associate Review

The internship was really enjoyable, and it was enough to confirm my interest in pursuing that sort of career. There wasn't a single day that I didn't enjoy in general. Although there were a few moments which weren't perfect, that just made me feel I was being exposed to the job properly rather than only being shown the best side, and that exposure made me appreciate the experience even more.

Everyone was extremely friendly, and I felt part of the team instantly. My colleagues all seemed genuinely interested in helping me, and tried to expose me to a variety of the work as well as integrating me socially.

My buddy was the person who gave me the most support and guidance, rather than more senior members of staff, but I felt that was appropriate for the sort of work I was doing.

Early on I had lots of spare time, as I finished my e-training quickly but people didn't have much work that was appropriate for me. By the last few weeks- when people had got used to my presence and remembered to keep work aside- I was getting offered a lot of work- to the extent that I had to turn some down! I never felt people were annoyed when I turned down the work though.

Lots of the work I was doing was research, which I alone was responsible for but wasnt often the most important work. When I did more relevent work, it was checked several times over, so I wasn't that responsible, but I liked that as any more responsibility would have been far too intimidating for an intern who had only been there a couple of weeks!

My degree isn't directly relevent to the internship, so no direct knowledge can be transferred, but the general business awareness is useful for everyday life. I also became a lot better at understanding/guessing acronyms! Rather than the skills I developed, I'd say the useful things I took away from the internship were focusses in life- such as the importance of networking and team work.

I was in a very fun office, and as it was a consistent team I got to know them very well. There were lots of social events during my placement which made me feel very included, but also just generally on a day to day basis everyone was friendly, happy and approachable for just a chat as well as work related business.

At times I felt- being in one of the more minor schemes- a little overlooked and 'lumped in' with the majority, which was a bit disheartening and felt like it wasted my time and didn't prepare me properly for my service line. Additionally the recruitment organisers often seemed to assume we would know details which weren't obvious to us (like whether we needed to take laptops, lunches etc to centralised days), and it would have been a bit more helpful to get the information in advance. There was also a lack of centralised work to do/ time fillers for when there was no work available.

I felt that the company really were making an effort to ensure my interest in the job, and to set me up well for a future in it. I don't think there was much more they could have done.

I was lucky enough to be offered a graduate position for the next year.

Myself and the other interns bonded well and socialised a lot. This was mainly instigated by us, rather than being encouraged by the company, but then again there are not many ways the company could have encouraged this without feeling like 'forced friendships.'

I was lucky enough to commute from home, with a relatively inexpensive train ride (student railcard). For lunch it was common enough in the office to take a packed lunch so I did not feel pressured to spend money, and in the evenings there were enough cheap locations to socialise.

I cannot really comment on the nightlife, as although we went out for drinks we did not go clubbing.

There were lots of sporting activities which I was invited to, and regular drinks after work which I was more than welcome to attend.