Marketing Intern Review

I really enjoyed my internship at American Express, and it was a really unique opportunity given the fully virtual experience. However, it didn't feel virtual in many cases as I got to grips with work that will actually make a change to the business as well as networking and socializing with lots of different people in different departments from mine. The teams are all so welcoming and ready to help at every step of the way.

I felt valued by my colleagues as even in higher-level meetings I felt I was able to speak and have my opinion and voice heard. My team really valued the work I was doing and every step of the way I felt like a member of the team. Even as an intern, you are able to have direct conversations and talk to those who are in more senior roles at the business and you will feel like you are valued and heard.

The support from my manager and director was nothing short of excellent. We both went through strengths and weaknesses of mine in the internship and made it a goal to make some of my less strong points a lot stronger. The management at AmEx really want you to do well, and show that you really can show the best version of yourself of. The guidance from Directors is also invaluable as they often have had longer careers, and you get a great insight into this.

It was very varied, some days I had less actual work to do so I penciled in time to speak to other members of the business and to network some more. Other days near deadlines or presentations were busy, as you had to prepare/finish the work required. The workload was never unmanageable, and if it becomes too heavy, or you may miss a deadline your manager should understand if you let them know well in advance.

I was given ample responsibility on the internship, but it is important to note that your manager and director will check through all of your work. As a financial services business, there is heavy regulation so all work needs to be checked thoroughly, and in terms of marketing this means the creative scope is sometimes limited. It has not been an issue for me during the internship as I was still able to present to a wide variety of stakeholders and take ownership of the marketing materials produced, but it may not have as much creative scope as a non-financial services company in marketing.

As a History student, I had no real big foundation in understanding business or marketing aside from the research I had done during the application process. The style of work and working is very different to what I would naturally tackle at university as it is less academically challenging, but a lot more varied tasks are thrown at you, and you have to adapt accordingly. From the experience I would definitely take some of the skills I developed to university, such as being able to work at a fast pace, using a variety of research sources and having developed my creative mindset will of course be a valuable asset to any degree or future job.

As it was a virtual internship there was no physical office for me to experience, however the American Express culture did still shine through in the virtual world. My team was international in scope so it probably had a different feel to those who have full teams in one country. There was a good level of socializing between each other, but the majority of 'social' events were conducted between interns rather than within my team. I think if the internship was not virtual I would of had a better understanding of the atmosphere in the office.

It was organized very well by the Campus Team and HR who were able to deliver a very good virtual experience. We had our laptops ready to go before the first day, and any questions we had were answered quickly and promptly. There was a variety of events hosted for the interns such as Pictionary, Mocktail/Cocktail making classes and Yoga - so there was something for everyone. The professional side of the internship was also well planned as you have regular meetings with your manager to see where you are developing and how you are doing.

The main form of personal training and development is done through speaking to your manager in relation to targets you set yourself at the beginning of the experience. You have to be slightly proactive with this however, as often your deadlines and work can take precedent over any development conversations - so you would have to specifically single time out for this. The campus team also offered sessions on presenting and having a growth mindset which were also helpful, though given the virtual nature of the internship were not as interactive as they would have been physically.

Again, the virtual nature of the internship definitely had a negative impact on the social scene. There was a big effort for online virtual events which were enjoyable and intuitive with the opportunity to win prizes which would be sent to you. However, there was a level of this lost through the virtual nature of the internship. Amongst the marketing cohort of interns we all communicated and got to know each other virtually which was good.

As it was a virtual summer internship the costs were much lower than a usual internship, but the cost of living in London generally is of course higher than the rest of the UK. If it was a physical internship I would have had to spend more on commuting and other expenses, but since it was a work from home experiences I had a lot more disposable income to spend on other things for myself.

Given the virtual nature of the internship it was understandably a lot harder to have events and activities that were not heavily work related. The Campus Team hosted fun non-work events and the company more widely has a culture of retaining a good work-life balance. A personal experience of mine was working on a religious holiday and I was allowed to log off early, showing that the team are able to understand and be compassionate with out of work commitments.