Commodities and Listed Derivatives Intern Review

I thoroughly enjoyed my 10 week internship at LCH.Clearnet. I was interning within the Commodities and Listed Derivatives department working on a variety of projects as well as handling business as usual tasks given to me by my manager and other members of the team. Everyone was extremely welcoming and the internship gave a great insight in to the industry whilst also allowing for a variety of activities and external visits around London. I would definitely recommend applying to LCH.Clearnet.

My colleagues were very welcoming and helped me settle in extremely quickly. I developed a strong rapport with the other interns at the time and met lots of different people in various areas of the company. Sometimes there are generalisations thrown out there about interns making the tea and coffees and I have to say that this couldn't be any further from the truth. My team valued my input and my work was always monitored and structured which I enjoyed a lot.

The Graduate Development Specialist eased us into our roles and was there throughout the 10 weeks for any issues we had. One of the highlights of the internship was the guidance and advice I received from my manager and buddy. I had regular meetings with my manager to decide on objectives and monitor my progress. As I was sat opposite to her I also got to know her in more of an informal manner as well which definitely helped me when working with her. The role of a buddy is to be there as another point of contact for another opinion or for a formal chat about things that you haven't quite grasped properly. I formed a good relationship with my buddy also and this helped me settle in quickly.

I had business as usual tasks given to me at the start of the internship. On top of this the interns were given a project to work on which took up a lot of time and involved meeting people around the office to get a better understanding of the topic. There were also a lot of opportunities to visit different parts of the business and attend lunch and learns.

As an intern there is only so much responsibility that one can be given. However, I noticed that after a few weeks at LCH I had learnt an awful lot and was given a lot more responsibility when dealing with clients and more freedom to direct my work. We were given complete responsibility over our group project which went a long way to deciding whether or not we were to receive a graduate job offer at the end of our time.

Overall working at LCH was a great experience. I met loads of fantastic people that I remain in contact with and learnt a lot about an area of finance that not too many people know about. The world of financial clearing is in a massive growth phase and it was enjoyable to get experience within the industry at this point in time. Additionally I learnt more subtle skills such as how to interact in a team and meetings and with external clients. My presentation and communication skills were definitely put to the test throughout but it was a very useful experience as it gives you the opportunity to work on various areas where you may have not been tested previously.

There was a positive and fun atmosphere within my team thanks to the diverse age range. However it must also be said that I had to get my head down and work as well, which provided a good balance overall.

This was very well done. There was always something different going on or someone different to be talking to. There were weekly rotations between lunch and learn meetings and visiting other parts of the company. For example I spent days in Swapclear, Forexclear, Risk and Collateral and Liquidity Management. The mixture of activities made the internship very enjoyable/

The first week was spent learning about the market, what LCH offers as a service and also various softer skills. This came in handy throughout my 10 weeks and in my opinion was a good induction.

I was offered a position on the Graduate Programme after my 10 weeks at LCH.

I interned with 2 others and I got on very well with them. Additionally the previous graduates were always around and offered quite a lot of banter. There was a summer party and both a mid-term and end event which were good opportunities for networking and a lot of fun. Outside of work we would often go for a drink on a Thursday night.

London is an expensive place. Luckily I didn't live too far away and it was only an hour commute by train.

London is a fun place to go drinking after work.