SME Sales Review

My internship was quite enjoyable, though I enjoyed being in the business area than the job itself. Even though I came in the first week after Brexit and it was really exciting, the workload was very slow and I had to ask around for work to no avail. When work did come in, it was interesting and it was enjoyable to go out and witness the business from outside the office.

My colleagues were nice people but it was in some sense detached. The layout of the office did not help as it is easy to be detached from office conversations sitting in rows. Other than that, you were free to walk around the office and colleagues were happy to give you work.

My manager was not really around to check up or see how the internship was going. Sometimes I would have no work and he would not be around to ask for more work. However, when I did have a problem he was incredibly supportive and was accommodating to my all my needs.

The work load was very inconsistent and I spent more time with no work to do than I did being busy. In general, I never had a reason to stay beyond my contracted hours after spending the last hour or so not doing much. Some days I would be working on ongoing tasks when I would be busier.

Some of the ad hoc jobs I did were for senior members of staff who needed work such as presentations and MI analysis. I would be solely responsible for these tasks which was rewarding. I was also in charge of my own project later on which would have value for the team later on.

The skills I learned would be very valuable in any career in banking because I developed knowledge of various products and services and learnt the importance of understanding client needs by looking at what is going on politically and economically. The background knowledge to the business area alone would be transferable in many departments in a bank.

The office was generally quite loud as it is a sales role, so my colleagues were often on the phone. Generally, there was a lot of conversation around the office and it was only ever dull during slow periods such as the first few weeks of the summer holidays or when workers are occupied with paperwork.

The internship was not well set up overall as there seemed to be no plan as to the kind of work I would do, nor was there a real understanding of my role. The benefit was IT was mostly set up, however, there still needed to be many applications for certain programmes. The coordination of the internships could have been better as we did not have any information until the last minute.

The company invests massively in terms of development. There are schemes such as the Scholars Programme in which students are sponsored throughout university, work two placements and have access to mentoring. During the internship we were exposed to opportunities within the grad programme and even after that expand personal and professional development.

Working at Lloyds is appealing because the culture of the bank is desirable and it is a reputable bank. There is great flexibility and many opportunities to progress, furthermore, the atmosphere is relaxed but requires a great deal of work. Hopefully the internship translates to a graduate position later on, though I may still look around at other roles.

There seemed to be more socialising among the interns who lived together in Lloyds hired accommodation and they seemed quite separate to everyone else. There were a few other opportunities to socialise such as meeting other interns on the floor for lunch and having interns from other buildings talk about their experiences.

I was based in London which is a very expensive place to socialise, particularly in the city. Many of the interns from outside of London were happy to pay a bit more to have the London experience. I commuted which was very expensive, as was getting lunch from anywhere around the office.

The nightlife in London is generally good and some of the interns took advantage of this. It is very expensive though so it is not easy to take advantage of the nightlife, particularly if drinks are involved. However, travelling is easy because there are many night buses and night tube in some areas makes it much cheaper than taking a taxi back.

The main out of work activity was the interns and scholars charity challenge were we had to meet with each other to plan events to raise money for Children in Need. It was quite time consuming to balance that with a full-time job. However, aside from that, not many extra-curricular activities were on offer to interns, or they were not advertised.