This review was submitted over 4 years ago, so some of the information it contains may no longer be relevant.
Rating
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The Role
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The Company
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The Culture
- 1. To what extent did you enjoy your work placement or internship?
- 2. To what extent did you feel valued by your colleagues?
- 3. To what extent were you given support and guidance by management/your supervisor(s)?
- 4. How busy were you on a daily basis?
- 5. How much responsibility were you given during your placement?
- 6. To what extent did/will the skills you developed, and training you received, assist you in your degree studies and beyond?
- 7. What was the general atmosphere in your office?
- 8. How well organised was the overall work placement or internship set up?
- 9. In terms of personal training and development, to what extent did the company or firm invest in you?
- 10. What were the perks on your work placement?
- 11. How appealing are future employment prospects within the organisation?
- 12. Was there a good social scene amongst any fellow placement students/colleagues?
- 13. What was the cost of living and socialising in the area you worked in?
- 14. What was the Nightlife like in the area you worked?
- 15. Were there many opportunities to get involved in activities outside of work?
The Role
Highly. I was able to receive extensive experience in finance, analysis and other business departments. At the same time, I was working with products which are inherently entertaining. I received every game the company published and worked with people that provided an extremely interesting insight into the workings behind game and media publishing, distribution and development. 10/10 would intern again.
I really felt like one of the team, being included in conversations, tasks and events just like any regular employee. I was given real responsibilities and deadlines for matters which were useful within or outside the finance team on a regular basis. The role felt anything but temporary and it certainly is only called an 'internship' by formality.
In the beginning I was heavily reliant on asking questions and being guided through processes and as the year progressed (around 2-3 months in) that had been scaled back until I had learnt most things I needed. Everyone in the team were always helpful when I wondered something but I was very appropriately expected and encouraged to try and solve a problem before asking someone for help, which helped me develop faster.
It varied based on the workload of the team. For example, when a new game had been released you could often see a spike in tasks. During less busy times I almost always had long-term projects to work on, ensuring a balanced workload.
As much as could be requested of any entry-level employee, and sometimes even more. For example, when my manager or someone else in the team was busy or away and a deadline was approaching, I could often take over on that.
I must have increased my Excel proficiency by a triple digit percentage. Also, I received in-depth understandings of different business processes and the games and general media markets. I many times worked on projects for other departments, like marketing and digital publishing, which further advanced that. But most importantly, I developed my abilities within financial analysis and interpretation so that I can now more practically apply knowledge from my studies to the real workplace.
The Company
Fun and lighthearted (it's a video games publisher!) yet impressively professional.
Efficient and well-structured, as can be expected of such a large company.
We had several training sessions outside the on-the-job learning that transpired. Throughout the year we were formally taught things like presentation skills, workplace communication and more.
Sports and Social Club
Company Parties/Events
Staff Sales/Staff Shop
Healthcare/Dental
There is no formal graduate scheme. However, many people do come back after around 2-3 years after university. This is mostly because you have a higher prospect of being hired if you apply for a role that has become vacant or created than an external hire - sometimes even outside the field you worked in on the placement.
The Culture
Definitely. There were about 50 or so interns and so there was always something going on socially. And the standard employees would often go out for drinks after work or have a social event during down time, organised by for the whole department.
Central London, so it was very expensive. Around £700-£800 a month on rent alone.
It was London.
From volunteering, to cross-departmental events and charity runs, there seemed to be an almost endless amount of activities available.
Details
Placement (10 Months+)
Banking
London
June 2015