Gabrielle: My internship experience

Do you want to learn more about internships and what they involve? Our students talk about their placement experiences, what they’ve learned and how it’s helped them carve out their own career paths.

Q. Where did you do your placement?
A. I’ve recently completed a 6-month placement with McDonald’s in the finance department, where I was then offered a 12-month contract as the Assistant Regional Accountant for Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia. I saw the opportunity to incorporate McDonalds, my employer of seven years, to form part of my degree.

Q. What was the scariest or most challenging part of your placement?
A. For the first week it was, remembering everyone’s names. Now it’s worrying that I might make in error in a report. I have learnt to go over my work with a fine comb!

Q. Can you tell us about the most memorable moment of your placement?
A. A memorable moment would be playing speed monopoly with three accountants in my first week. It’s just like monopoly however it is played in 20 minutes and at the end, all players liquidate their assets and whoever has the most at the end wins. Only one extra rule, the dice must be rolling at all times. I had never played monopoly before and was unsure of the rules, so it was pretty daunting having the dice thrown at me before every round. It was even more daunting trying to calculate change and rent owed, fast and on the spot, in front of my superiors. Long story short, I had an absolute blast playing it! I’ll never go back to normal Monopoly!

Q. What was the key thing you learned from your placement at McDonald’s?
A. I learnt to make many notes because everything my colleagues had to say was important. I also learnt to always ask questions and have a positive attitude in everything I do. Last but not least, with Finance, there’s always a more efficient process in reporting.