Capital Markets Trader Review

Didn’t really enjoy it that much. Some days were really busy, other days I just had to sit on a desk and watch the screen. Kept on refreshing emails to get a task. On busy days, it was mostly excel, although I applied for a Sales and Trading role. But after speaking to my line manager, he told me it gets better on the graduate scheme

I really felt valued. The hierarchy is flat. But I felt I was valued based on my great personality rather than the skills I had and the milestones I achieved. Everyone is willing to help on the team. During breaks most times, I had to ask everyone on the desk for drinks (tea, coffee), that’s the standard banking intern life).

To a great extent I will say. Everyone is willing to help and guide you to reach your career ambitions. You just need to versatile and smart. Don’t expect anyone to come over your desk to ask about your progression. Task yourself, get into a problem, try to solve it, if you fail then you go seek advice and it would definitely be waiting.

Not really busy. Working hours I was told was from seven till around 6. Although effectively daily I will say I worked for just two hours. The problem is that the interns are not trusted a lot. Most of the work goes to graduates and senior managers in the division. It was more like a shadowing experience for me.

Not much responsibility. As I wrote in the previous box, most of the work is given to graduates and senior managers. I shadowed a lot but I also learned a lot. Most of my job roles was mostly excel which didn’t have much of an impact as I wanted in the company.

My skills developed during the shadowing experience as I understood the company’s values and mission. Studying engineering this was really challenging as I just had the analytical skills from my degree transferrable. There are no training courses for interns, although I tried to register for some online courses. The steak of the investment is within the graduate role

It was a friendly atmosphere. No hierarchy. Managers treated graduates as brothers, sometimes the managers went on rounds to get teas and coffees for the graduates. I really felt happy about that. On busy days, everyone is working individually, its more quiet and more antisocial. However, we need both mix to have a great time.

Not well organised. The application I was meant to use during the internship was not installed before I came. I had to spend loads of time with IT department to sort lots of my software installation out. Lots of politics with this too as they must be confirmed by your Line Manager and take up to 10 working days to get it sorted.

Not much. Most of the investments go to graduates and I am not surprised. I believe the company is shaky on whether all interns will come back to Lloyds or go to competitors. Don’t expect softwares which come at a cost to be installed on your computer, you can’t prove their investment will be worth it.

Not really appealling. Starting salary much lower than what competitors offer. Most colleagues complain about the bonus scheme. However, Lloyds is a growing brand and every colleague in the company at this point is part of the development, it can only get better from here. As it is a UK bank, it is mostly UK focused, hence do not expect much travel.

Yes. We had charity events where we had to work together as a team to raise money for the BBC Children in Need which was quite challenging. We had weekly outings with interns and kept in touch on what we did on our desk and the skills we gained. This weekly meetings enabled us to get a conceptual view of how Lloyds operate.

Worked in London so cost of living was expectedly high. We were paid weekly, so every Friday was a hit. Not just London to be precise it was Zone 1. Probably the most expensive region in the UK. Lots of restaurants, bars, shops. It will be impossible to avoid this here with lots of exciting friends.

The Nightlife was amazing. Every club was attractive and within the 10 weeks we ensured we went to as many clubs as possible. But remember, this comes at a high cost. Going out was every Friday and Saturday although most days we get tempted to go out during the weekday and sometimes end up doing just that.

Yes there were. As I wrote in the last two comment box, we had to work in a team to raise money for BBC Children in Need which was challenging but exciting. Also formed a group within my floor and played football almost weekly. Learnt a few other sports from interns such as cricket and badminton.