IT Intern Review

I really enjoyed this placement. I felt the environment was very diverse and accommodating to people of a multitude of backgrounds. The internship itself was very good and gave me the chance to both develop as an individual, but to also learn a lot about the airport. All in all I've really enjoyed it.

I felt really valued by my colleagues. All cultures are respected here at this company and everyone is treated equally. There is also no hierarchical difference, meaning its very easy to approach a director or an exec and have a conversation with them. This makes you feel like you're being heard.

There was a lot of support available for this placement. However, it was offered to mean I could ask for help whenever we needed. This gave me the chance to first try things out myself and learn from my experiences. However, it was nice to know that the help was always available.

Because of the nature of the business, there were several peaks and troughs throughout the placement. There were times where it was very quiet, but there were times when it was really busy, depending on the season (more passengers fly out during holidays). This allowed me to experience the real-world work balance.

I was given complete responsibility over certain projects, which gave me the chance to improve my project management skills and learn how to keep a project moving. However, help as always available and I was also involved in other projects, where I had smaller roles. This balance was nice and allowed me to be exposed to more

This placement helped me improve my requirements analysis, which ties in with my software engineering modules at university. It also helped me understand how to maintain a work life balance, which means staying healthy, socialising and also being able to get my work done. This is the biggest skill I will take with me

The atmosphere was positive at all times and really friendly. Everyone came up and had casual chats with me, and everyone was professional, which helped me develop my skills for the future. Everyone was also very approachable, meaning it was never awkward speaking to anyone. This helped me settle in quickly

The internship was very well structured and organised. My internship was split into 3 rotations around IT, which allowed me to understand the different roles available in IT and what exactly I had a passion for. It also allowed me to build my network and get to know more people

There was some investment in me and there were several online training courses available to do. However, it would've been nicer if more training opportunities were available where I could've gained certificates, as these could've then been transferred to other companies in the future. Also, there could've been more comms on the training out there.

The organisation has really encouraged me to come back and have discussed the potential routes back - either the graduate scheme or a full-time role. I would personally like to come back, as I feel passionate about the organisation, there are jobs which excite me, and the culture of the business suits me.

There 's a decent social scene with activities planned to suit all. There were casual drinks on Fridays, football on Tuesdays and some occasional nights out for those that wanted to go out. This made the environment very inclusive and everyone could participate in atleast some of the social events.

Living in London was pricy and therefore accommodation was very expensive. Quite a lot of the socialising was done in central London, which was also very expensive, so the socialising costs were pretty high. However, working for Heathrow allows you to take the Heathrow Express for free at certain times, so this helped a little.

The nightlife in Hounslow wasn't too great. However, because of the free Heathrow Express, most people travelled into central London to experience the nightlife there and therefore the nightlife wasn't too bad. There was bowling close by and a decent pub, so for casual drinks the area was good to hang out in.

There were several volunteering opportunities at local schools which I participated in. There were also fitness classes you could join, and football on different days of the week, which I actively took part in. There was also a gym within the building, so you didn't need to travel anywhere after work to get a workout.