Summer Intern Review

I genuinely enjoyed the experience as a whole; meeting people, doing actual work, and learning new things every day. I am reluctant to rate above eight stars because there were days where I felt bored and unenthusiastic, but that being said these instances were few and far between. I can wholeheartedly recommend the UBS internship to future candidates.

The nature of the project I spent most of my time on meant that I spent a lot of time working by myself and with my line manager. While at the start I thought this might cause a sense of isolation, instead it meant that colleagues would come and ask me direct questions about how and what I was doing, and for regular progress reports. This made me feel extremely valued, because people were actually coming to me, even as an intern. I am rating 9 rather than 10 stars because my division was made up mostly of slightly older people so there wasn't much going on outside of work hours socials wise.

First off, I should say that I never had any problems when I asked people for help or advice directly; everybody was happy to chip in and explain things to me. That being said, the project I handled directly was difficult in the sense that there wasn't really a plan in place when I arrived, so my line manager and myself had to figure out what to do on the fly. While this was a great learning experience, I feel like the first couple of weeks would have been better spent had there been some sort of plan, however rough, to go off from day one.

I was kept fairly busy, with decent lunch breaks. In my department, I was free to get up and take five minute breaks, going for short walks or getting coffee or tea whenever I wanted to - there was always work to come back to though; I had time for breaks but not time to blow off entirely. In other divisions and other teams this may not have been the case though, as some other interns have told me they feel overworked while others are bored. For this reason, rather than my own experience, I have rated 7 stars.

From the first day I was given a large amount of responsibility during the internship. I effectively had the lead on my project, and was able to report back to my line manager and senior figures on a regular basis. I never had any problems accessing confidential data, and actively joined meetings and Skype conferences with bosses and managers from the department and other parts of the world.

It is impossible to understate the amount that the UBS internship will help you in the future. Everything from time management and Microsoft office to networking and presenting will be useful at one point or another, and working at UBS can be a great springboard into any number of careers. I definitely feel like the things I have learned and the skills I have developed will make my final year at university much easier, and the prestige of a UBS internship will undoubtedly help in the post-graduation job search (unless of course I am lucky enough to stay on at UBS!).

Cheerful and Friendly. Even though the people I worked with were slightly older than me, the atmosphere was open and fun. People would regularly chat and joke around, especially in the afternoon, and there was a clear sense of camaraderie between colleagues. I am rating 8 stars rather than 10 because of stories from other interns that this may not have been the case for them, but it certainly was for me.

The internship was very well organized by HR and recruitment. We started with a week of training, then had eight weeks 'on desk'. There were regular intern socials, lunches and dinners with team members, and a regular guest speaker series, in order to break up the weeks. The whole experience ran extremely smoothly, and HR were always on hand incase of slip-ups or problems (which there weren't anyway).

The first week of the internship as dedicated to training, but most of it was bigger-picture character stuff or UBS introductions than actual skills based. Of the five days, only one (basic economics) and a half (excel) were spent on actual concrete training. This may not have been the case for interns in roles which were more skills intensive, but I certainly felt that more could have been done here.

UBS is a great place to work; its flexible, friendly, and there is plenty of scope for vertical mobility. At this point, I am hoping to get the offer to remain here once I graduate.

HR organized three intern socials, as well as various networking events such as talks and lunches. However, as soon as interns split up into their departments and teams, it became difficult to organize things in large groups because of different time schedules, fatigue, etc. I would recommend that future interns do their upmost in the first week (when all the interns are together in training) to meet as many people and make as many plans/group chats as possible, because after this it will get very difficult to meet interns you haven't already met before.

London so very high. Thankfully the job pays well and the housing allowance made paying rent a little easier, but it would be untrue to say that London is a cheap place to life and go out. You're looking at 200 pounds a week rent, 5 pound pints, and 10-15 pound lunches. This doesn't seem too bad compared to the salary, but if you take the job with the intention of saving a large chunk of the earnings that may not be possible.

I study in London (where my internship is) so I was already familiar with the clubs and bars around before the internship even started. There is something for everybody here, and with the (hopeful) addition of a night tube in 2017 the next round of interns won't have to make the two hour bus journey home from xoyo or the coronet. Can't recommend it enough.

Theres a lot of stuff going on most of the year, but with holidays things tend to slow down in summer. UBS' flagship community service project has to do with a nearby school, so naturally when the kids there are on holiday there isn't anywhere near as much to do. There were regular opportunities to go and see plays or movies as part of UBS, so I you aren't into volunteering or charity there is still stuff available.