IT Business Management Review

I struggled to enjoy the internship because the team I was placed in did not have much meaningful work for an intern. They were a busy team spread over several offices and several high level projects which, whilst interesting, left little for someone of my level to do. There were also no other interns based in my office which meant I also missed out on the intern support network I’ve experienced with other placements.

The team I was based with in the office were very friendly and supportive, often attempting to find work for me to do or colleagues for me to meet with to gain a better overview of Lloyds Banking Group. However as a lot of the team were very busy or contractors it was difficult for them to find much meaningful work for me to do.

When work was found for me I found my supervisors approachable and supportive, willing to help me with the basics but also allowing me to put my own spin on my work. If I hit a wall with a piece of work they were always willing to give me 10 minutes to go through it or point me towards someone who could.

Especially in the first half of the internship there was little or no work for me to do at all. For the first two weeks the only work I was given was booking 5 meeting rooms which, whilst I was happy to do, was a little disappointing when I wanted to be challenged and kept busy. There was some more smaller bits of work for me to do but it wasn't until week 8 that I was given anything that would take more than an hour.

In the last couple of weeks of the placement I was given some work that would be used to improve processes across Group IT at the bank which gave me a greater sense of responsibility. I was also tasked with creating an induction pack which would be used for future colleagues. In the earlier weeks I wasn’t given much work that carried any responsibility.

I don’t believe that the skills I have learnt at LBG will help in my degree studies however the further office experience and understanding of how a large organisation like Lloyds is run will prove useful when I graduate. The security training was interesting and often brought up issues that I hadn’t thought of which will help beyond education.

The office I was based in was small, outside the city centre with very little around it and the majority of people working there were older and more experienced. Many people also work from home or across several different offices so even at its busiest it was only about 70% full. Whilst the office was very friendly it would have been nice if there were other interns or graduates based there.

The organisation was very mixed with the internship. I was introduced early to the team, timesheets and all the induction activities were brilliantly explained and all equipment I would need was delivered speedily and set up. Once the placement started it was clear there wasn't actually any plan about the work I would be doing or any structure to my internship.

Lloyds discover learning page had a large database of training courses to complete as well as the usual mandatory training. We were also asked to fill in a Balance Score Card which tracked our activities against the Groups values and added goals to aid in our development, There wasn't any guidance given on this until well into the placement however so it was a good idea but in practise its use was a bit limited.

Based on my experience during the placement and through talking to apprentices and other graduates I would definitely not consider any future employment with Lloyds. Whilst some people have had a really good time with this internship I found it very difficult to find any meaningful work to do. I’ve had much better experiences with other companies.

A lot of the interns were placed in student accommodation and had a really good social scene. As I was already living in Leeds I missed out on this and there were also no other interns or graduates based in my office so there was very little social scene at all. There was occasional drinks organised for all of us.

I was based in an office with very little around it so spent very little on socialising! Leeds is a relatively cheap city to live in for socialising however travel costs can stack up fairly quickly as the buses and trains aren't cheap. As I was living at home my costs of living were cheap.

Leeds is a brilliant night out with something for everybody. Theres loads of cheap pubs, quirky bars and large nightclubs for drinking and going out. Theres also a lot for people who don't drink like cinemas, bowling alleys and really quirky independent restaurants. Theres also loads of events organised in places like millennium square and the Otley Run pub crawl is a must if you're in the area!

Lloyds runs a Responsible Business Challenge which for my placement aimed to raise money for BBC Children in Need. We were organised into smaller groups of interns with a graduate supervisor and encouraged to fundraise through lots of charity events such as reverse auctions, pub quizzes and family fun days. This was a really good opportunity to get to know other interns and raise money for a good cause.