Intern Review

I really enjoyed my internship working in Tesco's office within their finance division. The other interns and colleagues were really friendly, welcoming and helpful. I was given responsibility from the beginning which definitely allowed me to challenge myself and push myself outside my comfort zone. There were many other social activities to be involved in outside of work too.

My colleagues were really kind and helpful, so I certainly felt valued by them. Whenever I was struggling to understand a particular concept, they took time to talk me through it slowly, answered any questions I had and more importantly gave me tasks to complete, which made me feel like a valuable member of the team.

There was a lot of support and guidance provided by my line manager, mentor and buddy. Whenever I had a question I could email my mentor or buddy or speak to them directly. My line manager was also very helpful as he made sure he had a 20 minute meeting with me every week to discuss my progress and provide help/ extra resources.

I had enough work to keep me busy daily because I was given a group project to complete over 10 weeks, had to do ad-hoc tasks, as well as prepare for 2 presentations. There were some quiet periods throughout my time at Tesco, but my manager gave me work to do during those times.

I was given a lot of responsibility during my internship. There was definitely a very steep learning curve because within the first week I was carrying out tasks that the recent graduates were doing. My manager and team also trusted me so they gave me important work to complete and really made me integrated into the team.

The skills I have gained are transferable skills which will assist me beyond my degree. For example, within the finance team I refined my excel skills, as many processes required the use of Excel. Additionally, I sharpened my analytical skills, and attention to detail which will help me for future jobs within the finance industry.

The atmosphere in the office was always very positive even if some colleagues were stressed with workload. Everyone was willing to support their colleagues which created a comfortable, welcoming and friendly atmosphere. During busy periods like month end, there would be more work to do, so colleagues had to work later on these days.

The internship was very well organised because on the first day there was an induction training. This provided an outline of the different tasks and activities which would be done throughout the placement. An online timetable was available which highlighted the compulsory activities for interns, which made it much easier to plan workload ahead to time. There were no clashes with the activities and the internship ran smoothly.

The company definitely invested a lot in training and development. There were both external and internal speakers who spoke on different topics such as changes to regulations, cryptocurrency, artificial intelligence. There were online training modules which provided theory to some of the tasks being performed. The fact early responsibility was given helped with development and also feedback was given regularly.

After speaking to current graduates who secured a place at Tesco and experiencing the culture of the firm for myself, it has confirmed that future employment prospects do look appealing because the training and support they provide is a major attracting factor. Also the progression available within the firm alongside the responsibility provided is another attracting factor.

There was definitely a good social scene amongst colleagues and other interns because they organised happy hour every friday. This was a good time to social with other outside the specific Finance team and get to know other colleagues. Also they had other team building activities, so on one occasion they did an Escape Room.

Most of the money was spent on transport, but there were many cheap food places nearby. The approximate cost was ~£15 per day.

The nightlife was quite dull as it wasn't located within central london. However, there were still many pubs and bars nearby to enjoy the evenings.

There were a few opportunities to get involved in activities such as volunteering for a day and other sporting activities like football, rugby as well as yoga sessions. All colleagues were informed about these by email.