Intern Review

I really enjoyed my time at UBS, especially my 8 weeks on the desk. The team was very friendly and the work which we completed was generally very interesting. The hours were quite demanding but I did not generally mind this, especially when there were live projects to work on or other members of the team around. I heard that the exposure of interns in CCS (investment banking) to exciting work compares favourably to that of interns in other teams.

Most colleagues, especially juniors, really valued the contribution of the interns. They would make an effort to encourage us not to work too late, and provide helpful feedback on work done. Most days, analysts would go for lunch with junior colleagues, and several were generally available to explain things or just talk about the internship; a few of the analysts on my team really made the UBS experience for me. Our line manager was exceptionally helpful, as were many of the seniors, although engagement with higher level seniors was generally brief and impersonal.

As mentioned above, our line manager/supervisor was very supportive and informative, both with regard to the internship/application process itself and with regard to work which we were undertaking. Indeed, it seemed clear that our line manager was exceptionally well qualified in their field and we appreciated their willingness to discuss it with us. Several senior members of the team, including Executive Directors and Managing Directors, went out of their way to support and guide us while supervising our work, although others (especially more senior MDs) had a far more hands-off approach.

This fluctuated quite a lot, which was perhaps unavoidable but generally not ideal. Often, during the day I might have little to do for some time despite efforts to seek work from analysts, and then suddenly be incredibly busy or given work late in the evening/over the weekend. It is, as mentioned, generally impossible to avoid, but perhaps was not helped by what initially seemed to be an expectation to be in earlier than most analysts (which normally meant that there was no work to do then, when work was normally only set late in the day) or by work being relayed to juniors a lot later than when it was received. Many weekends and evenings were spent in the office, though I had no real objections to this.

Though all work was supervised very well to ensure that standards were consistently high, I thought that we were given far more responsibility than expected, with CCS interns seemingly having more than those in sales/trading. This included holding responsibility for compiling the contributions of various teams into presentations, and very often included time-critical work or work that would be sent to clients shortly after completion.

Degree skills: not studying finance or a related subject, the technical skills (which I learned quite extensively) were not especially relevant to my degree. Personal skills deriving from managing a high volume of work and working in a professional environment/team are more relevant. Beyond: these personal skills will continue to be relevant, and I hope to use at least some of the knowledge of the industry from the internship going forward

The general atmosphere in the office was mixed. I think it was fairly evident that it varied between teams. My team gained a reputation for having a more positive atmosphere than most others, and rightly so, especially given that some divisions had a lot of tension over the dynamics of the hiring decision. It was very much a corporate environment, rather than the less formal 'fun' environment associated with start-ups/tech companies, but still a positive one especially when large groups of us would go for lunch or order dinner together. As mentioned above, we felt valued by the team and that many of its members were approachable.

It worked well generally. The biggest issue across all interns was probably IT set-up, which seems to be a problem for the bank as a whole rather than relating to internship organisation. Communication in advance could perhaps have been improved. Otherwise, HR did an outstanding job throughout the 9 weeks of the internship which the interns appreciated.

There was a week of training at the start. This was fairly heavy on compliance etc, with a day of personal/soft skills which was interesting but not necessarily directly useful. Mixed in was some business specific training and valuation/Excel training for all interns, which was useful. Throughout the course of the internship, development came in the form of a mid-term review (which was very helpful especially with a very good line manager) and 'bigger picture' sessions with speakers such as leading athletes, Helena Morrissey, etc. Far more important was the ongoing training by analysts on the team on the specific work covered by that team, and on the software/skills needed to complete it - this was outstanding.

There are certainly a number of appealing factors, above all else the interesting nature of the work and (most importantly) the team that I worked with. I'd be more enthusiastic about coming back to that specific team than about coming back to another team in the bank, and would definitely prefer it to teams at other banks. Even outside my team, a lot of the bank's staff seemed to be supportive and interested in supporting each other and doing good work. In terms of factors putting me off, there were many stories of the frequency at which staff are made redundant through no fault of their own with relatively little support from the organisation. In addition, the sector as a whole seems like a less intellectually challenging place to work as a junior than other sectors, instead seeming quite physically draining.

Yes, we generally got on well and had some social events. Social activities were a lot more present outside CCS (investment banking), with CCS interns generally working too much for this to be viable, although even there there were team drinks and occasionally dinners or nights out. Among the interns, the social highlights came in the first week (when interns from all divisions are together and have relatively little to do).

High, but pay was good

Limited opportunity to experience given the time constraints - too expensive but lots of options

We were told about opportunities/networks within the bank but had relatively little actual opportunities to pursue them