People Team Intern Review

My position was to support the Talent Acquisition (TA) team for Visa Europe, which included shadowing, getting to grips with the wider People team and Visa as a business. Alongside my project, which was a new starter sharepoint, I got involved with two further projects: a presentation to show tangible structures for boosting engagement on social media for a local charity, and a 'financial literacy club'. The financial literacy club is a 6 week stint in a local primary school, teaching 9-11 year olds about the basics of finance.
My day is 8 hours - flexible between 8am-6pm, I usually do 9.15am-5.15pm due to tube times.
At Visa you can work from home (WFH) 5/10 days every 2 weeks - my team WFH Mondays and Fridays and every other Thursday.

Whilst I haven't directly been given a lot of responsibility, aside from leading a handful of meetings, I have actively sought after opportunities which have given me greater responsibility. These include the financial literacy club project as spoken about before. My manager was super keen that I follow through with my inquisition and adapt my workload to fit my goals and to get out of my comfort zone. These have supported me in growing as both a leader and a team member.

I have had a great opportunity to learn new skills. These include:
-> Confidence: I have learnt how to communicate in diverse settings (large/small, more senior staff, children, known colleagues/'unknown' colleagues) and develop how I incorporate empathy, assertion, and storytelling within my communications. Practically, I have developed on this through having the opportunity to MC meetings, present in front of others, and talk within meetings.
-> Networking: Building from confidence, I have gained the ability to put myself out there and reach out to people across departments and seniority levels, to learn more about their careers and here about other opportunities in the workplace

I received an incredible amount of support from the very start of the application process, before I started the internship, and then throughout the programme. This support took different shapes: weekly meetings and an open working relationship with my manager and buddy; the opportunity to be a part of a small-group mentorship programme; and networking with other leads and managers across the business who offered up ideas as to how to pick up new skills that will be useful when I return from university into a graduate job.

The company culture and general atmosphere at Visa is like no other I have found at an organisation. Every single person I have come across in the few months I have worked here have shown nothing but kindness, respect, and support. This extends across the security, hospitality, and housekeeping staff too which makes out for a company that seems to respect people regardless of job title, background, or differences. The company values hard word, nurturing relationships, and supporting one another.

I have thoroughly enjoyed my internship within the People Team at Visa, and couldn't recommend it more. I was a little nervous at first to join the corporate world as having a very different familial background I thought it would be an unwelcoming space - I couldn't have been more wrong (well in this company anyway). I would really encourage individuals who are on the fence about applying to give it a go - you may be surprised like me!

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