Finance Analyst Review

I thoroughly enjoyed my time at Centrica, and I know that the skills and knowledge I have gained during my time there will help me greatly wherever I end up working next. The people there are so friendly and genuinely love telling you about what they do, it's a great environment to be in.

As an intern, I expected my role to have less value than my full-time colleagues. I couldn't be more wrong - from the very beginning, I was given opportunities to take real responsibility for tasks and make a change in the organisation. I also took on projects which involved valuable exposure to directors, and always felt respected and listened to.

My manager was absolutely fantastic. He gave me the freedom to tailor my internship around the specific skills and experiences I wanted to get from it. I never felt unable to ask for help, and possibly the most valuable thing I gained was the insight and advice he gave during our day-to-day conversations. My manager also supported me in networking throughout the company, which allowed me to explore various different roles outside of my department.

The first couple of weeks were spent getting to grips with the structure and purpose of the different business units, and learning all the jargon! My manager involved me in the work he was doing, and slowly gave me more responsibility throughout the placement until I was taking the lead on several different projects at once. The workload naturally fluctuated, but there were always people I could reach out to for further work to do and I never felt overwhelmed.

I was able to own the implementation of a new process, which involved setting up meetings with team leaders, working directly with their director, and drawing together the data they provided into a consolidated format. This was an important task and it felt great to know I was trusted to oversee and take responsibility for it.

Before this internship, I had never worked in a professional environment before, and had no knowledge of the industry I was working in. After having worked at Centrica, I have a whole new appreciation for the way large businesses are run, and a strong understanding of financial controls and processes, which will inevitably help me in my future career. Not only this, but my organisation, team-working, communication and Excel skills have strengthened considerably.

I was able to spend time in various different offices, but in each location the atmosphere remained friendly, relaxed and collaborative. We had casual Fridays, and many different social events which gave us the opportunity to really get to know the people we were working with. Even during stressful periods, people would ask what I was working on and would make me feel welcomed and relaxed.

Centrica really went above and beyond to make this internship an enjoyable and valuable experience. There were about 60 interns in total, spread across different streams, but we were all given accommodation together at Royal Holloway which created a friendly and supportive network both in and out of work. There were various different activities to get involved in together such as the Development Day, Innovation Challenge, and Charity Challenge. It was clear that my manager had put a lot of thought into how to structure my time, and it definitely paid off.

About half-way through our placement, we went to Brunel University for an intern-only Development Day. This involved lots of fun challenges that focussed on developing our team-working and problem-solving skills. We were also tasked to run a Charity Challenge for Centrica's charity partner, Carers UK. This was a great opportunity to completely organise our own event, learning about the complexity of risk assessments and adhering to regulations.

At the end of the placement you give a presentation on your experiences during the 10 weeks, followed by an interview with a member of the Graduate Talent Board. If you've impressed them, you are offered a grad job! Even if you don't get the grad job, having the internship on your CV is a huge advantage for future applications.

Living at Royal Holloway together meant that there was always something going on in the evening, whether it be watching a film or going out for after-work drinks. Everyone got along well and it was a great atmosphere both at work and afterwards.

Accommodation was provided, which was amazing, and a big part of the appeal of the internship. Being based in the South East meant that going out was a little more expensive, but since we were based at Royal Holloway, there were plenty of pubs and venues that offered student discount.

There is a good nightlife scene in Windsor, which was only a short taxi drive from where we were staying. However, for big nights out, people would head to London on the train. For relaxed drinks, there were loads of pubs and restaurants in Egham, Windsor and Staines, so there was something for everyone.

Over the 10 weeks, I went to a Summer Boat Party, a "Ninja Warrior"-style water park, a team night out in London, and regular after-work drinks at the nearest pub! There was always something fun to get involved in, and at the end of our placement we were even given funding to organise our own leaving party!