Analyst- SCM Middle Office Review

Really felt at home from the start. Had one weeks training then straight into working with a new team. The teams had been chosen to give us an interesting role in a friendly team and I found I was able to take on much more responsibility than I had hoped and had exposure to lots of people.

My team were amazing, we went for team breakfasts, team lunches, team drinks. They were all really helpful while I was finding my feet, this spurred me on to find ways in which I could be helpful to the team.

My line manager was very down to earth and helpful. We had weekly catch ups to see what work I had done and to check I was on track for an ongoing project I had over the course of the internship. This really helped in the appraisals we had with HR as it kept both of our expectations around the same level.

The job I took on had a great mixture of line and project roles so I was able to do one when there was less to do for the other. I also worked on automating some of the more manual processes using excel macros so found I could fill my time with that too if necessary.

I took ownership of daily tasks almost immediately, halfway through the internship one member of my team left so I took on the majority of her tasks too. This was a great opportunity to not only show my skills but also to see what a full time job would really be like.

Firstly, as this was my first experience of working a full time job, I feel I have gained a new work ethic which is likely to be useful at university. I have also learnt a lot about financial markets and economics from the training given, but the main skill I learnt was to write macros. I didn't know what a macro was when I started the placement, now I can write them confidently and by the end was writing them for members of my team and also a nearby director from a different team! This part was self taught but I would never have gone out of my way if it hadn't formed an important part of my project, this has shown me I can learn new things by myself if I put my mind to it.

I was working on the trading floor but as the team was relaxed and friendly the work atmosphere was great.

We had loads of events, which can't have been easy to organize with the number of people doing the internship.

We had an entire week of financial markets and soft skills training to begin with and additional learning opportunities throughout. The appraisals felt like they were putting time into assessing us as individuals.

I am really excited to be joining the company next year. The internship was designed to assess me but also for me to assess the company and I'm glad we both passed. The company culture promotes mobility so I think my future prospects are great.

Some business areas had different dynamics but the people in my business division were great. Despite the time spent in work during the week we all met up at weekends and after work too and the events organized by HR were great at getting us to know each other.

Ok, so canary wharf is expensive. On the other hand we were being paid so it was affordable while we were working. Living was alright as for the summer there are lots of university halls available. I stayed in Goldsmiths as it has a separate rate for students so was cheaper than a lot of other places. It was a 15 minute train in, in the morning and I would recommend it to anyone staying in London in the summer.

Canary wharf is build so that you would never need to leave. The nightlife is composed mainly of bars but the city is just a short tube ride away.

I took part in optional intern activities and company wide activities as well as events organised by the interns. The last 10 weeks have been constantly busy but I have loved it