Software Developer - Industrial Placement Review

My placement was a very enjoyable experience. Not only did I gain experience in technology and the finance industry but I also had numerous opportunities to develop my soft skills through involvement in charity events, intern/grad work and personal development groups.

As Nomura is a very big place, my network of colleagues included a large people from across the organisation. Everyone I worked and interacted with was approachable and the team I joined was very welcoming when I started. I didn't have an problems with gaining people's co-operation and felt valued throughout my internship

I found that management were generally very busy in my team however when I needed help or support, I had people within the team I could reach out to. I has a mentor from a separate team who offered guidance throughout my placement and I also had a buddy who was a junior person in the team assigned to help me get settled in and she was able to help me without me needing to speak to my manager. When I did need extra support, my manager made time for me.

I was fairly busy throughout my placement. The project I was working on lasted throughout my entire placement so I was able to space out my tasks quite comfortably. Alongside my desk job I had time to contribute to the planning of charity events, take part in a public speaking practice group and get involved in a voluntary project towards the end of my placement. At not point was I too busy or too bored.

For an intern role, I feel I was given a reasonable amount of responsibility. I had to make decisions on the work I was doing with minimal supervision and where a great deal of responsibility was placed on me, I had my buddy to support me when I felt uncertain of my decisions.

I feel that I have come out of the placement as a much more well rounded individual. Throughout the placement I had opportunities to develop my strategic awareness, team working, organisational, communication and technical skills.

The atmosphere at Nomura was great. People were generally very friendly and easy going.

The work placement was well organised. Before starting the internship interns have the chance to meet their "classmates" at a networking event as well as in a facebook group. The internship itself begins with a series of training sessions to get the interns up to speed with the financial industry and then there are division specific sessions after this. HR also stay in contact with you throughout the placement to make sure things are going well.

There are plenty of opportunities to take up training courses. The firm has an online portal with numerous free training courses that you can take at your time. There are also technology related innovation talks and informative presentations which are free to attend on site. In addition to this there is a public speaking group and a number of other personal development initiatives you can get involved in at no cost.

A significant number of people on the graduate program started off as interns then returned after graduation so the industrial placement is a good way to gauge whether you would like to join the firm permanently and it is also a great way to make a good impression for a grad role. The grad's I spoke to generally seemed happy with their positions and people who join Nomura tended to stay with a the firm for a very long time which implies it is a great place to work as a permanent employee. It does however depend on the nature of your role and the team you are in. Some areas might be more appealing than others.

The recruitment team organised a number of events for the interns to get to know each other at the beginning of the placement but after the summer interns went back to university, the remaining interns had to plan their own events. The other interns were generally very sociable and we enjoyed Thursday night drinks with colleagues often.

I lived in a private student apartment about 10 minutes away from the building which cost about £13K for the year however there are much cheaper options slightly further away from the office and around London. Socialising seemed quite expensive for someone who wasn't used to London prices.

I barely went out in the area I work

There were plenty of opportunities to get involved in activities outside of work. Interns can get involved in volunteering opportunities, charity fundraising, chess, sports teams, the office choir or brass players, japan club and public speaking practice to mention a few. It is all dependent on how much time you have to spare.