Student staff members land top graduate scheme offers after completing internships at ISG
Rachel Weller, who studied Spanish and Classics, started as a Project Management Intern and then became a part-time Project Management Office (PMO) Administrator. She has now received an offer for the Change and Business Solutions Graduate Programme at NatWest in Edinburgh.
Ting Hsuan Lin, who studied Business Management, started as a Digital Transformation Intern and then became a part-time Digital Transformation Analyst. She has now received an offer for the Compliance Analyst Graduate Programme at Barclays in Singapore.
They spoke to us about the benefits of being employed by ISG as students.
What was your experience like as an intern?
Rachel: “It was a great experience, especially when I knew so many people whose internships elsewhere could not go ahead due to the pandemic. The summer is a varied and interesting time to work for ISG, and I had many critical year-end tasks to complete alongside my intern project. This was beneficial as an intern as it meant that I could have an impact alongside developing my own skills.”
Ting Hsuan: “Initially it was quite challenging as at the start of the pandemic I had issues with connectivity and equipment. Luckily my team was very supportive and I eventually managed to get better internet connectivity and some headphones so I could better participate in Teams calls. I spent time learning and picking up knowledge on platforms like Sharepoint which were new to me.”
What did you do once you became a part-time employee?
Rachel: “Compared to being an intern, a part-time role allows much more responsibility. I had ownership of many regular tasks, the most important being our departmental quality assurance process.
“I was also able to return to full-time employment during the summer break, which means that I have had two years in which I have supported the new summer interns and the end of year process.”
Ting Hsuan: “During my part-time role, I had the opportunity to spearhead more projects and lead other student interns. This was because I had gained more knowledge and experience after my internship so I could contribute more to the team.
“Working remotely allowed me to balance my time between studies and working because I could save time travelling to the office.”
How did your work complement your degree?
Rachel: “For me, it was more that my degree could complement my work – there was not much crossover in terms of content! Instead, it was largely soft skills that were complementary. The best example of this is communication. Obviously, communication skills are vital when studying a language, and this meant I had experience presenting, debating and communicating clearly from my classes. This was all useful when having to word emails, present at meetings and implement process changes. Altogether studying and working simultaneously added breadth to my experience at university.”
Ting Hsuan: “Having studied Strategy related subjects in my degree, it was interesting to see how it can be applied in a higher education context. I particularly enjoyed working on PowerPoint slides for different projects as this helped me improve my data visualization skills, a soft skill that will be valued in the Finance industry. At the end of my contract, I also spoke to my manager Stephen and kindly requested for a letter of reference; this might come in useful in the future after university.”
