Political Engagement / Assistant Public Affairs Manager Review

It was a great area to be in for 10 weeks - very fast-paced, very reactive and rich in politics and journalism. Tasks varied from attending parliamentary committees to writing briefings on MPs for group executive dinners. Met some really interesting people - my team's former roles ranged from political advisers at the EU, to civil servants, to newspaper editors.

I was given work that actually contributed to team activities, needed to be done, and would create problems if it was not completed. This is ideal for an internship as you know that you are actually doing a job that matters. Colleagues were always willing to chat and help out, although only when asked.

My line manager was incredibly helpful, not just in doing my job but in giving advice on career paths and insights into politics/how the bank works. We held one on one catch ups every two weeks or so, although this could have been more or less frequent if I had wanted.

I was kept busy throughout the 10 weeks, which I was very grateful for as interns in other areas were often sitting around with no work to do. Sometimes I had to go looking for this, but it was mostly passed on by other colleagues in the team when they needed a hand. At times I had to turn work down if I had too much on my plate - but that's a good lesson to learn for the workplace.

The work I was doing was actually needed by the team - not just a made up project to keep me busy - which meant I was acting as part of the team. My responsibilities included emailing MPs and councillors, calling their offices to arrange meetings and sitting in on meetings with think tank CEOs and major business leaders.

The skills I have been developing are incredibly transferrable - managing my time well (and getting up early!) will definitely help in my studies and beyond. Being in public affairs, my knowledge of politics increased massively and I became familiar with a lot more names, while I also developed my communications skills.

My office was good fun, although colleagues were very hard-working so there wasn't loads of chat/socialising. They were definitely all keen on politics/journalism/current affairs though, which made for a great place to work - whenever there was major news to do with Brexit, cabinet appointments or the Tory leadership race, everyone would always stop working and watch BBC News on the various screens in the office.

I was told quite late where I would be for my placement - which didn't give me much time to make accommodation arrangements - although Lloyds put all interns up in student rooms so it didn't matter too much. I was given a laptop, blackberry etc which admittedly did take a long time to sort - but that's the same for most big firms.

There were four webinars over the summer on personal development topics like team work and how to present yourself well, which were fairly helpful. My line manager encouraged me to take all opportunities to look into my own interests - going to meetings in parliament, reading articles, chatting to people in other areas of the bank etc. This was really something that the bank encouraged.

The graduate programme, which most are referred to after their placement, is a really good scheme and starting point to the corporate world. My grad programme would involve 4 placements in different areas of corporate affairs - communications, public affairs, charity work, executive office etc. After that you are offered a full-time job. One former grad in my office had gone straight into a Grade F position earning ~ 60,000.

Yes, we were all put up in the same student accommodation, although some lived at home - I moved to live with my aunt, which took away from the social aspect a bit but was more comfortable. I still met up with a load of the interns for various evenings though - there was always loads to do in London and plenty of people to do it with.

It is expensive to live in London - I was getting the tube every day which added up. Most bars/pubs/clubs are very expensive, but there are loads of cheap places around if you want to save money. Theatre tickets could be picked up pretty cheap, and there were free parks etc. to chill in.

There were loads of good places around Kings Cross and Camden, where most interns were staying, and also in Clapham where I was based. London will always be expensive for going out, but there's a good variety of clubs and loads of different bands/DJs playing every night of the week. Now the night tube is running it's easier to get back after too.

Not entirely sure what these would be... but a load of my team went to cricket nets and played matches against other big firms. I went along to a church with a few guys working with the bank which was cool, and created a load of opportunities for doing stuff during the week.