Marketing & Communications Intern Review

I thought that my placement gave me the ability to be independent and have a lot of responsibility but not thrown completely into the deep end initially so that I gained some initial confidence. Microsoft focus hugely on their interns, you are completely integrated into the team and given the same level of responsibility as a full time employee.

My team were extremely supportive, always willing to help and provide me with extra work if I needed. I felt like a full time employee, not just 'the intern'. The intern community at Microsoft is crucial as well because you are all in the same position so can help each other through any issues you have.

I think that it is very luck of the draw with your direct manager but you have your whole team who can give you support and guidance you need which is an amazing benefit. Also the HR team at Microsoft are extremely supportive if you have any queries or issues.

I would 100% recommend doing an internship to any university students. The skills that you learn from working in a corporate environment you will never gain just from being at university. It allows you to understand what you enjoy and what you don't for a future career as well as developing soft skills such as time management, routine and independence in the final year of your degree.

For me I had an amazing team that were always chatting and having banter in the office which was amazing but there were also rooms and areas if you are more of a quiet worker. The intern community is also amazing, a lot of the time we would group together and work as a team to bounce off each other. There was always loads of extra things on in the office like fun runs, bake sales and charity events.

You get a 3 day intensive onboarding ran by the previous years intern cohort which is a great way to get to know the company, other interns and what your role will entail. After this, it completely depends on your individual team and how well their interns are integrated but generally I think everyone had a pretty seamless experience with this!

There is endless amounts of online training that you can do at Microsoft and you are always encouraged to complete as much as you can. You can also do Microsoft Office Specialist exams for free in the offices which are an amazing bonus because it is expensive to do these externally.

Completely depends on what department you work in! Interns get first choice of graduate opportunities as we apply for them during the placement year and most of the roles are within sales, technical and project management departments. During the application process, it is much more seamless than if you were applying externally as well so is a great way to get a job secured!

There was 62 of us interns as well as a large group of apprentices and graduates so there was plenty of young people within the office! We had an intern committee who always organised out of work activities such as nights out, bowling, Christmas social, end of year party and much more.

Microsoft is based in Reading which is a student town so there is always great nightlife - loads of bars and clubs that have student nights which is always fun! You have a big group of interns, apprentices and graduates at Microsoft as well it's great for socialising outside of work.