Deal Advisory Intern Review

It was thoroughly enjoyable both work-wise and socially. The main thing that contributed towards the enjoyment is definitely the team. My colleagues were very friendly, open-minded and engaging. There were opportunities to get involved socially both with your colleagues, and with fellow interns. The work itself was sometimes challenging yet it was normally quite easy to tackle.

Ever since the first day, when my colleague took me through the round of introductions in the office, everyone took their time to ask questions and to greet the newcomer. Throughout the scheme, some people would reach out asking for help on some minor tasks, which always made me feel needed. When approaching people yourself, people also were quite happy to delegate tasks and were very grateful when you managed to complete them successfully. Outside of work, team lunches and team drinks were definitely something casual and everyone surely fit in.

Your manager and your buddy were always there for you and would be happy for you to meet up with them weekly to discuss your progress. In my case, my buddy was especially important for me in terms of the support, since they were always approachable, always were free to help me and give me some tasks to do, and were happy to listen to my worries & concerns. Before my final interview, my colleague also offered me to have a mock interview without me needing to ask, which was great!

The skills I have received were definitely more relevant to the workplace than to the degree I am studying. I am definitely confident in my commercial awareness now, since having done this vacation scheme, I am much more interested in reading up about the industry and staying on top of the news. I am looking forward to use the skills I learn once I graduate and start working.

It was well-structured from the HR side, since they were clearly aware of the programme, how it works, its objectives etc. However, once you end up in your concrete department and team, it really depends on your buddy & manager. My buddy was not really sure of the structure of the programme, and we were exploring the aims of it together.My manager was more aware, however, one should not expect the structure to lead them in some sort of direction, they should shape their own experience taking into account the guidance provided from the HR.

There were times when it was a bit dull and slightly repetitive, but overall there was always something to 'entertain' you be it your colleagues, someone bringing candy once they return from the holiday, or work experience students. By the end of the last week, I was genuinely sad that I had to leave, so this should be descriptive of the atmosphere.

Interns had some senior members of the team reaching out for them asking if they would like to participate in training led by them, which was extremely important for me since they genuinely cared for you to learn something. You were free to spend time doing eTraining as well, and were encouraged to do so.

I believe I have a very clear idea of what the role of a Graduate Trainee is like, having met all of them and having seen the work that they are doing. I have also had some exposure to more senior members of the team, but while I have not gathered all the specifics of their responsibilities, I had the chance to see what sort of workload they have and the work ethic expected.

Having attended the whole-office events, including the presentation of the company's strategy for the upcoming year, the company's culture was very clear, and you were free to contact the people who could answer your further questions. When filling out the objectives document for the programme, you were also encouraged to refer to company values, which I became very familiar with by the end of the scheme.

Thanks to the scheme, I am much more clearer on the work opportunities I would like to get involved with. I am not yet 100% sure what sort of job I would like to be doing until I reach my retirement days, but this programme was a chance to learn what I want and do not want to do.

Yes, multiple opportunities were available, you were even invited to the inter-firm events.

I personally chose to socialise with my colleagues since I was interested in their experiences much more than the experiences of people in the less relevant teams. Nevertheless, I still met wonderful people from other teams, which was definitely facilitated by drinks available at the events. The HR department also organised multiple events for interns across departments to get to know each other.

My colleagues would actively discuss all the sporting events they attend as a team and which you could get involved in if you were to be in the firm more long-term.

I would definitely recommend, it was much more enjoyable than expected.