Commercial Intern Review

This placement was very enjoyable and informative; I learnt a huge amount about myself, the Company and the industry, which allowed me to make an informed decision about what kind of career path I want to take. I felt valued and welcomed, and am pleased to say I'm pursuing further opportunities within the Company.

I felt very much like I was valued by my colleagues; they welcomed me from the first day and helped me through any issues I had. The level of informality and approachability is very refreshing, and the buddy scheme (wherein interns are paired with a grad for support) was very useful.

The level of support given by managers, supervisors and colleagues is excellent; the buddy scheme provides a huge amount of useful support, and all managers are approachable and friendly at all times. Managers and supervisors generally always make time to talk and to offer help, no matter how busy they are.

During the first week I was not particularly busy as there was a fair amount of training to get through; however, my workload was generally very consistent thereafter. There were very rarely times when I had nothing to do, and the workload was manageable. Some of the work was potentially not as challenging as I would have liked, but generally it was very good.

I felt that I was given a huge amount of responsibility from day one of the placement. I had the opportunity to work on major contracts and to help formulate business decisions with significant and resounding effects. I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of trust and responsibility given to me as an intern.

The skills and training I received has already been useful for my return to university; my work ethic and professionalism have greatly improved, and I feel that I have a good idea of what professional work looks like. The skills I gained helped me to get onto the grad scheme I wanted.

The atmosphere here is very professional, but that is not to say that it is a dull place to work - it is expected that people work well and behave in a professional manner, but rules are not overly prescriptive. The office environment is definitely not like that of Google, but it is a pleasant place to work.

Generally speaking, the placement was well organised; I normally always had things to do and the 'masterclass' projects were useful in structuring my personal and professional development. However, the beginning of the placement was perhaps somewhat unorganised - more information and a clearer idea of what the job role will entail would have been useful before the placement started.

I feel that the company invested a huge amount in my personal training and development, both from a financial and non-financial point of view. The placement involved lots of opportunities for development, and the masterclasses/site visit were very useful. I got the impression that the company really values new talent and is willing to invest heavily in it.

Future prospects with this company are excellent - the internship can facilitate your entry onto the graduate scheme (subject to performance and assessment, of course), which is very competitive indeed - the remuneration is great, and the chances for progression are excellent. I have received nothing but positive feedback from current grads.

There was a relatively good social scene amongst fellow placement students; when travelling to masterclasses, the Company arranged for social events for us to get to know each other and the current grads. However, the intern cohort may be based across multiple offices, which somewhat limits the opportunities for socialisation outside of these events.

Living and socialising costs are reasonable around the North West in general, although the offices are not always located in city centres so a certain amount of commuting may be needed. The wide variety of locations from which the company operates will influence the costs, but generally it wasn't problematic for me.

There is essentially no nightlife too close to the office - for me, a good night out involves travelling into Manchester or, to a lesser degree, Warrington. Public transport links are generally awful, so this isn't always easy. However, this is my normal area of residence so my perspective may be somewhat skewed.

Generally there were few activities outside of work. The intern masterclasses I mentioned earlier offered a certain amount of socialising and activities outside of work, plus my department organised a meal out during my time here, which was pleasant. Generally however, there are few opportunities for activities outside of work, but nothing preventing them from being arranged.