Summer Analyst Review

My internship was in Technology, and it was an amazing insight into the industry, and it really felt like Citi put a lot into organizing it. There were departmental speaker events organised throughout the internship designed to give us insight into our area of the company, and general speaker events to give us a broader view of Citi. One such speaker event was from the CEO of Citi, Mike Corbat himself! We were encouraged at all times to meet people, waste no time and take every opportunity and were given the tools to do so from day one. Well played Citi.

The work we were given was valuable and allowed us to leave our mark when we left. The work I did during the internship will likely have saved multiple people time in the coming months/years and this was not lost on my colleagues. They were always happy to help.

My manager was awesome. I could (and frequently did) ask her anything, some things I thought may be stupid questions, but few enough people in Technology have a background in finance, so they remember what it was like learning everything from scratch.

Some days I struggled to find time to have lunch and others were more relaxed. Such is the nature of most jobs. Its important to use the slow times to prepare yourself for the busy times, as sometimes the busy times can last a while.

Not a lot, as I was only a 10 week intern, so there is no way I could have the knowledge to merit such responsibility. My main responsibility was to myself, to perform well and to learn as much as I could about the company and how it works in the short space of time I had.

My background is in Mechanical Engineering, so the knowledge of finance and banking generally that I have gained since being here is invaluable for this change in industry I am attempting, and is why I did an internship in the first place. I came here knowing practically nothing, and I now have an appreciation for the workings of various areas of the bank and how they come together. I've talked to people about how they moved around within the company and why/how they came to be where they are in their careers. I've learnt that above all one of the most important things in a workplace is building a good reputation. Above all I've learnt that everyone here, from the interns to the CEO, considers themselves to be learning and improving at all times. The key to a successful career is never losing that hunger for improvement, always looking for the next skill to add to your arsenal, and always looking for a new view to broaden your perspective.

My desk was on quite a quiet floor compared to say, the trading floor. There were times where it was dead quiet and everyone was completely encapsulated in their work, and times where we were huddled round having a laugh. A good balance, I'd say.

I have to give it to Citi, they know how to run an internship. With the speaker events, the networking events and opportunities, the team building exercises and even a rooftop farewell party, they really gave you a good look at what working at Citi can offer. We were provided with a guidebook app which contained all the information about our internships several weeks before starting (which included information about living in/navigating London for non-locals), and our managers were waiting with work ready to go when we arrived at our desks at the end of the first week. No time was wasted.

I shudder to think what the cost per person of all the events and training and salaries must have cost them. The time of the people doing the speaker series events alone must have been considerable. There were some really notable figures speaking. Banks know a thing or two about investing, so having passed their interview process we were considered worth investing in, as we could one day be the next leaders in the company.

My manager has been out of university for 3 years and she's a manager, because she proved herself worthwhile. There are global heads in this company who are in their late 20s. I'm not saying it happens frequently, but it happens. If you prove your worth here you can rise far and fast. Internal mobility is also encouraged, which is nice if you fancy a change of scenery after a few years in the same role.

The social aspect of the internship varied by your department, as people in markets or investment banking worked long hours and couldn't always come out in the evenings. The tech students were always going out for drinks and Canary Wharf in general is a hub of people working in banks. There were a lot of interns. Local clubs and bars would host intern only events where you could mingle with interns from other banks.

Its London, in one of the most expensive areas, I'm sure you can imagine. Thankfully we were paid well on this internship, so we managed well enough, but by general standards London is blindingly expensive. Some people were lucky enough to have parents living in London to save on living costs, but if you don't, I would advise renting a room rather than a flat.

Again, its London, the bars in Canary would come alive around 5 every day. If you fancied clubbing there were clubs everywhere. Personally I favored Leicester Square, but wherever you went you were sure to find something. Just follow the lights and the loud voices.

There were outside events, but in the space of 10 weeks it was hard to get properly involved in say, a society within Citi, or do one of the running events, as they were generally tailored to full time employees.