Business Technology Intern Review

The experience overall was great. I thought it might be strange working remotely, but in most ways it really wasn't that different than working in person. I think everyone made an effort to communicate enough to make up for the lack of in-person experience, both socially and for work purposes, and the internship was structured in a great way. There was a good variety of activities and things to work on throughout the experience, and everyone was friendly and open.

I felt very valued. The project we worked on was providing something that was evidently very useful to other people in the business, so everyone we met was very enthusiastic about the work the team was doing. Within the team, everyone was very supportive and welcoming. Working on a tool people really cared about was really rewarding. It was very evident that a lot of time and effort had been put into making our experience productive and valuable; it definitely feels like the company is invested in you and the internship as a whole.

We received a good amount of guidance and support. There were structured sessions for learning about the business throughout, and sessions for learning new skills and concepts early on. I also always felt comfortable asking for more help where necessary. My manager checked in with me regularly, striking a great balance between checking in often enough to be helpful and supportive, but not too often to the extent where it was annoying, so had time to get on with stuff.

The skills will be extremely useful as I progress in my career. I had the chance to gain more in depth knowledge of the real life applications of ideas and theories on briefly touched on in university, ranging from technical skills related programming and software testing, to other areas like agile working. I think collaborating at a larger scale like is done in the company is something you can only get a real understanding of through experience.

I was very impressed at how well structured the experience is, especially given the transition from an abroad in-person experience to a remote one spanning different countries. The structure of setting our own goals for the internship was great - we worked with our manager to identify challenging but also realistic and achievable goals, and there were a good number of points at which our progress could be checked on throughout. The "intern families" were a good way to encourage interaction with some people we might have met in person if that had been possible.

The general atmosphere was friendly, enthusiastic and productive. I think all the other interns were excited to be on the internship, and it felt like the full time employees we worked with were happy to be there working with us, so it was very symbiotic. I always felt comfortable reaching out for help or to ask someone I hadn't talked to before about something, as I knew they would be friendly and as helpful as they could be.

I think the internship helped me to understand what a full time role would involve, to the best extend a short experience can. We had mentors, who were people who had undertaken the internship in the past, who were always there if we had questions about day to day life, and we also had the change to do job shadowing with them. I think we also could have done some job shadowing with people in more senior positions, though I did not myself.

I think portraying the company culture to us quickly and efficiently was a big focus early in the internship, including the key behaviors and also values that are important to discover. The drive behind these is clearly explained and seems to work well for the company, and there is an emphasis on exhibiting and recognizing these values in others. The focus on technology is also made clear, and the culture came across consistently in all areas, from our team to also from the CIO.

There were many opportunities for meeting both other employees and other interns. Our project work had us meeting stakeholders from many different teams across the business. There are also lots of groups that you can get involved in, including young professionals, who I attended a talk (actually about networking) given by. Many of the employees who give larger sessions also encourage you to reach out to them for more information or if you want to learn more about their role.

I would definitely recommend this virtual experience to a friend. So far it seems like a great company to work for, most of the employees I have spoken to and worked with seem to think so too. Everyone seems enthusiastic about the success of the business, with a huge focus on technology, automation and innovation, so if those things sound good to you I would definitely recommend this experience. The company has clearly invested a lot into making it positive for them and those taking part; it's win-win.