Internship – Undergraduate Blog

My L’Oreal journey so far!

By Sophie Ruston, BA Business Management

My journey started in my second year when I attended an ‘Assertiveness & Self Confidence Skills Session’ on the 14th November ran by L’Oreal at the Student’s Union. It was advertised as an on-campus evening where I was able to get hints and tips on how to tackle their applications. It wasn’t until I turned up that they told us they would be running a mock assessment centre with the chance to be ‘talent spotted’ and fast-tracked to the final stage of their application!

Around a week later I received an email invitation to their final stage assessment centre in London, exactly a month on from the initial event (14th December). I straight away began researching the company, the brands and preparing for the day. 48 hours before, we received an information deck through with lots of information on potential new Kiehl’s skincare products, our job was to prepare a 20 minute presentation on which product to launch, why, and our omni-channel launch plan.

Fast-forward through 2 days of intense planning and presentation preparing which included analysing data from a survey of my Facebook friends, I was at the assessment centre and presenting to the Head of Digital for L’Oréal’s skincare division. Following the presentation, we were split into groups to take part in a group task which built on the Kiehl’s project, and then completed a numerical and literacy test. Next was lunch and a chance to chat to the current interns and ask questions about their experience and what a placement at L’Oreal was like first hand. After lunch, there was a daunting ‘cut’ where they sent home applicants who hadn’t progressed to the afternoon which then consisted of an attention to detail test, a virtual reality meeting scenario and an individual interview with a senior member of staff.

After successfully gaining a place on the placement scheme, I started on the 25th June 2018 as an ‘E-Retail Intern’ in the Active Cosmetics Division. My role consisted of:

Communicating with online retailers to assist with account management and relationship building.
Collating, reporting and analysing sales results, tracking market trends and promotion results
Ensuring all product launches were planned and executed across e-retailers accurately from start to finish
Creating campaign focused assets for website banners, brand pages and social media posts to encourage uplifts in sales, ‘win on the web’ and increase brand awareness.

As much as I got stuck into my day-to-day role, and after an adjustment period, really enjoyed what the job entailed, it was all the other activities I got involved with whilst on placement which made the year so special! I was part of the intern netball team which played weekly matches against other teams around Hammersmith e.g. against the Disney interns. This was a really great chance to meet up with some of the other interns which I didn’t work with, and find out more about their roles in other parts of the business. With over 100 interns across Marketing, Commercial, Finance, Supply and more from 36 brands and 4 divisions, every intern has a totally different role and experience.

Being part of such a large, international company also meant there were occasions where I was able to get involved with corporate events, such as an event at the house of commons, “for Women in Science”, attended by MP’s, Lords and successful business people. This opportunity to represent L’Oréal at such a significant annual event filled me with pride, and also gave me experience networking with individuals outside of the business. I was also involved with charity and corporate social responsibility initiatives within the Head Office, such as selling raffle tickets, working at product sales and volunteering with disadvantaged children in the community.

All in all, my placement year provided me with such a vast array of experiences, I learnt A LOT, developed massively as an individual, but more than anything had such a fantastic time. I enjoyed it so much, that I even stayed at L’Oréal over the summer and completed another internship in a totally separate role, just so I could gain further insight into the business! I have met friends for life, and am back in London at least once a month, I just can’t wait to be back there full time in January 2021 on their Commercial Management Trainee graduate scheme.

International Summer Placement

By Jamie Taylor, BA Business Management

Over the summer of 2019, I decided to do something with my time to make a difference! I would be spending 6 weeks out in Indonesia working towards making the world a better place!

My placement was with an organisation called ‘AIESEC’ that focuses on achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s), my project was called ‘E-Millennials’ and this targeted ‘SDG 8’- ‘Decent Work and Economic Growth’. The main aim of the project was to promote ‘Entrepreneurship and Eco-tourism’ throughout Indonesia and make a difference to help improve people’s lives.

There were 11 other people in my project team, and this gave our team a real diversity with us all being from different countries from around the world including: China, India, Egypt and Canada just to name a few. There was a belief in what we were all trying to achieve, with us all working together towards the same goal! The project was split up into 3 main components that consisted of ‘School Visits’, ‘Company Visits’ and finally an ‘Eco-Tourism Consultancy Project’ on Tidung island (island off the coast of Jakarta).

School Visits

The School visits were so rewarding as it gave me the opportunity to educate and engage with the Indonesian youth about the SDG’s as well as finding out what their future career ambitions were. Of course, I needed a translator as my Bahasa (Indonesian language) wasn’t the best but ‘Google Translate’ quickly became my new best friend. I had some really positive discussions with the students, and it was great to hear about their different opinions and perspectives!

Company Visits

I had the opportunity to visit a number of companies in Jakarta. This resulted in me waking up at 5am and having to catch a 2-hour train but it allowed me to experience what the Indonesian daily commute was like. To give some context, think of the London Underground at rush hour and times that by five!

Some of the companies that I visited were Nutrifood (Indonesian Healthy Food Manufacturer) as well as Qlausa (Digital marketing agency) these were great learning experiences and gave me the chance to spend time with industry professionals. I found it particularly beneficial to analyse the differences between businesses in the UK and Indonesia.

Visiting Unilever Indonesia was a fantastic experience and it was insightful to learn about all of the Indonesian brands and take part in a brand activation exercise. However, visiting the in-house Magnum Café was definitely a highlight! I highly recommend trying out one of the milkshakes- delicious!

Tourism Consultancy Project

For the final stage of the project I spent a week on Tidung Island. The real value of this trip was to experience the Eco-Tourism opportunities on the island and to give feedback on them to the tourism board. Highlights included, the Coral Reef Restoration Program, the Mangrove Plantation and the Snorkelling trip! At the end of the week I had to give a presentation to the local committee and produce a ‘SWOT analysis’ of tourism on the island!

Overall, this was a fantastic experience and a rewarding way to spend my summer. I would highly recommend AIESEC to anyone as they have programs all around the world and you will be sure to find one that best suits your interest!

‘Go out there and do something that will make your future-self proud’

What I learnt on my summer internship

By Rhiannon Thefaut, BA International Business Management

My internship was a learning experience. I hated it, but reflecting back, I learnt some really important lessons and developed as a person because of it. I’ve got a clearer idea now on how best I worked, what I wanted from a job and what I was and wasn’t interested in. Therefore, I recommend doing an internship, even if it’s not what you expect – because the lessons learnt are worth it and, honestly, the extra money is really helpful for third year when your maintenance loan lowers.

The first thing I learnt was that I did not want to work in Human Resources – until this internship, I was sure this was what I wanted to go into. However, after learning it was more about policies and following guidelines, rather than directly helping people, I decided it wasn’t interesting to me. The positive from this was that through my project on creating a tool to predict unplanned absence, I learnt I really enjoyed working with data. I’m now applying for master’s in data analysis and graduate jobs that directly involve looking at trends in data. This was probably the best thing that came out of my internship; it allowed me to see what areas I enjoyed working in a practical sense, rather than theoretical.

The second thing I learnt was that who you work with really makes the job – the people I worked with didn’t try to include me, help me or support me. I went to work and didn’t speak to anyone all day and then went to the flat I lived in alone to not speak to anyone some more. Looking back on it, I could have tried more to talk and be part of the HR team, however, as they didn’t try to include me, I didn’t have the confidence to put myself out there. I asked my manager for help 12 times, and each time got rejected and told she didn’t have time for me.

This links to the third thing I learnt – ask for help. If your manager won’t help you, ask someone else. If they can’t, ask another person. It felt so uncomfortable interrupting people who constantly complained how busy they were, but you’re not burdening them by asking – nearly everyone will be willing to help, or direct you to who can help.

My last piece of advice would be to think hard about whether it is worth doing an internship for the whole summer – when you’ve just been away from home for a year. I struggled with home sickness more during my internship, than my year abroad as I really wanted the time with my family after so long and didn’t have the chance.

My summer internship at Performance Engineered Solutions Ltd.

By Hannah Reaney, BA Business Management

During the summer of 2018 I was fortunate to gain an internship as a Marketing Assistant at a local engineering company in Sheffield called Performance Engineered Solutions Ltd. They are an engineering design business that provide solutions to clients’ engineering challenges. They work in a variety of sectors including Formula 1, aerospace, energy, marine, automotive, and many more.

I decided to do a summer placement because I felt that it would provide a great opportunity of putting what I have learnt at university into practice and give me some real-world work experience. During my course I really enjoyed studying marketing modules, and found it interesting learning about the best methods of communication for different businesses. I was excited to have the chance to apply what I had learned in the workplace, and see if I enjoyed a marketing role.

I first found out about the role on the University’s Careers Connect website, where I had to write a CV and a cover letter. In order to prepare, I visited the Employability Hub, the careers service that is based within the Management School, for some practical advice on my application. The Careers Advisor was able to check over my CV and cover letter before I submitted it, and I also gained some valuable advice on how to approach an interview if I was successful. Thankfully, I was! For my interview I was told I had to prepare some work on my thoughts and ideas on the current website and how it could be developed. My interview went well, and I was offered the role.

I really enjoyed my summer internship, and feel that as I was at a smaller company compared to a larger PLC, I was offered more responsibility and was able to see the end results of what I had worked on during my time there. It’s easy to only consider the big names when you’re looking for a placement or internship, however I definitely wouldn’t change where I chose to work. My summer with PES Performance was a great experience with a great team of people. I’m pleased to say that when my internship finished they offered me a part-time role whilst I complete my studies, which means I have some extra income and some great experience to put on my CV and speak about at graduate interviews. I would recommend a summer internship to anyone!

Highlights of my student life so far

By James Dylag, BA Business Management

Being a student has been the most amazing experience, I have made the best friends and the best memories. Being halfway through my final year has made me think a lot about what the future holds, but also about how much I will miss my time at University of Sheffield once it’s all over. Here’s a few of my favourite memories.

One of the most enjoyable parts of being a student in Sheffield was my first year in Endcliffe accommodation. My experience of being in student accommodation was that it was so much fun, and there was always something going on! I made some friends in first year who I have lived with through all of my university experience, and who I believe will stay my friends for life. Living in Endcliffe was a real highlight for me!

Another highlight was the internship I did in the summer of my second year at Barclays. During this time, I moved to London, got some real-life experience and made some great friends. I’d recommend doing an internship if you get the chance, it allows you to see what areas you enjoy the most and build your CV without having to commit to much time to doing so. You can read more about my internship and my experience here.

Working alongside my studies was another great opportunity. I worked in a small local coffee shop, but I made a host of friends and earned money whilst doing so! If you can balance your studies with working I would definitely recommend having a part time job. It means you don’t have to live on such a strict student budget and can treat yourself now and again.

Being at university has been the best experience I’ve ever had, with my top highlight being the friends I have made. These friends really are friends for life, and the thought of not living together next year is so sad! But really, you’ll find a close group who you do everything with, they’ll be like your own family in Sheffield!

University has been so much fun, and I’ve made so many friends and memories along the way. It’s been an unbelievable experience, and one that I wouldn’t change at all!

My internship at Barclays

By James Dylag, BA Business Management

Over the last summer I was lucky enough to be able to complete an internship with Barclays in the Business Banking division. In this post, I’ll tell you about the experience I had whilst on the internship programme and the highlight of my internship.

My internship began a few weeks after I finished my second-year exams. As part of my internship, I was expected to relocate to London. For the duration of my internship I would be based at the Barclays head office in Canary Wharf.

My first day was very nerve-wracking, but I was fortunate enough to be placed into an incredibly welcoming team, who were very open to me asking questions and giving me some real work to get stuck into. I think that is one of the misconceptions of being an intern – that you won’t be given ‘real’ work to do… I can confirm, after 9 weeks and some long (but rewarding) days – this is not true!

In my first week, I had lunch with my line manager who was keen to find out what I wanted to gain from my time at Barclays, and what they wanted to see from me. I actually found this helpful as it allowed me to create a clear picture in my head about what was expected from me, and to think about the ways that I would ensure that I delivered. Together, me and my line manager set goals for me to reach over the nine weeks I was due to spend with Barclays. After doing this, my manager introduced me to the rest of the team who were all my key points of contact for my internship. Then it was really down to me to get started!

One of the most important things for me was to get to know the team and build relationships with them. One of my objectives required me to work very closely alongside certain members of my team – so I reached out to them, and they were very receptive. We actually went out for coffee together to discuss a strategy which would allow me to reach my goal (which was originally their goal). I truly felt like during my internship that my team were very accessible and willing to help me at all times.

As an intern, we were expected to arrange meetings with 2-5 managing directors of various departments in the bank. Whilst this seemed daunting at first, it was actually a really useful activity, that allowed me and all 456(!) other interns to gain exposure to senior figures in the bank and understand the scope of the business. Barclays also held several networking events which gave us the opportunity to speak to people from the bank in an informal setting and ask any questions we might have about their role.

If I had to say, the highlight of my internship would be an event I was invited to attend in Manchester. The event was organised by my line manager and involved both my team and their clients. As a team, we put on a networking event for our clients – and had a guest talk from the CEO of the business bank. This was a really exciting opportunity for me, and really interesting to be involved in the front line, client facing roles of banking – which we often don’t hear about!

There were 456 interns in total with Barclays – so it was a really sociable internship. I have made some great friends that I still keep in touch with now – some of these weren’t even interns but instead part of the graduate cohort from previous years! Doing an internship has been a really rewarding experience and helped me gain a clearer picture of what I want to do in the future. If you can, it is definitely something worth doing – make sure you use the Management School’s Employability Hub to keep up-to-date with vacancies and get tips for the application process!

My summer internship

By Tommy Fletcher, BA Accounting and Financial Management

After second year, following the various stages of the application process, I was lucky enough to gain a place on Ernst & Young’s summer internship programme, based in the Audit team at their Hull office. With the graduate job market becoming increasingly competitive, experience has become a hugely valuable thing to have on your CV. This was perhaps best summed up on my first day with Ernst & Young, when I was told that the internship essentially works as a trial for both me and the company. If the company liked me then the chances are a graduate job offer would be on the table, and if I liked the job role and the company, then great! However, if I didn’t like that role, I had the chance to get a taste of other service lines which also could lead to a graduate position, or at the very least, I’d come away with an idea of what I didn’t want to do and another name on my CV.

Into the internship itself, and after a couple of days’ induction and training, it was straight onto real audit work, with clients ranging from small local businesses to FTSE listed companies and even a company that was no longer in existence. I spent a number of days out on client sights, where exposure to high ranking clients provided the perfect opportunity to develop my soft skills when obtaining information to complete the audit, as well as a chance to get to know your team better and find out more about working for the company. I also had the opportunity to shadow a partner, a unique prospect which enabled me to sit in on a partner meeting, before discussing career paths over lunch. The internship culminated with the Ernst & Young Hull summer social, before a final celebration with other interns from across the north.

A few weeks after the internship I found out that I’d received a graduate job offer, something which really allowed me to relax and focus on my studies in my final year without the worry of time consuming applications. I was also able to call upon my experience during the summer, particularly in the final year audit module where I could incorporate real life examples from practice into my work. Now that I’ve graduated and looking forward to starting my role after summer, I’m glad I put in the extra effort during my summer internship, and would recommend it to anyone.

A guide to internship applications

By James Dylag, BA Business Management

Applying to internships is a really daunting thing to be doing. Whilst most companies make the process as painless as possible, it is still really nerve wracking, so this blog post is here to help guide you through any applications you might be thinking of submitting.

One of the first things to do is to make sure you have an up-to-date CV. Pretty much all applications will ask for a CV, or will at least ask you questions where answers can be found on your CV (e.g. work history, education history). The University offers lots of help in CV writing, whether this be through the Futures First module that all Management School students take, or 301 Study Skills services.

Now that your CV is up-to-date, you must ensure that it is original and will help you to stand out. The best way to do this is through having experience on your CV such as volunteering, part-time work and extracurricular activities. Another important thing is to make sure your CV is formatted in an effective way. Try and avoid using templates, as while it seems like the easiest option, it will result in a CV similar to lots of other peoples.

Applications do take a while to fill in and submit, however you should try and apply to as many internships as you can. If you know what sort of career path you want to take, then apply to as many companies within this sector as possible. Internships are competitive, and this will help to maximise your chances of getting one.

Due to the large number of applications received per internship, it is absolutely essential that you follow the instructions given. This may sound mandatory, but if you miss a little bit of information on the application process it could mean that the company discard your application completely. Just be sure to double check the instructions and ensure you’ve followed them.

Probably the most dreaded part of the process… the tests. I’m not saying allapplications require you to complete any tests, but from my own experience lots of them do. Most of the time, these tests are what you’d expect, so you shouldn’t panic too much. You’ll usually be given a practise question or two, so you can get a feel for what you might get asked – there are also lots of websites who offer their own practise tests. Whilst these might not be exactly the same as the companies own tests, they’re a good way to get some experience answering this style of question.

The final thing to remember is that rejections are likely to happen, but you can’t let this get you down. Just because you’ve been turned down by one place, doesn’t mean you will be turned down by everyone. Keep applying, and eventually you’ll get exactly the internship that you’re after.

Good luck!

Applying for a placement or internship

By Ellie Thornber

Hi, I’m Ellie, one of your Management School Placement Ambassadors for 2016-17. I did my placement last year at Accenture, a large management and technology consultancy company. I am so glad I did a placement and would recommend it to anyone. I developed so many transferrable skills, established a really valuable network of colleagues and secured a graduate job too. Here is how I found my placement, the application process, and my hints and tips to help you secure a placement or internship.

How did I find my placement?

It is helpful to know what kind of organisation you want to work in before you start applying. Websites such as Rate My Placement allow you to read about other student’s experiences whilst on placement and can give you more information from the responsibilities they held, to the social side of work. This helps you to understand the type of job you want to be doing and can help you create a list of companies you might be interested in.

Websites such as Rate My Placement, Milkround and Career Connect provide a great database of companies which are offering placement and internship opportunities and will show you those with deadlines approaching. If a company you are interested in isn’t formally advertising any opportunities it is always worth contacting their HR department and asking, especially for smaller companies. Family and friends are also a great network to use to find opportunities!

The application process

The application process for placements/internships can sometimes be long and daunting, but I found that once I had submitted one, they got much easier. The length of the process varies, often depending on the size of the company. Some can have multiple stages to their application process such as online tests, telephone interviews, assessment centres and final interviews. However small companies may simply ask for a CV and cover letter before inviting you to interview. I found the Employability Hub and the Careers Advisors really helpful in going over my applications before I submitted them, helping me prepare for telephone interviews and giving me tips for assessment centres. I also used the online learning tools on Career Connect to help practice for psychometric tests such as verbal and numerical reasoning.

Hints and tips

Tailor your CV to highlight the skills you have that the company is looking for
Ask someone else to check your application – a second opinion always helps!
Use websites such as Glass Door to find out common and tricky interview questions

Contact me at: ethornber1@sheffield.ac.uk if you would like any further advice or you can get in touch with all of the Placement Ambassadors at mgt.pl.ambassadors@sheffield.ac.uk

Internship Update

By Robbie Bailey

Hi guys!

I have now finished my internship at Santander and a lot has happened since my last blog post!

The Provisions team have been fantastic and really made me feel welcome from the start. They have given me a lot of work that has been interesting and worthwhile. I have been working on some proposed changes to the mortgage provision model and have been producing data on Excel to assess the impact of these changes on the overall provision. These changes will be a significant change to the nature of the teams work and they are being implemented later this year. Graphs and analysis that I have produced have been used in board papers and have gone right to the very top of the organisation. I certainly did not expect to be given so much responsibility during a 10 week internship programme but it has given me great exposure!

I have attended a number of training sessions for a variety of topics. We had sessions with teams from Risk and Pricing and learnt all about how these teams work. I was also invited to learn about Santander’s Finance Graduate Scheme and what life as a Santander graduate is like. These sessions were very useful and helped me when considering what I would like to do after I graduate from university next year.

The CSR Challenge is now finished and my team and I were very successful as we raised over £2,000! We ran weekly food sales within the office including cakes, popcorn, pastries and samosas! I organised a football score predictions game that was very popular in the office. Players paid £2 to enter and half of the money went to our charities and the other half went to the winner of the game. Our main fundraiser was a pub quiz night which we hosted in a local Wetherspoon’s! Teams from various departments across Santander came along to play and it was a fantastic evening. Local companies donated some great prizes including lunch vouchers, a free gym membership, a signed photo of Jessica Ennis-Hill and the winners took home a team go-karting session.

In my penultimate week I delivered a presentation to the Provisions team about my life, my experiences on the internship and my future career plans. This was really good as it helped me to reflect on the programme. This last 10 weeks have gone incredibly quickly, it has really flown by but I have had brilliant experiences and met some great people.

All Finance interns were offered the opportunity to interview for the Finance Graduate Scheme during our final week. We were asked about our experiences on the internship and our motivations and plans for the future. I was then called on my final day and told that I had been successful in securing a place on the Santander Finance Graduate Scheme. This is a 3 year rotational programme based in Santander’s London head office and I will be starting in September 2017.

The internship has been a fantastic experience and having a graduate job already secured means I can focus on my studies in my final year and takes away a lot of stress!