Summer Intern Review

Really enjoyed my internship - was a great opportunity to learn lots about the business and working in a professional, commerical environment. I enjoyed going into work everyday and most of the time had something to do. The internship not only gave me the chance to develop my confidence and build on my interpersonal skills but it was also a lot of fun, especially the charity challenge.

Felt pretty valued by colleagues - team was very welcoming and always willing to help. Believe I was seen as a valuable member of the team despite only being an intern and obviously not having the same level of knowledge as colleagues. Colleagues always asked for my opinions, believed an intern would provide a fresh perspective which would benefit the team's work.

Lots of support from line manager, scheduled daily catch-ups to ensure I was on the right track and had something to do. Whenever I was stuck or needed some guidance, I could always turn to my line manager who always provided encouragement and would point me in the right direction. My manager was very prepared and helpful - emailing queries on my behalf and was always on top of my timesheet.

Was given own project to manager and take ownership of so that kept me busy most days. Some days were busier than others but that was to be expected.

Quite a lot of responsibility as I was set my own project to manage and dictate the nature of. By the end of the internship I really felt like I owned the project and made an impact. Was made responsibile for presenting my findings at team meetings and organising quizzes. Perhaps would have liked to have been given more responsibilites outside of my project, however, and become more engaged with the team's work.

The skills I've learnt will no doubt assist me in the future. My confidence and interpersonal skills have improved significantly as a result of the internship whilst my Excel abilities have also developed - all of which will be extremely valuable in whichever career path I take. My presenting skills have also improved which will be extremely useful in my final year at university which is heavily focused on student-led seminars.

Very laid-back and casual atmosphere, was not intimidating at all and I felt comfortable straight away. Colleagues often engaged in small talk, however everybody was always busy and getting on with their work at the same time. Charity events were always occurring and staff members were always very generous which added to the warm atmosphere of the offices. Overall, it was a great environment to work in.

Overall the internship was quite well organised, we were given quite a bit of information beforehand about our placement and were encouraged to speak to our line managers to get a better sense of our objectives and responsibilities. My line manager was very organised, always on top of things relating to my internship. Induction Event was well organised and quite enjoyable, however didn't really take into consideration how far some interns had to travel for the event and how we were expected to start the placement early the next day - could have been done week before? Did take quite a while to hear back from Emerging Talent team at times, however that is to be expected with the sheer volume of interns.

Firm did invest quite a lot in interns - weekly webinars talking about Group values, how to make the most out of internship and adding value to your team. Enjoyed induction event which stressed the company's culture and emphasised the personal development which interns were to undergo. Level of development was expected - don't believe the company needed to invest much more.

Very appealing - excellent company to work for, good Group values, emphasis on diversity and inclusion. Everybody I met was really lovely and more than happy to share their experiences, with most singing the praises of the Group. Most colleagues I spoke to had worked their way up, showing how there are numerous opportunities for internal promotion which is also attractive. Would be a fantastic foundation for a successful career in banking.

The charity challenge really added to my internship experience - it was a great opportunity to take a break from the desk and socialise with other interns. It was probably my favourite aspect of the internship. However, as I was not given accommodation in the location of my office I cannot really comment on the intern social scene outside of work. As such, didn't get the chance to interact with all interns which was disappointing and was left feeling slightly excluded.

Can't really comment on the cost of living and socialising as I didn't live in my office location.

Didn't get the chance to go out in my location at night as I wasn't given local accommodation, which again hampered my ability to forge really close relationships with the other interns. But aside from that, I know the nightlife in my area is very good from past pre-internship experience.

A bar crawl was organised (however not officially endorsed by the Group) however it was a team challenge so whether you participated or not depended on whether your team was, which didn't happen in my case. Did quite a bit of fundraising in the charity challenge but most of that was internal at work. The Group does a Day to Make a Difference however that was arranged outside of my internship therefore I could not get involved.