Intern - Central & West Regional Office, Halifax Community Bank Review

I have really enjoyed the internship. I have been very lucky as I have been able to see lots of areas of the business, through various shadow days my line manager has supported me to set up. The work has been interesting and challenging, and I have improved and developed essential skills that I feel will help me enormously once I graduate. The only downside of the placement would be not working closely in a team, and relying on email and phone calls to communicate.

It has been a challenge as I have been working remotely so don't have face to face contact with my team. I feel very valued by my line manager, who gives me regular feedback and praises me for the work I am doing. One of the biggest challenges of the internship has been to get results without managerial influence, however I feel this has been a good skill to develop and a big learning curve.

Lots of support by my manager - line manager also completed grad scheme so knew what I was experiencing. It's difficult as he travels for his job so only met him a couple of times during the internship, however have regular contact via email and phone and he has set up a 'buddy' for me to work with in the grad programme and also I have a good working relationship with his PA who I feel I can ask questions to about the work I am doing.

Most days were very busy, even if I hadn't been given a specific task there was always something I could be getting on with. I was given a couple of projects at the start of the internship so could always fall back to these and come up with ways to improve them and develop them. Some days were busier than others, for example when I had my weekly 1-1s with my manager he'd give me a specific task list which I could get on with.

I feel I had quite a lot of responsibility. I had a task in which to increase the performance in the region, in which I had to communicate with the Branch Managers and Local Directors. I created a weekly digital note to be sent out and also had to manipulate and create manager information to be used at a regional level.

I think the skills I have learned have been invaluable. Not only have I had a customer facing role, I have also been trusted with important tasks and been expected to communicate with high level colleagues. My skills in communication have been greatly increased. I have also had a lot of work with excel and outlook and my knowledge in these programmes has developed massively since starting the internship.

Difficult to say as I've been working in a branch in an unused interview room, so have mainly been working remotely. However, the branch staff are very friendly and welcoming and I can go to them with any problems. I shadowed them for the first 2 weeks and the atmosphere in the branch was very good. I've also got a good relationship with colleagues via email and feel the general working atmosphere is very approachable.

very well organised - we preference for a location and a stream and this was met as closely as possible. We had weekly webinars to stay up to date with the internship progress and ensure we were getting the best out of it. I never felt like a 'spare part' as I always had a task to do.

I feel Lloyds Banking Group have invested so much time in me and I am so grateful for the opportunity. I feel very valued by the company and feel that everyone I have met are willing to go out of their way to support my personal development. I think I have learned invaluable skills that will set me up so well for my future career. Lloyds have made me feel very welcome and not once was I made to feel I was only an 'intern'.

I'd love to work with the company once I graduate and getting onto the grad programme is something I'm definitely going to aim for. I never thought I'd want to work for the company, however the 10 weeks have really made me re evaluate my career prospects, and I think I'd be very happy working for the company.

Yes good social scene among branch staff - was invited on their monthly social. Also good social scene among other interns - met them for dinner on a few occasions. Also due to the charity challenge, interns were hosting a wide range of events including boat parties and treasure hunts. Lots of opportunities to socialise.

Lived at home so had no payment for food etc, and travel was very minimal. Socialising was cheap as again I worked very close to home and if I did go out into the City I could stay at my university accommodation. Traveling for work commitments were always paid for by the company.

Small town where I was based, but nightlife was good. As I lived at home, I'd usually just go home and spend time with my family. However, having the money from the internship enabled me to go out and socialise a bit more. I was very happy with the nightlife and wouldn't have wanted anything more.

The Intern & Scholar charity challenge for children in need provided so many opportunities. Events were held such as karaoke nights, curry nights and charity auctions. There was loads to get involved with which would benefit networking and also for a bit of fun. Also the opportunity to socialise with other interns in the same position with you which was really comforting.