Preslaes Communications Associate Review

I thoroughly enjoyed my placement year with SAP - the people I worked with were supportive, there were lots of projects and activities to get involved in at work and I felt like a valued team member.

I feel that my colleagues valued the knowledge I brought to the team. They were supportive of me and actively involved me in actions.

Both management and mentors provided me with support and training over the 13 month placement. Interns are expected to ask for help and direction regarding training if they wish to do so however when needed the support was available.

My schedule varied from day to day over the year and at some points I would be extremely busy and others not so much. I learnt how to manage my time and spread the work load to ensure it was manageable at all times.

I was given a lot of responsibility regarding the customers I was involved with as well as confidential management information when working with CXO level employees.

I feel that the skills and expertise I have learnt over the year will enable me to have a different outlook on my university modules upon returning. I feel that I can understand the wider picture much clearer and see why particular modules and theories are studied.

The office atmosphere was warm and welcoming due to the individuals in the Presales team. Over the year the team have transitioned through change as well as intense periods of hitting targets. During this time I still felt that there was a sense of morale, making the atmosphere comfortable at all times. I think there should always be a reminder to have fun at work even through the busier periods.

The placement was well organised from the start however there was less structure as the year went on. Although this flexibility allowed me to spend my time in areas of particular interest to me. The style of management has suited my work ethic and natural structure.

The company supported any training and development that I wished to pursue. They funded multiple training courses worth hundreds per course and were flexible when giving me the time to attend the sessions. If I ever needed any training I could look online and sign up to more or enquire into classroom based lessons.

I will be applying to the Presales Academy in 2016 and hope to return to SAP. The academy is an exciting follow-on from my internship where, if successful, I will spend 6 months in California being trained by professionals and interacting with other nationalities in a classroom style learning environment. Then I would return to SAP for further development with the UKI team.

The socialising amongst interns was good, we mainly socialised at the beginning of the year outside work but continued to meet up in the following months but less frequently. We ate lunch together everyday and had a good feel of team spirit between us. The other teams in SAP did not socialise as much and I feel that this could be a huge benefit to SAP if there were more team activities.

I lived at home so this was not as applicable to me.

There is no nightlife in or near Feltham. The nearest place is London which was great when we went out but due to the proximity of individuals' locations it became an expensive option.

There were not many sports clubs or extra activities. Throughout the year we had opportunities such as Palace to Palace and the Christmas party but these were ad-hoc opportunities.