An enriching and fun experience

Overall, the experience was definitely a great one. Absolute staff were extremely organised and supportive, and very friendly and approachable. As promised, they picked me up from the airport, and had many activities in store for all of us interns, including social events (sponsored and un-sponsored) as well as a few careers talks and networking sessions. The first weekend for instance we had a useful orientation, and some great tips from the team about Chinese norms and culture. There was also plenty of interaction between interns and the Absolute team alike, through all the social events. Because of their support, I was able to enjoy the experience, and never felt home-sick or lonely. The rest of the interns were also really great. They were an extremely diverse bunch, pretty much from all over the world, and yet everyone got along really well and we grew closer each day, and still remain in touch with one another.

However, there is always some room for improvement. There was an occasional hitch here or there, as with any international experience. For instance, the internet connection was extremely slow at times, which was very frustrating.There was also a 500RMB (refundable) housing deposit that I do not recall being told about, which we only got back the day we were checking out. Sponsored events also required (refundable) deposits, which were only returned after the event, which was somewhat inconvenient. The kitchen also lacked some appliances one would consider essential in the West; for instance a toaster/kettle.

That being said, I would highly recommend Absolute Internship. The team was extremely friendly, easy-going, approachable and a pleasure to spend time with. They had clearly invested a lot of time, effort and energy planning each day, and I believe they made all the arrangements to the best possible standards, ensuring everything ran smoothly throughout. I always felt comfortable knowing they would be there for even the slightest of problems!