Business Analyst Review

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.

It must've been really hard for the current grocery manager to step back and take his hands off the wheel, but he did so without objection, and was happy to offer advice and support when asked. I was given control of grocery and backdoor, taking on his full role, and relished the oppurtunity to show what I had learned.

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.

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.

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.

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.