Assistant Relationship Manager Review

I did thoroughly enjoy my experience with Lloyds Banking Group. Although for many interns it can be a bit slow starting, the fact that it was a 10 week long placements meant that you can afford losing a few weeks whilst you get settled in with all the new jargon and systems. But afterwards, you really do get the opportunity to get stuck in your role. Everyone was very welcoming and very kind! Some fellow interns didn't have quite as great an experience (usually the ones based in really big offices) but I think everyone has a chance to make it a great experience. If you show initiative and do follow up with people to make sure you're getting out of the internship what you want, regardless of the office you are based in, you can truly have an enjoyable experience! I'd say to anyone with a place/thinking to apply to LBG or any other internship, be confident and push yourself out of your comfort zone to get maximum exposure and you will without doubt also have a positive experience.

The people in the business are very talented at what they do and so to be completely honest there's not always a lot of room to make a mark or a massive improvement. However, there are little things you can do and definitely things you can bring your own experiences and skills to and that is something that is both encouraged and valued. The fact that I was able to have one to ones with people very high up in the company shows just how much you, as a person, are valued. I was really given a sense that the new generation like us who are talented and skilled in different ways to past generations is something that is taken seriously and invested in. There is also a good focus on your development as an intern within the organisation and so naturally you do feel valued and looked after.

The umbrella emerging talent team that organise most of the logistics of the intern programme were very good in the run up to starting the internship. All emails and updates are sent in a timely fashion and they answer all queries and are very supportive. Even little things like the directions to get to the induction event, which may seem not so important, show just how much guidance is given. Intel from them dropped during the internship but not entirely as they frequently hosted webinars which aided learning! Line managers are perhaps a more mixed experience. For my, my line manager was extremely helpful and always made time to address important stuff and help give me the best experience. You also get a buddy, someone on the grad scheme at LBG, which is handy particularly before you start as you can ring them and email them any questions.

The first 3 weeks or so were quite poor. I didn't have much to do at all and didn't feel like I was adding much value or maximising my experience. However, this isn't something I would blame my team for. As internship placements are often held in the summer period where typically people are on holiday and things are thin on the ground it's very hard for the team to manage their own workload as well as to teach you stuff. I'd say for future improvements, this is an area the emerging team should work on. Laptops should come already with all the systems you require as this took me a good few weeks to get them all setup on my laptop which delayed how soon I could get stuck into my role. Emerging team could also do more to have more of a real agenda for the interns in the first few weeks particularly with those not much to do! In this aspect this was the only negative part of my experience but most people did go through that so I suspect it is just a nature of all things to be slow starting with these kinds of things. Nonetheless, workload did very quickly pick up but not to an unmanageable level. I'd still be doing my normal hours (9-5) but I'd have a good amount of stuff to do which was very nice and I felt like I was making a positive contribution.

The nature of banking placements is such that you can't really have all that much responsibility as a lot of the responsibilities require a lot of experience. But wherever I was able to take responsibility it was given. For example I was given the responsibility for creating a presentation and carrying out various important projects. Nothing was too stressful, if anything all the projects I was given were very useful in my development and helped make the experience even more useful. I'd say to anyone reading- if you find yourself not being given much to do, all you need to do is ask ask ask! There's no harm in doing this, and the more people you ask if there's anything you can do to help them, the better it is for your experience and also you leave a good impression!

Every experience is definitely a good experience. I tried my best to really get out there and be involved in as much as I could and that's why im able to say that I have learnt a lot and anyone else can definitely do the same! A lot of the skills you will learn are role specific for example they require skills with certain systems you use on a daily basis but you also pick key interpersonal skills. So personally, spending time with different roles within my team (through actively engaging and asking for 10 mins here or there to have a 1to1 whereby I'd ask about their experiences to date) you pick up key leadership, communication and teamwork skills. These are all skills crucial to both studies and future careers.

I may be an exception in this as I was placed in quite a small office. Prior to joining I though this may be a bad thing as I wouldn't get as much exposure but I was wrong! Not only did I have a lot of good insight into the role, but I also got a sense of a close-knit family-like office atmosphere. There's never a dull day. Everyone gets on so well and there is a lot to laugh and joke about! My first day was truly a pleasure with everyone being very kind and this kindness didn't drop as the weeks went by!

Prior to the internship, very well. But I feel as though the organisation on the behalf of emerging talent team dropped after this. It's so hard for the line managers and the teams your assigned to to just pick you up and have a strategy and plan in place because they already have a lot on their plates! Emerging talent should invest more into having a structured agenda, if not for all the 10 weeks, at least for the first few. Although my team were very good and most of my internship was well structured with plans for my goals and development, speaking to others this wasn't the case and that's a shame as it really is a waste of good talent!

We did have a lot of mandatory training which did help in getting used to the industry and the particular division we were based in. Further to this the webinars were also very good in terms of personal training. We also had a compulsory Professional Bankers Course to complete which was insightful and good for training purposes! It would be even better if there was something we could take an accreditation away with us at the end of the ten weeks to have something concrete that we worked towards. My team invested a lot in my development, in terms of allowing me to go and experience other divisions which I'm very grateful for!

Very much so! Loved the culture of putting the client first and helping the community and loved the atmosphere and the work I did on a daily basis. To see that I as also truly valued and they wanted to invest in me also led to my decision to want to come back onto the grad scheme. The satisfaction of the role is very high and the financial perks are very competitive too. Although as an intern, naturally since we are only with the company for a short period of time, you don't get access to the full range of perks but in advance you can see that LBG offers permanent employees a lot. This ranges from company cars, recognition events etc.

yes a lot of graduate and intern combined socials were organised. The opportunity to network through the intern charity challenge also creates opportunities to socialise aswell as being part of same accommodation gives you the opportunity to make new friends and live quite the student life! typical events included a boat party and a ball.

cost of living is not applicable since LBG pay for your accommodation! Depending on the location you apply for and are given (you pick your top 2 most people will get one of those two locations but sometimes you are placed somewhere completely different- just depends on your luck I guess!) the cost of living and socialising in terms of food etc will vary ofcourse.

dependent on the area- usually very good as most places you are given accommodation in are student places so there will be clubs etc not very far away

a lot! LBG have a very big focus on charity and socialising too so the team always have things coming up that you can get involved in. Additionally you can use the intern charity challenge to take part in these kinds of activities and there's a lot of scope for your to set up your own opportunity!