Marketing intern Review

I was initially worried about completing a virtual internship as I thought I wouldn't be able to get the full experience. However Amex was so well organized and made sure before we started and throughout that we were well supported. I felt like part of team and met so many amazing people throughout my time. I also got to work on a project that had real business impact and developed so many key soft skills.

I definitely felt very valued throughout my time at Amex. I was treated like any other employee and not just a intern only here for six weeks. I was trusted from the start to work independently and come forward with my ideas. I was also entrusted to presenting my research to other departments and leading meetings. Not once did I feel that I wasn't contributing to a project that wouldn't be valuable. We were given projects with real value injection to the company.

My manager provided constant mentoring and support throughout. Both in my project, making sure that I learnt key software and how to Amex is run as a business, but also personal development. We spoke a lot about creating an executive presence and how to approach ones career. This was invaluable to me and I feel that I have developed so much as a result of this mentoring. But also my whole team was happy to help me with my project whenever I needed anything. Amex really has a culture of collaboration and being there for others which was lovely to experience.

What I have learnt as a result from this internship will definitely help in my final year of uni. My time management and organizational skills have really improved and this will be great when it comes to managing my uni deadlines next year. I have also had to take a wider business perspective during this internship and I think this will be really helpful when writing uni essays as I will be better at looking at a wider perspective.

The internship was extremely well structured. Starting with a welcome day, where we given all the key info we would need for the internship and also got to meet our managers. Throughout our time we had a mid-internship review with our managers where we got lots of feedback and were able to discuss how we were preforming. In the last week we had to give our end of internship presentation which was a great chance to showcase our projects but also see what my fellow interns had got up to.

The Amex culture is incredible. Everyone is so welcoming and happy to help. Even the senior members of the departments will make time for you. There is a real focus on collaboration and helping others, which really came across throughout this internship. The HR team put on events every Friday (pub quiz, cocktail making) to make sure we were having fun and getting to know each other even though it was virtual! I think that the fact I was able to experience the Amex culture through a screen with no in-person interaction is really a testament to how amazing the culture really is. I would recommend the company and the internship wholeheartedly.

The company showed so much dedication to our development. They ran multiple sessions every week were ran giving us an overview of the different departments to make sure we understood the structure of the company. I also had weekly feedback meetings with my manager and director which allowed me to keep identifying areas for improvement. I also had many coffee chats with colleagues all across the business who gave me an view of their roles.

As we were given real projects with a real business impact I was really able to see what working at Amex would be like. I had to reach out to key stakeholders and get their advice. I had to lead meetings and give servicing training. I had to develop and launch a marketing strategy. All of these are things I would be doing if I worked at Amex full time and therefore I had a really great insight.

Despite being virtual, as I have said the Amex culture still comes across. It is so supportive and welcoming. The company really is people focused and this is shown in how they decided not to have any covid layoffs this year and also by the fact they decided to continue with this internship. The people are so talented but also committed to helping others develop any way that they can. I enjoyed coming to work everyday because of how lovely the people are.

This internship has been key in confirming that I want to work in financial services but particularly in marketing. Due to having a real project with value I have been able to experience what this role would entail and decided that it is the right fit for me. It has also made me realize how much company culture means to me and how important it is to find a company that really matches your values, as it makes waking up early every morning worth it!!

Amex pays very well :)

There was so much opportunity for networking, in fact it is extremely encouraged!! In total I had 35 coffee chats throughout my six weeks. This included senior members of the marketing department who I didn't think I would be able to speak with. We also had many chats with recent graduates which was nice as they could offer lots of advice as they had been through the internship experience before. Despite it being virtual everyone made time to chat with me which was really nice.

We had lots of social events thanks to the amazing HR team. This was really important as the internship was virtual its harder to form relationships with the other interns, in particular those in different business units. However due to the team making such an effort this wasn't a problem at all. In fact we had events every Friday which varied from quizzes, cocktail making and virtual Pictionary. If it wasn't for these events I wouldn't have met so many great people.

There are plenty of opportunities to get involved with extracurriculars outside of work hours. Amex had a wide variety of colleague networks which range from women in tech, millennials and diversity & inclusion. These networks run events such as learning new skills, talks from inspirational leaders and playing football! There is definitely something that will suits everyone and if there isn't Amex would encourage you to start your own network and help you do so.

I would 100% recommend this internship to everyone. Hopefully it wont have to be run virtually again however if it does its still an incredible experience. I have enjoyed myself so much and feel that I have really developed. The work is enjoyable and varied but the people are what really made the internship for me. The fun events and coffee chats made it easy to get out of bed in the morning as I knew I had something to look forward to.