Finance Intern Review

I thoroughly enjoyed my work placement. I was able to get involved in a variety of different tasks in the department, and also lead my own projects. The thing I liked the most was that the placement was designed so that I took away knowledge that I could use in my further life, rather than me just replicating the same tasks over and over again.

Each one of my colleagues made me feel extremely welcome. When I completed work to a high standard I was praised which made me feel helpful, and if something wasn't quite up to scratch I would be given a nudge in the correct direction.

With this I found it extremely important to get the correct balance between guidance from your manager and attempting to figure things out for yourself once in a while. For a busy man my manager always made sure he was available to provide the guidance I needed, however occasionally I liked to spend slightly more time figuring something out for myself, making it all the more rewarding in the end.

This was a difficult balance to achieve. Having the correct amount of work can be very difficult, in some instances I had too many tasks to complete in the day and in others I was left with very little to do. This was due to the demands of the finance department, a lot of the work requires a certain level of pre-requisite knowledge. Granted, I had obtained some of this from my studies, but it was impossible for two years at university to prepare me for everything.

One of the key things I felt proved the responsibility I was given was the fact that I trained a new financial analyst to do my job shortly before I left. This role was not an intern role, and was a permanent role for the business unit. This means that the tasks I was responsible for were clearly important to the firm, as I needed to be replaced. This person had already finished university and had a degree and also a years work experience, so I was clearly responsible for quite a lot as I trained somebody who appears to be ahead of me in their career.

I believe that especially the soft skills I developed at work will stay with me forever, benefiting me in university and career alike. The financial knowledge I gained will also stay with me forever, but I am now at a crossroads in deciding whether the finance department is the correct department for me, which means some of the things I have learned may not always benefit me. However, most of the financial knowledge I've gained will be an asset no matter what career path I take.

The atmosphere in my office was already friendly, which I believe is all you can ask for in a workplace. I feel a happy workplace is an efficient workplace, and I definitely witnessed that in my business unit. I also feel like the addition of a student in the workplace really can brighten the place up and make your colleagues a lot more talkative when appropriate of course.

The overall placement was set up extremely well, the dates of training courses and induction were clearly communicated, and appear to run like clockwork given the amount of work that was undoubtedly behind them. In my particular business unit there was a little bit of bad organisation when I began, as my boss and his boss were both on annual leave, however is it to be appreciated that holidays are booked in advance and it was an unforeseeable circumstance.

I really felt the company heavily invested in my development. We were able to attend numerous training courses throughout the placement designed to improve our own skills, ensuring we left the placement more valuable than when we began. You are also given a buddy who can answer any issues/questions you may have in confidence which is a nice feature to have.

Like any global company, if you perform you will be rewarded with opportunity. There is no denying that in a company this size there will always be somewhere to progress to, whether its nationally, internationally or in the business unit you are based in. It's really a case of you get out what you put in.

With the various training events we met up for drinks and meals which was enjoyable. Also you will be based with other interns, so you can choose to live with these. I would then say it is down to yourself to be as sociable as you wish. Myself and the other interns based at my sight frequently went out for food and drinks etc.

The closest hotspot for socialising for myself was Nottingham. Prices here were fairly average, although I will add that I have travelled further north from home where the cost of living tends to be cheaper. From my experience, you can live and socialise on your salary comfortably.

Nottingham is renowned for having a good nightlife, and for myself personally I do not think it disappointed. There are plenty of places to go for food or drinks, whether you like a nice meal or cocktails. There are also plenty of nightclubs to choose from. All reasonably priced too, depending on the night you chose.

Personally, in my business unit, I did not feel there were enough activities to get involved in. It is extremely difficult due to a lot of your colleagues being further into their working lives, and having their own families and work commitments to tend to. It's something that with a bit of a push and commitment from the intern could definitely be improved, though.