Spring Intern Review

I really enjoyed the week. It was very structured and majority of the week involved work shadowing which I feel is the best way to find out about what they do every day and decide what you want to do in the future. I really enjoyed meeting other spring interns who have the same goal and interest as me.

I felt really valued as the spring intern class was quite small (15 in my division) and 60 in total. Before the spring week started, HR were very quick in responding and they also set up live chat sessions prior to the week to answer any questions we had. During the week, they answered individual enquiries and set each one of us with a buddy who looked after us for the rest of the week.

Everyday of work shadowing I reported to my buddy in the morning who spent the majority of the time with me to go through any questions I had or explain any concepts to me. She also arranged me to see other people in the division (5-6 desks) to get a better idea of what the division is like and atmosphere at citi.

I definitely developed my networking skill and communication skills. At the start I was quite shy to approach people but with so many networking opportunities Citi has arranged for us during the week varying from with analysts to directors I felt much comfortable by the end. Also, we had to deliver a presentation at the end which helped me to improve my organisational and communication skills.

It was very structured which I really appreciated. I was worried that I would get bored but it was completely the opposite. It was always packed with things to do varying from work shadowing, presentations to networking events. We were also given the schedule of the week before the week so we knew what would be happening. Breakfast, lunch and dinner were provided.

Great! Everyone including the HR, employees of Citi and fellow spring week attendees were all so open and friendly, We have a facebook group and whatsapp chat in order to keep in touch with everyone. Even though everyone was very busy, they were so willing to talk to us and go through what their roles and answer any questions we had. I really could see the unique culture Citi has.

There was no training in terms the technical knowledge but we went through on the first day how to behave in business environment, how to dress, and how to act. We also went through how to network and how to follow up after networking. We had a session on interviews which I found was really useful. I felt the best training at this stage is to get as much as exposure as we can which Citi definitely achieved .

Because we did a lot of work shadowing, I spent majority of my time in the office. I could see what they do from entering the office to going home. This may be difficult in other spring weeks (I have done another one) as some do not offer work shadowing so you don't actually get the exposure as Citi gave us. But the technical work I obviously did not do myself as a spring intern.

I researched about the company prior to the week but the best way to understand the company's culture is to actually talk to the people who are working at the company. Also, the employees' personality really reflected the culture. They were all very open and friendly and also had exciting lives outside work.

I really enjoyed the week spending time with the people in the team I was allocated to and learning some technical knowledge especially as I am not from a finance background. This really ensured that finance is the path I want to pursue. Even within the division I was in there were so many different types of work you could do.

As an international student, I was provided with a hotel in the Cutty Shark station which was 20 minutes by DLR from canary wharf station. I know some flew from european countries and they were also reimbursed for their travels. We were provided with breakfast, lunch and dinner and for the meal they did not provide, they will be reimbursing us up to £15. Also, everyday travel we are reimbursed.

There were so many networking opportunities. From day 1 we had a networking evening and after presentations we also had opportunities to network with the speakers there. I also met a lot of the people during work shadowing so networking was never ending throughout the week.

We had one networking event on the first day and one social/networking event at an outside venue in Stratford which had places to play pingpong and lots and lots of food. It was nice to have a break from a busy week and get to know each other as well as network with some more junior analysts. It also enabled me to get tips for future interviews and really get to know working environment at Citi.

Yes lots! We have been told there is Citi choir and any interest you have you are able to start the club. THey also have lots of networks- women, LGBT and more. I heard there is a gym. I also met someone who has a passion for charity works so she spends a lot of her time helping charities and raising money .

Yes definitely. Not only you get to know about finance industry but also about the company's culture and some technical knowledge and commercial awareness just by talking to experts in the their fields. It is an experience which you cannot get from researching on the internet.