Client Manager Review

I definitely enjoyed my internship overall. I found the culture suited my morals well and the work/life balance was positive. My team were very welcoming and wanted to help most of the time where they could. I enjoyed the second half of the internship much more than the first as initially there was not enough work for me when I asked for it, and I didn't have much to do. However it improved later as I got more responsibility and got to work on various projects.

I felt valued the majority of the time especially as I got more knowledgable and could add value. I worked closely with the graduate that was in my team and I felt particularly valued by her as I took on a lot of her work and clients and was able to relieve her when she was over capacity.

I think that initially there was not enough support given and I had to work very hard to find work and get myself out there. Due to the busy nature of the managers as well they can often be hard to get hold of which was sometimes a problem. However, the grad on my team gave me a huge amount of support. There was also another colleague on the floor above me who acted as a support system and we could go to with any issues/advice we needed.

The first month I was not busy enough. The internship lacked real structure so it was dependent on your team and line manager as to whether they had sorted out project work for you or involved you from the get go. After I raised this issue however my workload massively increased and was much more interesting. I still could have had a lot more work as I am used to the pressure at uni. I think the work is there it just has to be sought out.

I was given a fair amount of responsibility. I was trusted with contacting clients and resolving issues they had which was good for my development. I worked on multiple projects and one of these my team (of other interns) and myself were able to present our findings to senior colleagues.

In terms of my degree, having working 9-5 (sometimes more) all summer, I have a lot more structure in my daily routine and have also hugely developed my time management skills which will be useful in third year. Beyond my degree, real life coroporate experience will be invaluable and I have learnt a lot in just 10 weeks. I have exerpience in managing clients, networking and banking terminology/products which many others may not have

The atmosphere was extremely positive and I was actually shocked at how open and welcoming everyone was, including senior leaders. The head of Client Services for LBG for example new me and made an effort to find out how I was which wouild be unlikely in many other banks. Although there were tight deadlines to work to, people managed their stress levels. The fact that lloyds encourages flexi hours really reduced stress for some people who could work from home or come in and finish earlier/later if they needed to. Everyone got on well and it felt like most people were your friend and peers rather than just a colleague.

It was not structured or organised particularly well. I knew nothing about my role before I started and within streams (which are hugely broad) you are allocated your team completely randomly. Having all IT and sytems set up from the get go would be a lot better and would mean time wouldn't be wasted at the start of the internship.

There was little investment in training and devleopment. A minority of interns got to do some courses but this was dependent on your sector and LM.

Fairly appealing, however I would like to change streams and this isn't possible.

Fairly good. People went out a lot in my accommodation but I couldn't go because they went to very expensive bars beyond my intern salary. Their parents were giving them an allowance on top of their salary where as mine weren't so maybe worth notingh this and saving before you start!

Very expensive as I was in the City of London and central London!

The nightlife was very good as I was in London so there is always something happening. My office was by Cheapside as well which is a hub of bars, shops and restaurants. They were pricey but it was good fun and exciting to be around such a buzz every day after work and I really enjoyed going out with my team.