SME Banking East England Review

I very much enjoyed my internship. I was lucky to be assigned a line manager who was well prepared and had many things ready for me before I joined the programme. Although not all tasks were challenging, there was a good balance of opportunities to work and to learn, and this made the experience ever more enjoyable.

I constantly felt valued by my colleagues. They were very encouraging and always made it feel like I made real contributions to the bank. This held true throughout the entire internship experience, and it held true irrespective of which office I was in. I am quite sure that I will keep in touch with my colleagues.

My line manager was always there to help me if I needed it, even if we were not in the same offices at all times. My line manager did not only help me with work-related matter, but was also always very understanding if there were any non-work related matter that I needed help with.

Most days I had things to do, however there were also days when I simply did not have enough work to get on with. My line manager was, however, very encouraging in letting me work on my own projects. Having some spare time now and then allowed me to create my own project, which I presented to the team at the end of the placement.

I was generally given a fair amount of responsibility in that I was in charge of my own projects. I had the opportunity to shadow relationships managers and meet with clients, which also added additional responsibilities. I understand that there are certain things in a bank that an intern simply cannot be allowed to do due to regulatory restrictions.

I think I furthered my analytical skills and my ability to work independently on projects. These skills are very applicable to my academic studies and I think that they will assist me going forward. As I had the opportunity to interact with new people on a daily basis, I also believe that I have furthered my communication skills.

The general office atmosphere was very good, when the people actually were in the office at the same time.

My internship was organized. I believe once again, however, that this was mostly thanks to my line manager in particular. I know many other interns who had far less organized set-ups.

I had the opportunity to travel around East England on an ongoing basis, and was also allowed to attend events in London. My line manager was very encouraging when it came to this, so I would say that the company invested a lot in me, given that I was only there for 10 weeks.

Working for the bank is appealing, although I would perhaps like to switch division.

I was in Cambridge, where there was only one more intern and I. naturally there were not much of a social scene surrounding the internship. The location of your internship really matters. If you end up in London, you'll have a lot more to do after work, and you'll also have the chance to meet many more people. The social scene amongst colleagues was very good though. However this, once again, depends on what team you end up with.

Standard. Lloyds paid for the accommodation though, which was very nice.

Not sure.

Not work related.