Commercial Analyst Review

I was extremely lucky to be a part of a great team with a fantastic boss during my placement, so my first few months weren't as catastrophic as I worried! The work I did was great too; I felt like a full-time employee, doing exactly the same work as other team members. I didn't feel like "the intern" at any point

Of course no work place is perfect and naturally conflict comes up from time to time, but like I said, I had a very supportive line manager who I could always turn to and my team had a good working relationship with each other. Overall I felt valued by my colleagues

My line manager, although extremely busy each and every day, was always available whenever I had questions about work. I was given the necessary training and guidance at the beginning of my placement to do my job, and then trusted to complete the work independently. The more senior members of my team were equally supportive too.

My role was largely an advisory role so there weren't targets or deadlines, although towards the end of the month / quarter / year the workload ramped up, due to the sales target structure. I was always occupied each day but my workload was never overwhelming. I believe it was a perfect balance.

I was given a lot more responsibility than I anticipated, which was intimidating at first but very rewarding later on in my placement. I even had opportunities to take on even greater responsibility towards the end of my placement, when I had proven my competency. Although it was a little frightening at the beginning, I had a lot of support from my boss and my team throughout

Some of the software skills I learned (for example Excel) will directly benefit me in my dissertation. Some of the other software skills I learned like Salesforce could help me in the future if that's the CRM software used The soft skills I learned will no doubt serve me forever, for example how to properly communicate over email

Virgin Media has great energy and the company emphasises a cheeky and fun image. Of course, work is still work and the ultimate priority is productivity but the atmosphere was generally enjoyable, everyone was approachable and it didn't feel scary like I thought a corporate environment might feel like before I started.

I think I was the 5th or 6th intern in that role so my placement has been refined over quite a long time. Many of the old interns now work for the company, either as full time employees or on the grad scheme. The training regime set up throughout the year by the People team was extremely helpful, well-organised, and I know they attempt to improve it each year.

I believe most of my personal development came from simply doing the job. Of course, there were some training courses that were immensely useful like the Complete Presenter training, but most of my development came from the unique experiences I had while on placement which broadened my horizons and taught me things about work and life.

I was lucky enough to be offered a place on their Graduate Scheme so it feels like the placement year was successful in that regard! In terms of whether or not an offer for the Grad Scheme is appealing, I believe it certainly is. The rotational nature, the size of the scheme and the company itself make it a fantastic way to start a career

The placement students (as well as some of the grads) had lunch together pretty much every day. We put a few tables together in the canteen and were always the biggest group in there! Outside of work there were also relatively frequent opportunities to socialise with my fellow placement students, and we formed good friendships with each other throughout the year.

At the time of my placement, the office was located in Hook, which is a small town without much opportunity to socialise. However I know that Virgin Media is moving to Reading now, so the opportunities to socialise should increase. During placement I lived in Basingstoke, which again didn't have that many opportunities to socialise, nor was it that cheap to live in

There was a pub next to the train station, which was the hub of social activity in that town but there wasn't any nightlife in Hook. Again, Virgin Media is moving to Reading so there will no doubt be greater socialising opportunities for future placement students, but on my placement there wasn't any nightlife in the area where I worked.

There was a reasonable amount of opportunities. I joined the 5-a-side football event a few times. I think it's mostly up to you to get involved in activities outside of work. You will meet a huge range of different people, some of whom you will share common interests with and you can arrange activities with them outside of work