Intern: Consumer Markets and Insight for PPI Review

I have thoroughly enjoyed my placement and found the projects I worked on rewarding and insightful. I was given the opportunity to enhance skills I already had in addition to learning new ones. I found the sector I was in to be relevant to modern day finance and the work of my team is highly beneficial to the banking world, therefore it was an interesting environment to observe and be a part of.

7: Whilst the early stages where a bit uncertain as I wasn't full aware of my role and day-to-day tasks, my colleagues fully integrated me into the team and took an interest in the work I was doing and how I was getting to grips in understanding the job. I was included in team meetings and calls where I had to feedback work I had produced and how to proceed with my findings.

Whilst my Line Manager was incredibly busy, he made time to sit down with me regularly over the course of my internship in order to ensure I was up-to-date on what was going on in the office and to iron out any queries or uncertainties I had, as well as checking up on my progress. My Line Manager sat me down at the start of the internship and created a timeline and tracker of my project, efficiently breaking down what I was to do over the course of the placement and who to work with to help me on this.

I was bored for the first couple of weeks when I had to do a lot of reading for which I didn't know how this would tie into the work I was to complete over the course of the placement. After this initial period by workload was healthy as it meant I did not have to rush through my work and produce something I was not happy with the standard of. I probably could have taken on an additional smaller project if needed to though.

A fair amount - obviously my work contributed to the overall progress of the team's objectives, but was a small analysis project in comparison to some of the significant changes other colleagues were making to the sector. I was given a healthy amount of responsibility for an intern as it would have been inappropriate to unload too much responsibility given the sensitive nature of the work my team does.

For my degree it has reminded me of how to work independently and diligently, particularly in managing deadlines and workload. My analytical skills will help me in the future as I have learnt how to read between the lines in both quantitative and qualitative data, something which I believe is useful in all work sectors and degree fields. My training has taught what to look out for in a professional environment and how to conduct myself in a way which exposes the team to as little risk as possible.

Generally my office was fairly quiet and uneventful - this could be a good thing for work purposes but in a 9-5 day I found it could sometimes be demotivating and lacking in energy. However it was a positive atmosphere as I always felt like I had people to turn to if I had questions and we had regular team meetings which ensured communication and broke up the working day at the desk.

The first couple of weeks were not very organised as my Line Manager was on holiday and I felt like the rest of the team were unsure on how to guide me/what I should be doing on a day-to-day basis. However, once my Line Manager returned, my work load and tasks were clearly laid out in a way which I knew what parts of my work I would be guided through and which parts I had to organise and take responsibility for myself.

I had to complete mandatory training which both Lloyds employees complete as well as interns - this gave me knowledge of not only how to conduct myself as an intern but also as a colleague in general. This involved general Health & Safety as well as banking-specific training. My company invested a lot of time in my personal development, including mid-placement reviews, mock-interviews and balance scorecards to track my progress. As this internship is pivotal for me to get onto the graduate scheme, there was a lot of focus on personal development and training which I haven't necessarily received in previous placements.

I would thoroughly enjoy working with Lloyds Banking Group in the future, were I to be offered a permanent job. There is a lot of scope for innovation and creativity in the company. The wide-range of divisions also means that I would not necessarily be working in the same field I was for my internship which is also exciting as it is a chance to be flexible and hone further skills within the banking sector. This internship has a referral process to the graduate scheme, something which this internship has made me look forward to even more.

I was the first and only intern in my team, but I met other interns in Lloyds through charity fundraisers and intern events. This allowed us to share experiences and find out more about different divisions in the company, which was nice as there was a sense of solidarity and networking too. The social scene in the office was reasonable - there were a few out-of-office team lunches on Fridays and after work drinks which we could go to but did not feel forced to, which was nice.

My placement was in London City, so it is highly expensive in terms of travel, living and socialising. Nevertheless, the area has a variety of food and drink places at all price points possible, so it's not impossible to have fun on a student/intern budget. I limited myself to how many days a week I would buy lunch instead of bringing it from home, and how often/where I would have after-work drinks, for example. I was luckily able to live in my family home for my internship so only had to pay travel which is reduced as I am a student, but expensive nonetheless and was something I had to factor in every month.

The nightlife is vibrant and there is something to do and see every night of the week should you want to. There are a variety of restaurants, bars and clubs to explore and I found that later in the working week people were more likely to have a later night after work! On weekends, there are unlimited options in London and every area has its own clubs, bars and evening events which are accessible to each other via public transport. Nevertheless, the City of London where my banking placement was is more expensive than other night time spots in London, and can have an older crowd if you're an intern.

There was Lloyds Day to Make a Difference, a volunteering day where the office went to a charitable organisation to help out. We spent the day paining walls and building gardens for the organisations, which was a very satisfying day as it was a strong contrast to the City environment of banking. It was also a great opportunity to see my colleagues in a different environment outside of the suited and booted office one. I got involved with a lot of Lloyds Scholars & Intern opportunities such as charity challenges and networking events, however I don't know how far these types of events and opportunities extend to permanent colleagues.