Accounts department assistant Review

I really enjoyed all aspects of my internship - the challenges that were presented to me by the work that I was set, meeting lots of new people that I probably otherwise wouldn't have ever come into contact with, living in company house with interns and the effort that was constantly made by Metaswitch to ensure that I got the most out of my placement.

I was trusted with important documents and was given serious work to do, which I really appreciated. People took time out to explain things to me and to make me feel really welcome. Everyone was really friendly and treated me like a proper member of the team and not a student.

My manager was brilliant - before setting me tasks, he explained the point of them and how what I was doing would be useful in the big picture. He answered all my questions (even ones with long and complicated answers) and he always demonstrated what I had to do before I was left to do it - something I found very useful.

I usually had plenty to fill my days with and some days were very busy, but I did have some days (particularly at year end) where people were so busy doing their own jobs that they didn't have time to set me tasks (and quite often, the tasks they could've set me to do would've been too complicated or too important for me to mess up).

Most of the jobs that I was doing were little jobs (such as filing and inputting invoices into the system), however on occasion I was given access to confidential information and files in order to do some work for my manager.

Given that I'm studying Accounting and Finance as of October, I feel that the tasks that I have done here have given me insight into what an accounts department actually has to do on a daily basis and the breadth of knowledge that the employees need. This placement has been useful, not only for my degree, but hopefully in the long run as I have learnt important life skills, such as how to work as part of a team.

Everyone was really friendly and welcoming - lots of smiles, even on a Monday morning!

Given that it was the first time that the accounts department had ever had an intern, I have been incredibly impressed with my placement. There was almost always lots for me to do. Generally speaking, Metaswitch have been brilliant - company house was great, the feedback session was insightful and useful and they really tried hard to make sure everyone was always completely happy with their placement.

My manager made a real effort to develop my understanding of the accounts function and how they fit in within Metaswitch and within a company generally. He always gave me context whenever he set me a task (which I really liked) and I feel that I know a lot more than I did at the beginning of the summer!

I have absolutely loved working for Metaswitch and although I have no idea what I would like to do in the future, I could definitely see myself working here one day!

There were drinks at the local pub most weeks which I really enjoyed, especially in the first couple of weeks as it was a good chance to get to meet other interns that I wasn't living with, especially because I was the only intern within the finance department so I didn't see other interns on a daily basis at work.

Enfield itself isn't too expensive, however going out in London has been fairly expensive. Living costs generally haven't been too bad.

Although it is expensive, Enfield is close to London and going out has been very easy and there's plenty of variety.

There have been tons of opportunities - from sports to game nights to pub trips. Unfortunately, I'm useless at sport and so haven't actually taken advantage of most of these opportunities, but they are definitely there for those who want them.