Summer Analyst (Compliance) Review

Much better than I expected. I loved the executive speaker series, the GRDP speaker series and the summer internship learning sessions. Some of these were highlights from my internship experience. There were great social events and networking events - both intern specific and in wider Risk & Compliance. I was given fantastic work to do, the team was great and I loved that I could set up meetings with anyone, however senior, to learn about their work and their perspectives on compliance.

I felt valued by the people in my team. I could have conversations about my projects with those in my team as an equal. They listened to, respected and acted upon my views and ideas. I didn't feel overly valued by those in the business. I felt that people didn't give me the same respect as they would if I was not an intern. I had difficulties getting responses from them when I emailed and called and they never took my requests for information/ action seriously, which delayed my progress on my projects.

My manager was fantastic - went above and beyond to help me and make sure I achieved all I could in this internship. Others in my team took on a supervisory/ mentoring role as well so I had more support and guidance than I could have hoped for.

I was never struggling to find work and was never so busy that it was stressful.

I was given quality projects and could drive these projects from start to finish. I know that my projects add real value and would have been done by someone else in my team if I hadn't done the projects.

The skills and training probably won't assist me in my degree, but will definitely assist me in my future career. I will take away soft skills such as networking, presenting and managing projects. I also developed compliance specific skills such as in developing training documents and analysing regulations.

I sat on the trading floor and the atmosphere was exciting and great to witness. I loved the atmosphere in my area, but this atmosphere isn't consistent in all areas of the bank or in other teams. Some areas are more quiet and subdued, which may suit some people and not others. But there was no negativity or hostility in the atmosphere and in all teams, there was an atmosphere where everyone wanted to work hard, make progress and do the best job.

Very organised and structured.

I was very impressed by how much the firm invested in me. There were so many intern learning sessions and speaker series events where we could learn about the firm and the financial industry. Everyone in the senior leadership team of compliance was so willing to spend time with me to share their perspectives on compliance and the industry. My immediate team spent so much time teaching me, explaining concepts and making sure I was getting the most from my projects. The firm really cared about my development.

I certainly think this firm provides the right training, experiences and opportunities in the graduate program for us to learn and develop skills. I know that as an intern and graduate we are given real responsibility, which improve our skills and expertise in our area. The impression I get is that in the long term, the firm does not internally promote staff as readily as they should. But having an internship and/ or graduate program at this firm on your CV can open a lot of doors and provide opportunities externally.

The social scene amongst interns was great. Everyone was looking to make friends and I met up frequently for dinners/ drinks/ lunches with the other interns. There is, however, a divide between front office and control functions. This didn't particularly bother me, as there was a good social scene amongst control functions made up for this.

The city is very expensive. I feel like the firm could do more to account for these costs. It is sometimes hard as a student moving from another part of the UK or another country to London to do an internship. There are a lot of upfront costs with rent and transport. A travel loan would really help us pay for monthly underground fares. And something like paying a relocation bonus upfront would help us pay upfront costs like rent prior to getting paid for our first month of work. I know that a lot of students would find the internship prohibitively expensive.

There are pubs and some places to go for dinner and drinks after work. There isn't, however, much diversity in the places to out around St Pauls.