff. I felt that I could have been given more If I'd asked for it and done more work but my manager ensured I had just as much as I could handle.
The skills developed in writing a test plan for the form we were developing were really useful in that they gave me a view of how skills I learn in a completely different environment (Comp Sci course) can be used in a workplace setting. I was also given training such as Systems Thinking, Service Design and I learned to work in an agile environment
The Company
Everyone in the office was really nice and when I joined we were celebrating the world cup so all the desks were covered in decorations of the country that they'd been assigned. We also had to do a charity challenge and the people on my floor were very friendly and supportive of it.
I think the work placement was set up really well since I was allowed to explore the different roles and areas in the business in addition to the one that I'd been assigned. My line manager as well was supportive of me attending various training sessions and shadowing various roles.
The Company Invested in me through training, giving me work that trained my skills and stuff. We were given a "Development Journey" email every 2 weeks that had tips in it to do with trying to improve personal skills like emotional intelligence, networking etc. . They were well intended but I feel that they weren't that great and often times it was random bits in them felt like a footnote that made me think and actually helped the most.
I would love to come back and work in the same office. 10 Weeks have never passed so quickly. The team and my manager were brilliant and I would love to continue working with them in the future. I'm not sure I'd work in other areas since I've heard from some of the other interns that they weren't given enough to do or too much. My area though was fantastic!
The Culture
The Social scene with my colleagues was really good and I felt that welcomed everyone who joined the team really well. We had a couple of trips to the pub and when a colleague left we had a Team Lunch and a Team Pub Trip on the day. The scene with other interns wasn't great though and it felt like the only options to hang out with other interns was to go clubbing. There weren't really any other kind of Socialising events available.
My accommodation was paid for which was really helpful, especially since the fringe was on at the time. The Food and stuff was really cheap as well since It's not far from Edinburgh. Felt about the same as back home. Socialising Was mainly just clubbing which involves alcohol which is more expensive in Scotland.
I'm not a fan of clubbing and when I did turn up it wasn't great. That might be to do with the group I went with rather than the clubs themselves though. I've enjoyed it more in Manchester and Oxford than in Edinburgh. The clubs in oxford are a lot smaller though which is better
No real activites outside of work. It mainly meet up with people of your own accord or do nothing. The accommodation didn't have anything to do in the building that we stayed. There was a Ping Pong table a little bit away from where I was staying but the bats and balls were in poor condition
Details
Internship (1 Month+)
Scotland
August 2018