Business Development in Education Review

Fantastic year at SAP. Very enjoyable and I will take a lot of key skills from it. SAP is a great company for young people as they are aspiring to be the number one cloud company. A young and innovative workforce is necessary for them to achieve this,

I was considered a full member of my team. I was relied upon for key customer activities and managed my own sales opportunities. Rather than being given simple 'tasks' I was asked to sort out wider problems and challenge the way that my team and the business as a whole runs.

All employees within SAP are fully cooperative and supportive. If you are having problems with anything there is always someone who can help you. You are also assigned a 'buddy' when you start who is your main point of contact for any problems/questions.

Workloads fluctuated massively. As I got more into the role I was given more and more work to complete, and around peak times (quarter close) I was also very busy. The workload evens out over the year and was easy to manage however.

For the last few months of the placement I was given the same responsibilities as someone would in a sales/account management position. As stated previously I wasn't given small tasks to complete. Rather, I was given objectives and I had to take the initiative to meet these. If you are looking for a year that will not be challenging, SAP is not for you!

This year has been significantly more valuable than any experience I could have had at university. The placement has helped me to foster key business competencies such as efficient communication, presentation skills, and confidence. SAP also gives you the opportunity to develop any skills that you personally want to. They have training courses and modules on absolutely everything, from technical database configuration to presentation courses. As the placement is structured in a 70:30 split, you can allocate 30% of your time to anything you want to! This gives you the flexibility to learn or develop any skills.

The office is great. It is fully open-plan to encourage interaction and cooperation. Sometimes it is extremely busy and very fast paced (at quarter ends) and other times it is quite quiet. There are a load of great features in the office also: There is a subsidised Costa (£1 for a large), a canteen that serves FREE LUNCH EVERY DAY, an f1 simulator room, etc.

It was set up very well. The onboarding at the start was set up by a project team made up of previous interns so they understand how to induct new interns efficiently. There are a number of measures in place to ensure you were getting the most from your placement, for example the buddy scheme. HR were fully supportive throughout the year so if there was any problems with your role/the way it had been organised they would provide support.

The idea behind the SAP placement scheme is to develop interns so that after they graduate, they can come back and add value to the company. Due to this, they invest a massive amount in your personal development. As mentioned previously, you can take any training you like to develop any skills, technical or functional. There are also multiple reviews throughout the year to ensure that you are meeting your personal objectives.

Very good for sales/presales focussed roles. There is a specific graduate scheme called 'Sales Academy' that is designed for graduates. Interns have also been hired as grads in many other teams. There are lots of full time staff members that used to be interns.

It was pretty good. We had many socials throughout the year, some of which were sponsored and paid for by SAP. At the start of the year there were opportunities to socialise every week. The office isn't in a great place with regards to pubs/bars.

West London is fairly expensive, but you make enough money to go out (occasionally). You can find cheap accommodation in surrounding areas like Twickenham, Isleworth and Egham. Socialising again is fairly expensive (£5 a pint!).

Not great. For a decent night you have to travel quite far and they are quite expensive so house parties are usually a better option. Central London is usually a good night out but is very expensive. However I may be slightly biased as I am from up North where the nightlife is incredible!

SAP sponsors plenty of events and initiatives that you can get involved in. If you play football, there is an SAP world cup that happens every year in Germany. There are many CSR events that include Sponsored Cycling events, fund raising initiatives and charity days.