Customer Analyst Review

I really enjoyed my internship with Tesco; I had no idea what I wanted to do in the future before this placement, and I'm now leaving with a career in mind, and the potential to rejoin a great company at an exciting time. I've made a lot of great connections, and a lot of new friends amongst the other interns too!

I definitely felt valued by my colleagues - not long into my placement, I was being asked for my opinion on all sorts of things, shown important reviews and talked through processes and ongoing decisions in the business. I was definitely made to feel involved and kept up to date with proceedings, even when it was something I couldn't help with. Other colleagues regularly asked for my help too, even down to little things like checking grammar on documents before they were released. I felt trusted and valued throughout.

I was working in a small team, so almost all my immediate contact was with my manager. I was given a great deal of her time, attention and support, and never made to feel like I was being a nuisance. My higher management team also made sure to check up on me throughout my placement, giving great guidance in both the role I was in, and also for future career decisions. Everyone was incredibly supportive and welcoming.

At the start of the programme, I experienced a lot of technical problems with data programmes, that were outside anyone's control, and so my initial few weeks were relatively quiet. However, once the initial creases were ironed out, I was kept busy and engaged, with jobs to be doing and documents and reviews to be reading if there were ever a quiet afternoon. I was also encouraged to meet with colleagues around the business to share their insight on their roles at Tesco, and this definitely kept my diary full too!

I was given a fair amount of responsibility, especially towards the latter end of the placement, once my skills were more accomplished and my confidence was much greater - I was even given some work to do that was asked for by the CEO, which was definitely a big responsibility. The main project I've been working on will be important and useful for many areas of the company, and so I feel that my time has been used well.

The skills I have learnt over the last 10 weeks are hugely important and beneficial. The coding and technical skills will not only help me at degree level with completing my maths projects, but are also excellent and valuable skills to have in terms of employability. I will definitely be able to use these to a huge advantage in future jobs. I've also developed my people skills and confidence hugely, and have been introduced to office life in a friendly and relaxed environment, which has allowed me to flourish.

I was based in two different offices during my placement, both of which used hot-desking; this created a relaxed and sociable environment, and allowed me to build my network of colleagues outside my own small team. Everyone clearly gets on incredibly well, office meetings are always informal (but still important), and the atmosphere is so welcoming and warm that I settled in much quicker than I had expected. The offices had recently undergone a revamp, and so were bright, airy and engaging, with plenty of meeting 'pods' and seating areas. I will definitely miss being around everyone !

The internship was very well organised - we had regular development days scheduled throughout the summer, that we were aware of via placeholders well in advance, as well as regular catch ups with the Early Careers teams in our offices. Everyone knew where they were supposed to be, who they were meeting, and what they were doing, and whenever there was a problem it was dealt with quickly and without fuss. Early Careers were quick to offer assistance whenever they felt it was needed, and the Development days were well structured to allow us to get the most out of our internship, regardless of what stage of the 10 weeks we were at.

The company definitely made a considerable effort towards furthering our development, both personal development and development within the company. Effort was made from very senior colleagues to come into Development days to give presentations, talks and even a personal message from the CEO for the interns. A lot of time and effort was put in to ensuring we were getting the most from our placement, and the development days were helpful not just for our progression through Tesco in the future, but also offering help for alternative options, and general help on making the most out of your talent, abilities, and how to succeed in any workplace.

The future job opportunities are very appealing - we have the potential to return on a graduate scheme once we've completed our degrees, and this itself is a wonderful opportunity, where we will be able to further develop on the knowledge and skills we've built up over the last 10 weeks. Once the graduate scheme is over, the likelihood of being signed off into a higher role is high.

We had two 'Social secretaries' for our intern cohort, and I can honestly say I've made some friends for life through this scheme. We had regular nights out, drinks and meals together, as well as lunches at work most days, and for those who were new to the area, we were able to show them some of the best sights (and bars) London has to offer. This has definitely been a huge highlight for me; we've had a fantastic time together.

I was lucky enough to be able to live at home throughout this placement, although I had an hours commute into work. However, because the company is based out of London, cost of living was slightly lower than it could of been for other companies. However, as the majority of our socialising was in London, the cost wasn't particularly low. However, you expect this from the areas we were visiting.

As a 20 minute train ride from London, we had access to an unlimited nightlife for the 10 weeks! We had a great time visiting various rooftop bars and gardens round the city, as well as spending the warmer evening on the South Bank. We visited comedy shows, bowling alleys, a variety of restaurants, bars and parks. We couldn't have been placed anywhere better in terms of nightlife.

There were plenty of opportunities to get involved in social events outside of work, and as one of our Intern Challenges, we were set a fundraising task over six weeks. This meant we had quiz nights, raffles, sponsored cycles among other things to get us involved outside of work, which was really fun and for a great cause. The only negative is that because of the office location, many people drive to work, and so are less likely to stay afterwards to socialise.