Internship - MO - Commercial Operations Review

I loved working at National Grid. Everyone was so forthcoming and helpful. All the people were genuinely nice and if I needed any help I could just ask. Everyone loves working for the company and it wasn't just for show. People have been working for the company for more than just a few years. I will definitely come back and work here again.

I knew that what I was working on was vital for my team to do their job, so felt incredibly valued. I was always checked on by my colleagues to make sure I was okay and if I needed help. I was a team member and not an outsider from the start. I could freely speak with anyone including the managers.

I had a 3 day training program at the start of the internship along with a further 2 days near the end. I had a interim review and a final review to see the progress that I had made. Every week during the internship I had a 1-2-1 with my manager to see my progress, anything I needed help with and also if I wanted new things to do. No question was a stupid question. I felt that National Grid invested a lot of time and money on me even though I was only an intern.

Initially I didn't have much to do as my fellow team member was too busy to go through the project. Once I had been given the appropriate information to carry out my project I was constantly busy with work. I was also able to do other things to help me further understand what my team does and how my project fits in.

I was given complete responsibility of my project. I could choose the way I proceeded with certain tasks relating to the project. If I needed help I can just ask but otherwise it was up to me to get the project completed.

I had to go through a lot of data and organise it so that it's comprehensible for the rest of the team. This data handling and organisational skills will help me a lot during my final year project and also in any job I go into. There was a lot of liaising with other team members to gather this information which helped develop my interpersonal skills and team working skills. These skills will be vital for future jobs.

There is a hot desk policy, which basically means you don't have a fixed desk where you work from. This meant you could move around and meet new people everyday. You'd mainly stay near your team as working for National Grid and especially in the Network Access Planning department, you had to constantly liaise with fellow team members. This meant everyone knew each other and could openly talk. Also members would bring in food for different occasions which was very nice, Their drinks vending machine was free, so unlimited tea was a great feeling!

The initial part when I joined after my training was a bit bumpy. But once I had my first 1-2-1 with my line manager and had spent time with my fellow team members it was incredibly smooth sailing. I was glad a specific project was assigned to me so I always had something to do. Once my objectives were set I knew where I was heading and how I needed to get there.

As I mentioned before I had a total of 5 days training at the company followed by an interim and final review. I also had a final presentation to show what I had done during my internship. National Grid had invested heavily in me as they had paid for everything for the training and gave me a development book to track my own development. 1-2-1s are very time consuming especially for managers. National Grid wants you to develop further, which is why they have this scheme in place.

If you do well on their internship program and you like them and they like you, you're guaranteed a spot on the graduate program. This is an 18 months program followed by a permanent job with National Grid. There's no further assessments and you're not competing with other interns. It's all up to you whether you want it or not. Also National Grid are constantly increasing the number of places available for the graduate program.

As you all go to the training together and learn together you make friends quite quickly. You end up asking them for advice as they may work in a different department to you. Allows you to quickly start developing contacts right at the beginning of the internship. They also have a NewNet club, where all new members are automatically enrolled into. They host different conferences and site visits which allow you to get to know about the business as a whole and meet new people.

As Wokingham is near London the prices are quite expensive which is expected. I paid £550 per month to share a 2 bedroom flat but I got my own bathroom. There are more expensive places to rent and cheaper places. It's all down to personal choice. The restaurants are nice and there are quite a few Halal places too.

I'm not into the Nightlife but the Showcase in Reading is amazing! They have the best seats I've ever been on in my whole life and the tickets were only £6.25 on offer on Mondays and Tuesdays.

I had joined the local CrossFit which kept me busy, The company itself has clubs that you can join if you wanted but it's more long term. Otherwise Reading is quite close which has loads of potential clubs you can join.