Insurance Treasury Review

I enjoyed being challenged to tasks, having a variety of opportunities to show a wide range of skills. The environment was in no way hostile, I enjoyed the commute and the other interns were very friendly and approachable too.

Since my team was small it was a very seamless process to feel like I knew these people for longer than 10 weeks. All members of my team were enthusiastic and helped get the best out of me. I felt that I could contribute to the team positively and all my efforts and pieces of work added value and did not go unnoticed. Also, any feedback I had for my team and my placement was taken on board and helped make me feel a valued member of the team.

My management were proactive to help me, asking me how the work is going and troubleshooting problems immediately. I felt very accommodated and my supervisors were always happy to make time for me, when appropriate. I had regular one-to-one meetings to update progress, multiple sit downs to discuss desk processes and how the team operates for the rest of the department and could communicate with management without any reservations as a result.

In the early stages I felt quite independent when it came to background reading and completing training courses and teach-ins. In these times I felt less busy but also the roles were a bit less engaging. As the time progressed and I felt more comfortable with tasks in Insurance Treasury, I got introduced to more tasks that challenged me and kept me busy very frequently. I did not feel as though time was moving slowly, more so I wonder where the time had gone during the day, which is a positive.

I felt that the tasks I completed added value to my team and were fed through to other teams which signifies a large responsibility as well as trust in my ability to complete them to a high standard. I was able to have an input on key information and packs that would be presented to other teams and individuals, as well as individual responsibility for presenting information to teams.

Transferrable skills such as communication and analysis in a business environment are invaluable for all walks of life, not least for degree studies. Showing a strong work ethic and determination to complete tasks to a high standard would hold pivotal in completing 3rd year at university. Furthermore the technical knowledge (to some extent) gained from my internship would be invaluable experience to put into theory for financial modules at university also.

There was a balance between 'office banter' at times and general talk non-work related, to a sense of responsibility to the job role. There was a lot of people on holiday/taking days off at home which resulted in a quiet office environment at times, which could also be seen as peaceful. I liked having a balance because it allowed me a reprieve at times, but also signalled when to focus on tasks at hand.

In the beginning I didn't have a line manager because of an error, the original colleague assigned to me had since retired. It was confusing to begin with (for myself and the members of my team) but I was relieved to finally settle in, and this is a testament to the team overall for being so accommodating on short notice. I felt my tasks were chosen specifically to enrich my understanding whilst still adding value to the team. The structure was also beneficial to start with background reading and learning before going ahead with tasks. It definitely helped to have regular weekly meetings to assess progress and how the internship is shaping.

I was given multiple opportunities to develop, especially in the early stages, thanks to numerous teaching lessons, lunch and learn sessions and online courses available. I enjoyed the development stage because I could see where it would play a part for latter stages of my internship. Perhaps it could have been beneficial to have some online pre-internship reading to maximise the 10 weeks available, not just training and developing whilst in the role.

I do enjoy the role I was put in, and would happily work with likeminded individuals who helped me develop as a professional as my team did. I feel the culture at Lloyds is beneficial to develop characters without hostility or tension. I did not feel overworked but still challenged, and people around me were accommodating to my requests. I also enjoyed the business challenge because it tested me from a different perspective. I appreciate that this is poignant in the Lloyds ethos and this matches my own ethics to help others and show social responsibility in addition to work.

I felt I could communicate well with other interns, and there were a few events open for interns to mix and get to know each other. I feel that the other interns were equally as sociable and wanted to network so this made it easier from a social perspective. Perhaps it could've been better to have a dedicated Lloyds employee who could co-ordinate intern events because I felt a lot of the events were intern organised which may have had problems in reaching out to all the interns or making all interns feel accommodated.

I enjoy London nightlife and have been a part of the scene since university. In the St. Pauls area specifically I wouldn't say much happens (i.e. close to work at night), but around London there is always something to do, or somewhere to go. I also appreciate though that London is very expensive on a night out so this may limit the frequency of going out at night.

I would say it depends on the person to make time for outside of work activities. I found it easy to schedule things I wanted to do outside of work, thanks to manageable working hours and accommodating management. I did not feel I compromised much and this helped me to feel good about the placement as a whole. I enjoyed fundraising activities for charity challenge as well as individual activities such as going to the gym or cinema etc.