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Hi again. Just a quick update to let you know what I’ve been up to. The viral video that my old intern started and that I continued with when I joined has now gone live! Check it out here on YouTube… Now you can see the kind of thing I am doing as a marketing intern at Intel. I am currently promoting this video as much as possible and have already started brainstorming ideas for the next one!

A few days ago we held a marketing assessment centre for the next interns starting in July 2010. That seems ages away, but Intel like to get it sorted early. I can’t believe it was a whole year ago that I was in their position and fighting for one of the marketing placements. It was a really fun day and really interesting to see it from the other perspective. It was much more relaxing to take part in the day without being judged! All the current marketing interns helped out on the day and I hope the candidates got as much out of it as I did last year. I found it so helpful to speak to the current interns on their level and ask questions you might not want to ask a potential manager. So we were honest and open, but full of positive things to say as we all seem to love it here. It’s quite exciting to think who will be taking over from me and who the whole new set of interns will be made up of.

I remember last year during my assessment centre they showed a video and gave a talk about why you would want to work for Intel. I remember after watching it I felt really inspired and convinced that Intel was exactly where I wanted to work. Anyway, they did it again this year and it was quite funny – I found myself reacting in the same way all over again! It got me thinking how glad I am that I’ve got a placement here and that I would really like to come back after Uni!

At the moment we are briefly talking about the next event we will be holding in March. This time it will be a face to face event which is really great as it means during my placement year I will have experienced holding an event both virtually and in real life. As it is a face to face event all the preparation I have to do will be completely different! Currently we are narrowing down locations, hotels and types of networking activities and I will get to travel which is exciting.

On the social scene the interns have a lot lined up. In March there is a 4 day trip to Dublin to see the interns in the Ireland office and have a look round the FAB (factory where they make Intel products). No doubt this trip will include some great nights out and a trip to the Guinness Factory – which goes without saying when you visit Dublin. Unfortunately, I can’t make this trip as it overlaps with the conference I am holding in March. I was a bit gutted about this at first but it’s just the way the dates worked out and at least I will be in another country too! We’ve also got an Xmas pub quiz lined up, and intern Xmas dinner, a house party and the Intel Office Party so a busy time before the holidays.

My team is pretty flexible so over the Xmas period I will be going home to London like I would at the end of term when at Uni. I am combining taking days off and working from home so I can save some holiday for the summer. Hopefully it will be reasonably quiet over the holiday period and I won’t need to come into the office as a lot of people will be taking holiday around that time.

This quick message turned into quite a long one! But it’s all good as I need do some work for Uni and I’m hoping I can use these blog entries to jog my memory about what I’ve done. I also need to start thinking about my placement essay that i have to complete this year which mean coming up with a title a.s.a.p. but I admit I am finding it quite a struggle to think about Uni work when you get so involved in the mindset of working in a job.

Anyway, I will give you another update soon about what else I have been doing!

Find out what our Guest Bloggers are getting up to. Throughtout the year we will be following the progress of our Guest Bloggers as they find a placement or keep us updated as to what they are doing on their placement. Click here to read all entries from our bloggers or click here to meet them.

Back again! It’s been quite a while since I wrote my last blog because I’ve been so busy I just haven’t had a chance. As I mentioned previously, I’ve been organising a virtual event so there was a lot to get done in the lead up. We invited about 300 people to this virtual event so it was really important that everything went to plan so we didn’t let anyone down; I needed to focus on organising everything and making sure we were completely prepared.

Anyway, the event was yesterday and it went really well! So it’s all over now and I’m really glad that me and my team’s hard work paid off. We had hardly any problems and the couple of people who did have some issues had them for reasons outside our control so there wasn’t anything we could have done differently to avoid it. We also had a back up plan prepared so the people who had problems still managed to experience the event – and only a handful of people ended up needing it which is good.

After the event finished my supervisor gave me some flowers and a little gift to say thank you for my hard work which was great to know that the effort I had put into organising the event had been acknowledged. It was a really nice gesture and I feel lucky to be in a team of such nice people that I get on with really well.

So what now? For the last couple of months the main focus of my job has been making this event a success. Now this is all over I can focus my job in some other areas. I need to catch up on a few things that have been put on hold while the event was my main priority. I also need to get a viral video edited down to a final version that can be approved by branding, whilst we are already thinking of ideas for new videos. I’m looking forward to getting creative and coming up with some great ideas.

Intel held an Open Day recently for potential new interns and quite a few of my friends here have been going to recruitment fairs at various universities to talk to students about a placement year at Intel. It’s seems so early to start looking for new interns as I feel like I’ve only just started working here. But I suppose Intel have realised you get a better choice if you recruit early and perhaps are looking for the type of people who are organised enough to start searching early? It’s actually been about 4 months since I’ve been working here and I’m feeling really settled, it’s just that time has absolutely flown by.

At the weekend the interns had a Halloween party which was really funny with some great effort put into costumes. We had someone dressed as a tombstone, a chilli pepper, Johnny Depp and all sorts! It was such a laugh and a great reminder that you don’t have to give up your University style social life when you go on placement.

Hoping I can get back to writing this more regularly now the event is over, and will keep you updated with the different kinds of things I’m planning to do…

Find out what our Guest Bloggers are getting up to. Throughtout the year we will be following the progress of our Guest Bloggers as they find a placement or keep us updated as to what they are doing on their placement. Click here to read all entries from our bloggers or click here to meet them.

I’ve been a little late with writing my blog recently because I am really busy at the moment. Summer was a bit quieter as lots of people were on away on holiday, but it is around now when everyone is coming back to work. This means that everyone is catching up on what they missed while they were away. Plus doing anything new that’s going on, so it’s been a busy couple of weeks for me. I’m really enjoying it though, I like having lots of things to do as it means I’m getting as much out of my placement as possible.

Every bit of experience will be useful knowledge for working life when I’ve graduated or for when I go back to university. I’m still amazed at how fast you learn when you’re thrown in at the deep end. For example, I was asked to help out with a market analysis task on Excel, so I had to go away and play around with the data, ask for help and make sure I got the task done in time. Within a week I was far better at using Excel than before, even though I had studied a module about it at Uni. There’s nothing like learning through doing, and it’s far more memorable that way.

I’m still really pleased with the type of work I’m doing. I’ve been here for less than two months and I’ve already done a variety of things, with loads of it being really creative. I’ve heard of friends on placements at other companies who are in ‘Marketing’ jobs which are actually thinly veiled admin roles that were listed as Marketing to be more appealing. This is certainly not the case with my job which is great. I’ve had to come up with my own ideas about marketing communications, write plenty of promotional literature and I’ve even heard creating my own design for some teaser communications is in the pipeline. I’m also really looking forward to helping out with some filming in Intel Studios which will be taking place soon.

Another aspect of my job currently, involves playing a big part in organising a virtual conference about Embedded Intel products and I have been making loads of significant decisions to do with this. I’ve been given a lot of responsibility which is really good because it means that everything I’m doing impacts other people a lot. On the other hand, it’s a little scary because if it goes wrong it’s all my fault…

There’s a great social life going on with the Interns here as well. I’m lucky that there’s a big enough group of Interns at Intel that I don’t feel like I’m missing out on a year of the University lifestyle. Everyone is really good friends and we go out at the weekends and go for meals etc during the week. We’ve organised some great nights out recently and also got some sports and day trips going on as well. I’m looking forward to ‘Superhero Night’ which is next on the line up!

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There’s only one week left with the old intern here and then he leaves and I’ll be doing the job all on my own. I’m sure I’ll be able to handle it though. At first I was worried about doing everything by myself and about the responsibility, but as the handover period passes I’m becoming more and more confident about what I’m doing. I’m getting to know the team I work with a lot better now and I’m getting on with them really well.

My job involves many different elements which makes it really interesting and varied. I work in EMEA ESG Channel Marketing, which means the regions I cover (Europe, Middle East and Africa) within the Embedded Sales Group.

It took me a while to understand exactly what Embedded actually meant here at Intel. Initially, most people think computers and laptops when they hear the word Intel, especially after the ‘Intel Inside’ campaign. However, Intel products are in loads of other things as well that you may never realise. This is where Embedded comes in. Intel products are used in industrial machines, cars, gaming, medical equipment and so many other places that you would never imagine.

So my job revolves around Intel Embedded products, which is when Intel products are used inside things other than PCs. I have a variety of tasks such as sending out newsletters, both internal and external. I am in charge of a website, will complete weekly market analysis and help organising at least 3 large conference events and plenty of other things too.

As there are lots of interns at Intel there is an Intern Committee made up of about 5 current interns who organise events, newsletters and speak on behalf of the intern population. Voting in the new committee took place this week and I have been selected to help out with the SAS (Sports and Social) part. I’m really looking forward to this as it means I have a direct input into the kind of things that are organised and can suggest ideas of my own. Part of the role involves organising the weekly Intern night out and the sports that people want to take part in.

The Intern Committee do multiple things such as raising money for charity, a year book at the end of the year and in the past they have even organised a skydive for the interns! This week there is a Beach Themed party to say goodbye to the old interns for the last time and for the new interns to get ready for a year on our own. I’ve brought my fancy dress box up and think it will definitely come in handy this year…

Find out what our Guest Bloggers are getting up to. Throughtout the year we will be following the progress of our Guest Bloggers as they find a placement or keep us updated as to what they are doing on their placement. Click here to read all entries from our bloggers or click here to meet them.

So, what do I think after my first full week at Intel? There are a few main things that I’ve learnt about Intel since working here.

Firstly, Intel has an extremely friendly work culture. I’ve been completely overwhelmed by how friendly everyone has been since I’ve started. Everyone has been so helpful and welcoming that I already feel part of the team. No matter what their position is within the company, or how busy they are, everyone has been eager to meet me properly and have a one on one chat about how I’m settling in.

I’ve also learnt that Intel treats employees really well. Though it is a huge company, I don’t feel insignificant. Everyone is treated equally and as an intern I am given real responsibility. There’s plenty of employee perks too – like free gym use and free hot drinks!

Another thing I have discovered from working at Intel is that absolutely everyone speaks using acronyms. They are used almost every other word; it’s like they are speaking another language! I’m quickly trying to learn all these different terms and actually understand what they mean. It’s a bit daunting at first but everyone understands it takes a while to get used to.

My job role seems reasonably flexible which is great. There are obviously the central aspects of the job role, but Intel actually encourages you to shape your own role. I am encouraged to take on projects in areas that I am personally interested in, and have the opportunity to suggest new and innovative ideas to take my job further.

Overall, I’ve had a really good week. My role seems really relevant to my university course and I’m excited about the various opportunities it offers. I plan to take on many different projects and get as much experience out of this year as I can. It’s a really great help that there is a month handover period with the old interns. It means that I can ask all the silly or minor questions comfortably because I know they were in the exact same place last year.

I’ve already made some great friends and had some fun nights out with all the interns. With around 40 placement students at Intel I know this year is going to be fun. Basically, I’m looking forward to getting stuck in!

Find out what our Guest Bloggers are getting up to. Throughtout the year we will be following the progress of our Guest Bloggers as they find a placement or keep us updated as to what they are doing on their placement. Click here to read all entries from our bloggers or click here to meet them.

Name: Emily Barman

Age: 20

University: Aston University

Course: Marketing

Company: Intel

Job Title: Marketing; Communication & Events

Hi. I’m Emily and I started a Marketing placement at Intel about a month ago. I go to Aston University and am studying Marketing where a placement year is compulsory for everyone in the Business School. This means that although the university has a lot of contacts, there is also a lot of competition between students to try and secure a great job at a great company.

I’ll start from the beginning. I applied for the Intel placement online through their website by uploading a CV. Unlike many other application processes, there were no lengthy competency based questions so I had to rely purely on my qualifications and experiences.

A few weeks later I heard I had been selected for an Assessment Day which I attended with 5 other students. The assessment day was actually quite fun, and not at all scary like I had imagined. The most valuable part of the day was that current interns helped organise and run it, meaning I gained a clear and realistic insight into what it was like to work at Intel. Within the first hour I was even more convinced that Intel was where I had to work for my placement year! A few weeks later I got a call offering me the job and I was elated.

Intel recruits very early in the academic year so I had secured a placement before Christmas while some people hadn’t even start applying. They ran an open day for the new interns to meet each other and their team which I found really helpful. It was a great opportunity to get a clearer picture of I would be doing on a day to day basis and meet potential housemates and friends. This day was definitely worth attending as I met all the new interns and we all took part in loads of team building activities.

Next steps were; find some housemates, find a house, move in and then start work!

Find out what our Guest Bloggers are getting up to. Throughtout the year we will be following the progress of our Guest Bloggers as they find a placement or keep us updated as to what they are doing on their placement. Click here to read all entries from our bloggers or click here to meet them.

So the handover begins…

I have actually done a handover before. I had an old book I didn’t want and my mate came round and I just…handed it over. This is much more difficult.

I don’t want to give the wrong impression, the handover is going quite well (I think). I just mean that this poses an interesting challenge for me as I have never taught anyone before.

Emily (my replacement) has been here 2 weeks now and is settling in really well. She has taken over my desk and phone and people have started emailing just her and not copying me in for support. Now, that sounds a little like I am begging for sympathy, and to an extent, I am…but it has also given me a lot of new experiences.

Firstly, I am on a very steep learning curve of how to teach someone and how to relinquish tasks that I enjoyed doing. It’s a really tough process to go through, but one that I think has helped me gain a number of skills I may not have otherwise had the chance to develop.

On the other side of things, it has freed up some time for me to enjoy the social aspects of the last few weeks here at Intel. Last week saw a new intern/old intern “Pub Snooker” social in which we donned our finest waistcoats and bow ties and stepped out on to the snooker-clad streets of Swindon – snooker loopy!

We’re 2 weeks in to the handover and there’s 2 weeks to go. It’s been interesting and I have learnt a lot. I’m not exactly sure what the next fortnight will bring, but whatever it does, I will make sure I let you know…

Find out what our Guest Bloggers are getting up to. Throughtout the year we will be following the progress of our Guest Bloggers as they find a placement or keep us updated as to what they are doing on their placement. Click here to read all entries from our bloggers or click here to meet them.

Name: Sam Jones

Age: 21

University: Loughborough University

Course: Management Sciences

Company: Intel

Job Title: Marketing; Communication & Events

“Hi,

I’m Sam Jones and I am a student at Loughborough University, currently on a placement with Intel Corporation (UK). I’ve already been on the placement for 12 months, and have just 1 more month to go!

Here at Intel we have a 1 month handover period where the current (old!) interns and their replacements are at work at the same time. In this blog I will keep you updated on the progress of that month; from training, to integration socials, to leaving parties.

My replacement starts on July 9th, more will follow…

Sam”