Summer Intern Review

I very much enjoyed the 10 weeks that I spent at Bank of America Merrill Lynch in the Investment Banking division. The first week of training was extremely well organised and there were plenty of opportunities to meet the rest of the intern class and get to know them better. The weeks after that were spent on the desk where I got a chance to experience what it is like to be an investment banker!

Everyone that I met at the bank was friendly and always willing to help me and give me advice. In terms of the interns, it was great to have a group of people going through the same experience who were all very nice and I enjoyed socialising with both in and out of the office. Similarly, the full time bankers were all very friendly, always willing to make time to answer questions that I had and go for coffee or lunch. Perhaps the most notable point though is the exposure that I had to those in senior positions. I had the opportunity to meet with a large number of managing directors on a one-on-one basis who were all very friendly and interested in me and how I had found my time spent at the bank.

I was given a significant amount of support by a wide range of people at the bank. I regularly met with my mentor, development officer and staffer who were all keen to make sure that I was happy and to address any problems that I had (if any at all). I definitely felt able to turn to any of them with questions and, no matter how senior, they would always make time for me and never make it seem like a burden. Even those who did not have 'formal roles' in terms of the internship were always willing to support and help me.

The only criticism I have of the internship is that I felt like overall I could have been much busier. It is evidently difficult for the full time analysts/associates to think of what work can be done by interns and then to make time to sit down to explain what needs to be done. However, it seemed a common theme amongst me and my peers that there was simply not enough 'intern work' to go around. Whilst on most days I did tend to have enough tasks to fill my day, sometimes I had next to nothing to do (and these were the days that tended to drag). I would definitely have preferred to be too busy rather than too quiet.

It's difficult to say how much responsibility I had. Some work that I produced was used in meetings and client presentations, and so this may be considered as having a lot of responsibility. However, everything that I did first went through the analyst or associate that I was working with and so in reality they did bear the full extent of responsibility. I definitely wouldn't consider this to be a bad thing though since I don't think an intern with a couple of weeks of experience should be trusted to produce something that won't be checked by others!

Technical skills (such as on excel and powerpoint) will definitely be useful for the future regardless of what I do beyond university. Perhaps the skill that I most developed though was the ability to interact, communicate and network with others. Investment banking is definitely a 'people business' and I definitely think I have improved my abilities in this area.

The investment banking division was spread across two floors and the atmosphere definitely varied greatly between different team areas. My desk was in a part of the office that was quite lively and noisy and so there was a nice, friendly atmosphere to work in. In other parts of the office it was much quieter and more studious but I think this was just a reflection of the different types of teams within the bank.

The internship was extremely well organised. The first week of training was perfectly planned and weekly 'intern learning sessions' were always scheduled far enough in advance that I could make sure that I would be free. Furthermore, we were made aware of when our mid and final intern reviews were quite early on and what they would entail so they we were sufficiently prepared for them.

The first week of training was definitely a significant investment by the bank. We received two days of accounting training given by an external teacher and also separate training sessions at the Factset and Bloomberg offices. Once on the desks, analysts and associates were also always very good at making time to explain to us in great depth about what was happening on the various projects that we were working on.

The people that I have worked with over the course of the internship have definitely attracted me more to the job since they were all extremely enthusiastic and passionate about what they did. The projects that I worked on were also very exciting and made the work appealing. Perhaps the only drawback of future employment would be the very long hours that analysts and associates work - but it seems that most agree this is a worthwhile sacrifice.

The most unexpected but notable part of the internship has been the friends that I made in my division. The experience would definitely not have been as enjoyable without my fellow interns who I would have lunch and dinner with everyday. We would also frequently go out and go for drinks whenever we were able to finish work early.

Fortunately I was able to live at home during the internship and so the cost of accommodation nearby didn't affect me. However, the cost of food and drink at places near to the office was relatively expensive - easily £8 for a drink after work. This is arguably a feature of working anywhere in London though and so shouldn't be considered as a major drawback of the internship, especially as the placement is so well paid!

There is a good range of bars and pubs within a 2 minute walk from the office and so this is ideal for going out with colleagues after work. Lots of clubs are also only a short taxi ride away too and so we were often tempted to make the most of the nightlife!

The long and inconsistent hours of investment banking make it hard to reconcile with being involved in activity outside of work. In theory, there was a BAML touch rugby club that interns could play for but I don't know of anyone who actually went. However, the JP Morgan interbank run did take place about halfway through the internship and many interns took part in this and said it was a good experience.