Global Soverign Markets/ Client Service International - UK Review

I really enjoyed my placement. Due to the many years UBS have been doing placements and the large number of placement students they have fine tuned an efficient and worth while experience. I would argue the large number of placement students make your year extremely worth while with plenty of social opportunities. In work, it also provides an insight into other areas of the business which is brilliant as not everyone finds themselves on the team they would like to work for when they are older. I also think that the intensity and environment of UBS is fantastic; everyone is hard working but also approachable. I would say it has also made me have a far greater knowledge of what I do and don't want to do for a career and how to go about achieving this in my final year of university.

I definitely felt valued by my colleagues. Due to the placement scheme being so long running it has meant that placement students have a role which is essential to a team. They did many things to welcome me and always found ways to try give me more things to do if I asked and had mastered my current day to day jobs. I think not only did my team make me feel valued by giving me worthwhile work and a way of contributing to the output of the team/ business, they also made a big effort to welcome me socially. This is essential to enjoying a placement.

My manager sat next to me for most of the year and I definitely felt I could ask her about anything within my role. She also gave me guidance on how to improve with reviews on a half yearly basis and on an ad-hoc basis when I requested it. She has helped me think about what I may want to do once I have left university and arranged time with other teams to understand what other parts of the business do.

Of course like and job the workload varies. I would say you can find yourself very busy at the start because you are learning what to do still and your jobs take longer to complete. Once I had learnt the role a little better I found my workload varied around daily, monthly, quarterly and half yearly tasks with quarter end being the busiest. I would definitely say the work load was manageable. The busy periods could also vary as in some periods the teams skillset was more in demand in the business.

I felt like I was given an appropriate amount responsibility on my placement. I was given key tasks which were very important to do for the team and for the business. I perhaps felt I could have taken on more responsibility at some points but this is probably not appropriate for an intern to be doing certain things and my knowledge base was probably not at a high enough level so it would have had to have significant oversight so would not have been efficient for the team. When I asked for more responsibility the team always tried to find ways of giving me things to do.

I feel like I developed my skills in organization, communication and efficiency the most. Organizationally I developed my skills as I needed to be on top of the 100s of emails received each day, this also made me more efficient as I improved my skills in picking out key data and important emails which will be transferable to research for university. I think that I also learnt to be more efficient as I had longer than previous working days and I now have the ability to be able to concentrate/ work through these. This will be helpful in university when writing long essays!

The general atmosphere was great in my office. Everyone was very approachable and friendly but you could also tell they were career driven and hard working. This combination made it a very good place to work as it had the balance of feeling like you are working towards a common goal and it is a worthwhile job. On the other side of that they really appreciate you are a placement student and try to make time to explain things and understand that your knowledge depth might not be a high as someone who has been working there for many years.

The placement was very well organized. We had lots of help at the beginning on what to do within our roles and were trained by previous interns for a two month handover period. This gave me the tools and confidence with my day to day job as there was always someone who had been in your position to ask a question. The placement coordinators also put on talks on various business areas throughout the year which helped give deeper insight into the industry. I think the experience they have having had so many placement employees means that it is a very efficient process.

In terms of personal training and development, they organized and funded us to taking the Investment Manager Certificate exams which was a great opportunity. This was on top of the investment they put into you by training you to do the role throughout the year. They also have plenty of voluntary opportunities to get involved in such as charity work and Q & A sessions with notable speakers. There is a goal setting and personal development tool which you are asked to use and then you can track your development throughout the year.

The employment prospects are extremely competitive. Previously there was no jobs on offer to outgoing placement students. However, if you do make a good impression I am sure this puts you in good stead for applying to permanent roles when out of university. They have set up a grad scheme which you can apply to which is being recruited from placement students and outside. Having worked at UBS it is more likely that you could get onto this scheme so this is a positive for our placement group.

The social scene was probably one of the things which made the placement most enjoyable. With 50 or so placement students everyone had a wide group of friends. We had organized for us and organized for ourselves drinks every Thursday, a Christmas party, and a ski holiday amongst other things. I think the sheer number of people who are the same age joining definitely bridges the gap from university to work life.

The cost of living and socializing was high as London is an expensive place. However, they pay you a good salary and if you're careful with your money this should not be an obstacle to enjoying yourself and socializing. As you get more accustom to living in London you soon find the cheaper places and best deals.

The nightlife is great in London. The company has a system where you can get cheap theatre tickets. There are so many bars, restaurants, pubs and clubs in London as well as the many tourist attractions. The office is located on the edge of 'the city' at Liverpool Street. There is Broadgate Circle on the doorstep and Shoreditch or 'the city' nightlife a stones throw away.

There are opportunities to get involved in activities outside of work. These include volunteering, a UBS choir, shooting society, wine society and language lessons. There is also diversity committees and you are encouraged to come along to talks and events they put on even if you do not want to join the society. Many of the placement students this year have joined the gym in the office and have also joined sports teams around London.