Benefits Analyst Review

Overall, the placement was thoroughly enjoyable. This is because the experience allowed me to develop my professional skills in a comfortable environment. It was a good introduction to working in an office space, with a professional yet friendly and supportive atmosphere. Working in such a large company gave me the opportunity to gain a useful business overview whilst learning my own specific function in detail.

I felt very much valued by colleagues and supervisors. This is evidenced by how I was given significant responsibilities in my day to day activities. This included communicating with a range of contacts, both internal and eternal, when negotiating contract renewals- a key part of my role. Colleagues (of all ages/seniority) were always happy to help me complete tasks.

As in all professional relationships, support and guidance required input from both sides. That said, Schlumberger were proactive in giving me close support from my manager, whilst allowing me leeway in carrying out personal tasks and projects. Furthermore, I was given a mentor figure in my department who was very useful in providing a second source of guidance and advice throughout the internship.

The nature of the role meant that it required me to manage my time and workload very efficiently. This is because at any given time I could be reporting to three or four different superiors, or have no reporting tasks at all but only personal projects. It means that I had to be both on top of my workload and efficient in cooperating with my manager to manage what was given to me.

I was given a fair amount of responsibility throughout the year. This built up as I established working relationships with a number of contacts inside and outside the company. I was left free to make my own decisions in who and how to contact people when gathering and analyzing data. This was balanced by regular oversight from my direct manager.

The only drawback in the training and skills developed is that the HR function is not directly applicable to my Politics course. That said, I felt like the company invested in me- it took the time for example to organize webcasts with members of different departments so I could learn from their skills and processes whilst developing my own.

The atmosphere was relaxed and quite quiet. This is because the members of the floor (including my direct reports) had their own office. I shared with another intern, which made for a good, friendly atmosphere in our immediate space at least. That said, I was free to walk into open offices whenever I needed to ask any questions.

I felt that the internship was well set up to incorporate me into the role. This was shown by how well the handover set me up for the year. I spent two weeks with the previous intern who talked me through his year, as well as the company organization and specific processes.

There is a strong culture of investing in employees and hiring from within. This is reflected in how they value and develop their interns. I was constantly invited to trainings and webcasts where I could learn about different functions related to my own as well as the company in general.

I have met a number of current employees who were previously interns, which suggests there is a fair chance of receiving an offer.

Most of the colleagues were older and there wasn't much of a scene apart from the few students also on placement.

The cost of living was cheap, being outside London- however travelling and socializing to London was expensive.

There wasn't much nightlife where I worked and lived, however London with all its options was nearby.

There were opportunities to take part in conferences and events as well as sporting activities