So, not only did I survive my first week as an intern in Customer Management at Rolls-Royce, but it flew by so quickly that I’m already feeling like the whole ten weeks will be over before they’ve started!
On Sunday afternoon, I moved into the University of Derby Halls, and it’s a bit like being back in my first year of university except that people are a little more grown up and less messy! Starting the week at Rolls-Royce was a bit nerve-wracking, but I already feel like I am settling in and starting to understand how the business and customer-facing roles work in Civil Large Engines.
I did, however, feel somewhat thrown in the deep end when, after only having been in my office for three days, I was invited to a Chinese culture dinner. The team that I am involved with works within Customer Business for the Greater China airline customers of Rolls-Royce, so the idea was that I would get to experience a bit of genuine Chinese culture, have some proper Chinese food and do a bit of networking.
Well, I have to say, it was not quite as simple as it sounds! Unfortunately for me – but hilariously for everyone else – I ended up performing an ad hoc interpretive dance on the stage in front of around seventy Rolls-Royce employees and affiliates while a man I had recently met belted out a very unique rendition of Rod Stewart’s “I am Sailing”.
Although it was a little overwhelming, it was all in good fun. The delicious food was unlike anything I have ever had before (none of the Anglicised Chinese take-away stuff I’m used to!) but I’m just hoping that the videos/pictures of my dance don’t go viral! All in all it was a really great evening and I think it’s just one of the little touches that helps Rolls-Royce to have such strong relationships with its customers.
I’m quite aware of the fact that internships in general have been getting a lot of bad press recently, with young people questioning the value of spending their summer making coffees and doing filing, often unpaid. I can tell you that nothing could be further from my experience with Rolls-Royce so far. Without wanting to be too sappy, I feel part of a really welcoming team that cares about and looks out for one another. Everyone around me has been keen to share their experiences to try and help me learn and I’ve already been intellectually stretched and challenged. I must admit that I’ve had moments of feeling overwhelmed by what is expected of me and whether I’ll be able to live up to expectations – especially having got my internship by winning the Female Undergraduate of the Year competition. But I can certainly say so far, so good.
One thing that is evident is that in most of Rolls-Royce, women are outnumbered by men quite significantly. Before I started, I was worried that I might feel a bit out of place because of this, or that there could be certain people who would treat me differently being a woman. This is something I have experienced at work in the past, but I am relieved to say that once again, this hasn’t been the case at all so far at Rolls-Royce. There are many strong, successful, powerful women that I have already encountered and I’ve not felt for a second that my standard of work or my presence in the office are in any way viewed in relation to my gender (which is, of course, the way things should be).
So all in all, it’s been a great – if exhausting – week, and I’m hoping that things will continue as positively as the rest of my placement unfolds!
Female Undergraduate of the Year Blog 