Business Diversity Intern Review

I sat across two different teams: Corporate Comms and Campaigns. The daily routine in Corporate Comms is influenced by incoming media enquiries, which require close collaboration with the Press Office. We also worked on longer-term projects, especially trading statements. Campaigns have a longer-term focus and involve a lot of proactive thinking. Day-to-day activities will focus on working towards those projects.

The role involves very strong communications skills, both written and oral. Analytical skills are very important: you will skim through a lot of articles, a lot of noise in the media - you need to understand what is important. I developed my ability to work under pressure, to be flexible and reactive with my work. Team work was important, along with project and time-management. Empathy was important as well.

I had ownership of a few tasks. Comms is an area where you will need approval from the very top of the business, so you should expect that kind of scrutiny. But I had the opportunity to handle a few projects.

I had strong support from my line manager and other people from the business. The internship programme manager is the loveliest person. I also had the opportunity to find a mentor from a different area of the business, which was very helpful to get insights.

Tesco has a very approachable culture, you can reach out to anyone and they would be happy to help. Plus, Comms people love to talk, so they are extra open. There is also some form of humility when working at the head office, which transpires in the culture: ultimately, colleagues instore, delivering to customers, and working at the warehouse are the key components of the business.

I thoroughly enjoyed this internship. Most of it happened online, but I didn't feel like I missed out on anything. It is a bit frustrating to be leaving because I made a lot of progress in my work and I can feel that what I am doing will have an impact in the future - I guess that frustration is the sign of a great internship!

Yes

Be yourself. I believe that the moment I got a position in this internship is when I fully let go of the stress of being interviewed and dug deep into my love for communications. Just let go of your standard interview boring behaviour and exhibit your passion for an area of the business.