By Emily Davies, Consulting Intern
As a second year University student, it is advised, and occasionally expected, that you complete an internship before graduation, allowing you to gain valuable experience employer’s want. Having just completed my second year of a BA in Geography at the University of Exeter, I decided that completing an internship would be beneficial for both my personal and professional development. Due to the fact I didn’t know exactly what I wanted to do, I applied for several different positions within a diverse range of organisations. Despite numerous applications, I didn’t have any success and spoke to a family friend who recommended getting in contact with a young, exciting and growing consultancy firm called Namos Solutions.
Namos specialise in the delivery and support of Oracle implementations, upgrades and services both on-premise and in the cloud. After reviewing their website and social media activity, it was clear that Namos were experiencing a period of fast growth and this could be an extremely exciting time to join them. Following an interview with Chris, CEO of Namos, I was thrilled to learn that I had been offered the opportunity of an internship this summer.
I had been told about the inclusive nature of #TeamNamos and I experienced this before I had even begun my internship, with many of the team welcoming me to the company over LinkedIn. Despite having little knowledge, or experience of consulting, I was very much looking forward to the rotational role I would be taking on at Namos, experiencing all aspects of the organisation, whether it be project delivery, marketing or director assistance. Crucially, I hoped this would enable me to better understand what I enjoyed and consequently decide whether a career in consulting was for me.
My time varied from conducting weekly analytics reports, to learning about Oracle Cloud configuration and ensuring Namos are doing all that they can to consistently compete with the other market leaders in their field of expertise. Exposure to the multiple teams within the organisation is not something many interns experience, with even fewer being able to say they directly assisted the CEO on multiple tasks. One of my highlights was a trip to Staffordshire University, where Namos are implementing an Oracle upgrade to help with the efficiency of their financial system. Being on site enabled me to fully understand the role of a consultant and the services’ that Namos offer to customers. It also gave me a taste of the travel involved with consultancy, something which given this experience, I am now not averse to.
My time at Namos has been highly insightful. I now have a much better understanding of the role of a consultant, the different types of consultants that exist and consequently the different jobs they undertake. I have, truly, been exposed to the competitive nature of the consulting environment, securing sales, delivering bids and meeting the demands of customers. And importantly, I have experienced working in London, the commute involved and the early rises! I have thoroughly enjoyed my experience and am extremely grateful to Chris and the team at Namos for, not only being so welcoming, but also taking the time to guide and teach me through the tasks I was responsible for. I wish them the best of luck in the upcoming UKOUG Partner of the Year Awards and will watch out for their future success with great interest.
