Assistant Product Developer Review

My team were excellent in giving me responsibility and independence throughout, and were always there to assist me when I needed help. The project I was working on allowed me to develop skills in liaising and making big decisions which would affect a large number of stakeholders, as well as managing my time and learning how to use computer software to a greater extent. The Graduate team also put on some brilliant events and arranged for skills that helped me not just on the placement, but also for future employability and life skills, such as presentation training and practice with Microsoft Excel.

My Line manager and team members instantly made me feel welcome and often treated me like a proper employee of the company. As the placement went on, they grew more and more busy, and so I saw less of them, but they ensured I was still involved; my Line Manager put in regular meeting times and kept me in the loop regarding the team's activities, and we went for a few meals, too.

I was given regular assistance and was put in contact with key individuals to liaise with throughout my placement, and if ever I needed someone to get in contact with, my Line Manager helped me out. There were times when I wasn't quite sure what I was meant to be doing, especially when so many stakeholders were involved, but I usually found the answers just by asking.

Most days I would have enough to do to occupy me from 9 to 5. There were of course some days where I would have loads to do, and would stay late, but there were also days where I did not have a lot to do. But I generally balanced this time by doing administrative work such as Personal Development objectives the Graduate Team had encoruaged as part of the placement.

I was given a great deal of responsibility, focusing on delivering one task to a large portion of the business.

Hugely. From a personal development perspective this placement has been excellent, and whatever career I pursue, I will be able to utilise the skills I have honed on this internship.

Friendly and chatty most of the time. Some team members made a great deal of effort to include me, and I received a lot of positive support with tasks I delivered. So an inclusive atmosphere was definitely present.

Extremely well organised.

A lot - they put on regular development days, and provided opportunities to develop skills such as Excel, vlogging and public speaking.

Very appealing - especially given that most employees I have spoken to are really passionate about what they do.

Brilliant - most of us lived together in Royal Holloway university halls, in excellent accommodation. We would have regular social events, nights out, sports tournaments and meals. It was pretty reminiscent of Freshers' year.

Expensive - Egham isn't the most interesting of places to live, so going out we would generally go to Windsor, which would still cost a lot. Other leisure activities such as bowling, cinema and ice skating were very far away. However, the university were excellent in providing us with free/cheap sports facilities, so we occupied a lot of our time on the badminton court or football pitch.

No night life in Egham, but there are a lot of nice pubs. Nearest clubs are in Windsor - very expensive and not really worth it. West London was achievable though; Clapham was accessible and more worthwhile.

Plenty. I ended up playing football every Tuesday lunchtime with some guys in the office, which was a great way to meet people. The placement organises a Charity Challenge, too, which encourages you to get involved with all sorts of extra-work activities.