Intern at Chief Data Office Review

Overall I enjoyed my placement because the people were really nice and supportive. However the department I was placed in was not too interesting, it is a very useful department to the bank just not particularly what I personally enjoy. There was also the issue that this department was very specific which means I did not have a lot of knowledge to help with more tasks and therefore was very limited with what I can do

I felt very appreciated and valued by my colleagues who seemed to be impressed with my work contribution which is always a nice feeling. Not to their fault though there was the barrier of my knowledge of the specific department which hindered me at times

My manager and colleagues were very attentive and always willing to support. Couldn't fault them

Due to the issue of my level of knowledge there were days where I got quite bored

I was given quite a lot of responsibility and I always asked for more if I believed I can take it. I was mainly involved in two main projects; one involving post policy implementations reviews and reports and the other was starting a new project where I had a lot more freedom to explore a path that I thought would work well for this project

The skills I picked up have helped me drastically. It has improved my confidence in communication and collaborating with other employees. I have developed useful skills mainly with in excel which is very important to me as I study physics and analyse large chunks of data. My multi tasking and project management skills have improved drastically and I have already put that to use in preparation for my society before the university year begins.

My office was a smaller office in comparison to other head offices and it was also in a location I didn't quite like or want to be at. Around my desk there were a lot of empty desks which means it could be a bit dull from time to time but I also think it was much better for getting on with work as there are a lot less distractions and you can focus more.

My placement was very well organised from the first day and throughout the whole 10 weeks there was always something planned for me to do and there were weekly 121 sessions to track my progress or raise any concerns I have. There were also on boarding and off boarding events which were a nice change from being in the office every day. Overall it was very well run, mainly due to my line managers input

In terms of personal training and development there were a few courses I could attend online through Santander, most of them however were not very interesting or relevant. Other than that there wasn't much more investment into my development

I would be interested in coming back mainly due to the fact that I can move around with to different departments (even though I am not looking forward to be placed in locations which are out of the way or far from home). It is also a good job with a lot of opportunities, it pays well and it wasn't too strict during my time here

In my specific office it was quite shocking as there was only one other intern. My team were interesting and relatively fun but they are a bit older and therefore have their own families and things to do so socially it wasn't great

For my area it cost me: - £300 a month rent - £95 a month travel -£~5 for lunch daily

I did not experience nightlife once in the location I worked in

There was one community day which I could not attend and we went to bowling once but other than that it was quite dull