Commercial Operations Management Intern Review

I greatly enjoyed my placement. I was given so much responsibility which was initially daunting but I grasped every opportunity i was given and i have developed so much over the past year. Working with GE means you can work on both Commercial work and wing-to-wing projects (which are projects that involve every department across the business) this is great for building a rapport with numerous colleagues and networking across multiple layers of management.

I felt highly valued by my colleagues and didn't feel like a placement student at all. I was given the same tasks as commercial coordinators and worked with engineers in the same way. I was trusted to run meetings, lead bids and present to management. I didn't feel underestimated or undermined at all during my year.

I worked very closely with my supervisor. The first few weeks i was training consistently on how to run/ lead bids e.g. how to cost and price the products. After this, i was left to my own accord however i asked questions consistently throughout the year and was supported thoroughly with anything i wasn't sure about.

My workload came in peaks. Some days i was incredibly busy and others i was quiet. However, GE have extensive training videos so when i was quiet i was completing training videos or asking around for things to do. Because everyone in my department was very busy, whenever i offered my support i was given work to do pretty much immediately to support them.

I was given a huge amount of responsibility. I was trusted to lead meetings, run bids and communicate to customers directly. I was responsible for numerous projects and following the projects through was solely my responsibility. I have been trusted to present to senior management on many occasions and lead presentations to department representatives weekly.

I have developed more than i could have ever imagined. I have thoroughly developed numerous transferable skills such as communication and collaboration that will be hugely beneficial to me during my final year. My knowledge of the oil and gas industry will be beneficial if i chose to apply to the graduate scheme or the leadership programme's, which are very sought after so will definitely give me the edge.

The atmosphere in my office was very enjoyable. It is rarely quiet and everyone is always talking both socially or about work. We had graduates rotate in from other departments that fed back information that our department was the most enjoyable to be in. We have cake mondays so most of us either bake or bring in a cake which boosts team morale.

The internship was well set up. We had a FSP (further skills programme) set us for us with training sessions every month. We appointed an FSP Lead and Lead intern who would control the tasks. I was the lead intern, so organised logistics to intern events, intern tasks such as video/ poster creation and hoodie distribution. When we first started we had 2 weeks of induction lined up, including factory tours and department presentations so we could start to develop an idea of what the whole company did, not just our departments.

There are multiple ways to get back into GE after graduation. The grad scheme, leadership programmes or a full time job. Most interns now come back on one of these schemes so future employment prospects are particularly appealing. Because BHGE have now split from GE, the company are eager to rehire previous placement students over new ones as well.

Yes. There were 5 interns at the site and we all got on very well. We did numerous social events with and without other colleagues. We also had many social events with the grads and leadership people as well. Within my office we had a few nights out and social events planned including a bar rally.