Headcount Management Review

I had high hopes for this internship, but didn't really want to be placed in London. My High Hopes were soon crashed against the proverbial rocks of despair when I was failed to be provided with computer access for one and a half weeks. That was quite the jolly romp, as I "Shadowed" eg, watched people fill in spreadsheets for a week. Other interns and scholars seemed to get blackberries and laptops before I'd even got a key to access the building, that took a week.

I felt reasonably valued by the majority of my colleagues, though I would never say I was universally challenged. In email chains, I definitely received the charming moniker of "The Intern" which was lovely. I feel an important part of being valued, would to be given valuable and enjoyable work, which I was not until at least five weeks in. To get this valuable work I sourced it from a different division of the business.

My Line Manager was actually reasonably good at providing support for me, he knew the contacts, and managed to get me some decent days shadowing in other areas of the business which I would much rather have been in. This was quite enjoyable and gave me a rounded view of Lloyds. However, he did only give me their email addresses, I had to make the contact, which as an intern is difficult, as many people just ignore your emails.

I would put 0 if I could. For the first two weeks I was given literally nothing. Which makes ten hours in an office feel an eternally long time. However, the work did pick up, sometimes I could expect to reach the lofty heights of two hours worth of work per day, which was a wild ride indeed. To test the level of "business" I could often take a two hour lunch and nobody even noticed I was gone, despite me asking quite often for work to be provided.

Again, I would probably rate this as a 0 if possible. Any interesting work required access to the shared drive, which I was not given. I could seldom take ownership of anything, as I would need to be trained further than I had been, and sometimes, even seven weeks in, I would have issues with It that would make work difficult. Thus it was hard for me to be relied on, thus responsibility was reduced.

I didn't get to build on my current skill set. Instead I was forced into trying to learn a completely new skill set that was completely out of my ability. I raised this with Emerging Talent but to no avail, which caused quite a lot of pressure on myself, made me dread work, and frankly, made it an exceptionally unpleasant ten weeks. I have gained no skills from this internship, and there was not a way to build upon my pre-existing skill.s

If atmosphere can be electric, this was more comparable to rubbing two sticks together. Most teams seemed to have weekly meeting with their Scholars or Interns, they went for drinks, mini golf, bowling, sky garden, all manner of exciting things. My team literally did nothing. There was not even an inkling of anything. This is fine, I didn't come here for fun, but it was definitely a fairly depressing environment to be working in.

This wasn't my Line Manager's fault, but it definitely wasn't great. It took a week and a half before I could log into a computer. It took a week before I got a pass to be able to get into the building. Many scholars were greeted on their first day with a Computer, Laptop and Blackberry. It was just a very difficult process to get through. I never did get access to the shared drives, which made reasonable work nigh upon impossible. Organisation was just generally poor throughout, with no reprieves. Regularly was no work available so I just sat down for several hours.

Very little was invested in me. I attracted my own investment by reaching out to different areas of the business. I wish I could write a much more positive review but I can't. My skills have not increased, and I feel in no more way prepared for the working world, other than knowing that I really don't want to work for this company. I invested my time and effort, and in return Lloyds invested money into my Gap Yah fund.

Really not a chance, I've felt marginalised and left out, the overall culture of the company seems good, but after a poor internship it has left a nasty taste in the mouth for me. I'm sure other Interns had a much better experience, but I can only rate this on my own. I'd rather have had a good time, but this wasn't a chance for me. I wouldn't attempt to dissuade new applicants, but I definitely won't be cheering them on.

This wasn't too bad, and the support of fellow interns was vital to me actually managing to make it through the internship. While many of the activities organised weren't to my taste, far too drink heavy, I attended a few and enjoyed myself, and I was glad to have the opportunity of doing so. It was also great that I was always invited and it was a good friendly and inclusive group of fellow interns. Very lucky, and would recommend the comradeship for all interns.

Very expensive, but it was London so we were prepared to accept that it would be. When I did my previous placement in Birmingham it was much cheaper. That being said, I have given a rating of five, as there were plentiful more budget places. I really would recommend The Crosse Keys, a wetherspoons close to the office. They're forced to compete with amazing restaurants, so the food is top notch, and still follows Wetherspoons pricing, while being combines as being in an absolutely stunning building, more stunning than any restaurant I have ever seen. Highly recommend. However, many other activities were far away and expensive, so I can't give a score higher than five.

Many clubs in Soho were very inclusive and a lot of good fun, while also being excellent value for money with free entry. This was not always my scene, but provided plenty of very fun nights out which I will remember. There were also a good mix of restaurants and bars all around the city, though they could get quite pricely. There was always something to suit anyones tastes though, which is good.

There were opportunities to get involved in activities, Lloyds run a scheme for fund rasising which we all took part in and found quite enjoyable, although it was nstressful at times. Because of this, people are always filling in forms and creating events which were useful for a good night out. Bars, Kareoke, Boat Parties and so much more. Very enjoyable time for all involved! Though maybe some less alcohol heavy ones would have been good for people of different faiths.