Sales & Marketing Intern Review

You begin the internship induction in which you get you know all the other interns doing the internship across office. It is a fun experience with socials in the evenings and free accommodation in central edinburgh. The induction prepared me my first day in the office so I knew was to expect and wasn't too nervous! really enjoyed the professional environment and I became good friends with the team, plus it was during the Fringe festival, which my group got involved in a lot.

Yes, I felt valued because they thanked me for the work I was doing and were glad to offload different bits of their work. They also spent time getting to know me and put time aside to teach me some basic technical work, as well as chatting to me about the department. I'm very glad that my colleagues didn't see me as an intern, but as a part of their squad. They had a lot of trust and confidence in me by assigning me some real work.

There was always someone around to ask questions to, or if I had nothing to do I could go and ask if they needed any help which they usually were grateful for. The internal communication always allowed instant communication. My stream head met with me weekly and my daily manager saily so i was always informed on what to do and follow to get the most out of the internship. We sat on tables with other colleagues which also helped.

I was given many projects to work on, some which I worked on whenever there were no other jobs to do, while some were aimed to be achieved as a long term goal. However I was usually quite busy with my main projects which were tangible and could be viewed now by actual customers. i was utilised well by the team and i was always give work by my manager if i had spare time so that i wasnt waiting around. I always had appropriate things to do throughout the day.

I was given a lot of responsibility. I was given free rein over website customer journeys to re-design and market Standard Life services to their actual customers. I was trusted to create designs and creatives for the website, and to use information on customer analytics to make sure what i was creating was viable for the target audience. Furthermore, i was trusted with taking charge of organising the creation of creatives, to achieve long term objectives.

It really helped develop my university degree knowledge. As i study marketing, and i was doing a marketing degree , it really helped me experience actual business topics i may have learnt in lectures in real life. This helped me develop my practical knowledge surrounding the corporate world. Furthermore, i presentation skills, networking skills, time management and so many more skills were developed and improved because of this internship

Far livelier than I expected, and very relaxed culture. Everyone was very friendly, open plan offices made communication easy and you never felt like you couldn't come over and speak to someone briefly. May have been different in other areas, but my office had had a pleasant working environment. Also, there is great banter between the desks. There is also an expectation that you will be great at your job which pushes everyone to improve. The team i was working in were all interested in what i was up too and what i thought about edinburgh. Many of the team invited me out for drinks throughout the internship, and during the fringe, went to the shows in groups. Was a great atmosphere.

Overall scheme is well thought out and my placement ran smoothly on the whole. Some of the internship specific related events could have been better utilised I think, often an hour would be set aside and they'd require only a fraction of the time. Furthermore some events just added to what we already new as a whole. Though, there was communication right from the start, and i was always in the know about what was going on. They organised us to help a local charity, and provided all teh right things to make sure it went smoothly . I have had no issues surrounding the scheme.

They put on various talks for out benefit. Made expensive licenses and programmes avaliable for our personal development as we were able to use them throughout. A vast library of online resources was also present and all employees invested their time in us. On the job training from colleagues was really helpful and I got the impression that the company would be willing to invest far more should I join them. Seminars and learning lunches enabled me to learn more about the rest of the organisation and I feel I gained a lot in terms of personal development from the internship as a whole.

In terms of reputation, Standard Life is up there as one of the well known corps. As already mentioned the working environment is also top notch and the benefits/pay on offer are fairly competitive. I think it's a brilliant place to start out and the graduate scheme is definitely attractive. The grad scheme looks like it utilises all your stengths an dthey invest heavily in you to become your best. There is fast track available to leadership positions, and there is also, relocation bonuses and competitive salarys against that of London. The city itself is unique and offers a lot while your not working. Standard Life also offer a great relaxed and flexible working culture.

A WhatsApp group was started on the first day and people kept in contact with nights out most weeks and lunches/coffee meets during the day. The social scene was good and definitely helped add to the overall internship experience though it was understood we were all working/not all lived locally and there was no huge pressure to take part either. All Interns were social and there was something to do every day. We were provided with serviced apartments meaning we lived in the same area, which was great. When the fringe started as well there was so much on and so much to do that it was an exciting time to be in edinburgh.

Not too expensive, but not cheap, there are Weatherspoons nearby and pub happy hours for moderately affordable alcohol in the £3.50 a pint region.. In terms of food there's Tesco and Sainsbury's Locals not far away offering cheapish grub. If you're looking for cheap stuff to do that doesn't involve alcohol, there's plenty of parks and museums not far away. As we were put in serviced apartments, we had little outgoings other than food and going out, alcohol is expensive though. The fringe was cheap, and the shows were of a high quality. There is a subsidised canteen and starbucks so lunch wasnt that expensive either.

Okay, so decent clubs, Manchester or London has more to offer. There's always something to do if you fancy it though, from clubs and bars to late openings. Trendy bits of of Edinburgh aren't far and offer all kinds of more unusual things to do. Depends on your work and social circle as to how much you can do. The flexible working conditions allowed us to organise events easily and when the fringe was on there was so many unique trendy things you could try out. George St is good for fancy clubs and bars, there is a spoons which is cheap of course. it will be an expensive night out though, after all it is a capital city, on the whole though not bad.,

Given that it was only a ten week internship I didn't expect a lot, I gather some on other teams went on away days but mine happened not to have one scheduled while I was there. Plenty of potential for activities in the vicinity as already mentioned and there were some evening socials laid on whilst there. We did a charity day which we helpe dbuild a shed which was great fun, and we were funded to go out for a traditional scottish dance which was good. There were many clubs at standard life that you could join if you wanted, but as i was only there for a short period of time, i didnt. However, demonstrated great potential as a company which invests in its employees after working hours.