Administration Apprentice Review

My week is split into 2 different parts. Monday, Thursday and Friday I spend in the Bloomberg office completing general administration task for the museum. This ranges from replying to emails from the museum's inbox to arranging for events and projects occurring in the space. I am currently working on the Visitor Research Project. For this project, I need to liaise with the external company who have arranged surveys in our space and also arrange for employee volunteers to conduct surveys themselves. This requires me to train volunteers on how to answer certain challenging questions. From time to time, I also assist with events hosted both at the London Mithraeum Bloomberg SPACE and in external areas with the rest of the Philanthropy department. Tuesday and Wednesday I am scheduled to work down on the museum floor as a host, greeting our visitors, answering general inquiries, booking visitors and conducting tours of our site.

Although I have a background in Fine art and Art history, doing the apprenticeship has not only allowed me to expand my knowledge on business but also learn what it is like to work for a large institution like Bloomberg. I have certainly developed my administration skills and have slowly been increasing my confidence in how to manage projects and work efficiently with others in a professional environment. I have also developed other skills relating to my role such as public speaking and data collection.

I love working with the London Mithraeum Bloomberg SPACE team. I have always had a passion for art and history and coming out of university I was worried I would never find an opportunity to fulfill my dream of working for a museum. Although I volunteered and had several small part-time positions, it was an honor to be chosen to work with the team here. My role is so varied, every day is different. I get such a varied experience which will look great on my resume as I work with a member of marketing, help organise school bookings and family workshops and also gain experience in project management. I love how my time is split between working in the museum and interacting with the public (as I love to talk!) to working behind the scenes which helps further my understanding of the work that goes on to make a museum an amazing place to visit. It has truly been a dream to have such an amazing apprenticeship which will prepare me for my future career!

Unlike some apprenticeships, my role does not move around different departments- which is perfect for me as I love the area I work in already! QA is fairly good at organising hand in and lecture dates however, they have also shown some issues in organisation. I have had one of my lecture dates cancelled. This would not normally be such an inconvenience but as it falls on the day I would be working in the Mithraeum, we had to arrange cover as it is not safe to operate our site low on staff. For these changes, it would be better with at least one month's notice.

I received lots of support in not only training of the Bloomberg processes but a very in-depth training in the history of the Mithraeum and Bloomberg Philanthropies. Every 6 months as the artwork changes in the gallery, the whole team also receives very thorough training with the opportunity to Q&A the artist- an amazing opportunity to have! My team is also very supportive of my development professionally. Not only do they provide me with helpful constructive criticism on the work I produce, but they also arrange one-to-ones for me to have the opportunity to learn about specific procedures, job titles and aspects of the business (finance). The only thing I wish I had more support in is all the aspects of the Bloomberg terminal as my role does not require much use of it apart from basic functions. That being said, this is something I could do in my spare time at work and explore the terminal on my own.

My manager has been very supportive in ensuring I receive as wide a range of opportunities to prepare for the work I am expected to complete within the apprenticeship. My QA training provider is also very thorough in ensuring we are all very prepared for challenges and tasks set. They give examples of their own working experience and how that could apply to the task, which is good in showing me how to translate my own working experience through the apprenticeship work.

Although I feel like a lot of the work I do is already to the standard requested by my employer, I feel the apprenticeship allows me to learn more about other things business related. This has ranged from learning more about my company, how businesses operate (systems and hierarchies) and how this can all affect my role in particular. For example, I recently completed a small essay about market shares and market forces of Bloomberg, which lead me to research the organisation's competitors and products. I thought this is very interesting and necessary for my role. It is also something I may not have found out otherwise as my role focuses more on the museum and not on the business of Bloomberg.

There are lots of extracurricular opportunities for me to involve myself in the company and network. This ranges from running clubs to book clubs (which our department has just put together!) however, I am already doing quite a lot outside of work and sadly do not join in these amazing opportunities.

Yes

Not only does the company treat their employees wonderfully- free food and drinks, an amazing office and great inter-department relationship- but the work the company executes in the Philanthropy department is just extraordinary and truly inspiring. The amount of funding support and charitable work Bloomberg provides to amazing causes such as education, culture and the environment makes working for this company just amazing, particularly as I work in the Philanthropy department and get to the fruits of labor on a daily basis.

Show your willingness to work hard and learn. It is important to have good relationships with not only your team but every employee within the space- from those working in HR to housekeeping as working for Bloomberg is like working for a team and they are your team members! I also think being open to trying something different is important- particularly as there are so many volunteering opportunities and every employee has a chance to give back to the community.