Finance Intern Review

On the whole I have enjoyed the experience, some days have been better than others but I didn't ever dread going to work in the morning or really watch the clock for when I could go home. The biggest factor in why I enjoyed it is that I really got along well with my team, I was very lucky in that respect.

I felt really valued by my colleagues, even if I completed a piece of work that was fairly basic I knew they really appreciated my help. They also appreciated that I could provide a fresh pair of eyes and give my opinion on things they were working on.

I was given so much support- I had a 'mentor' who was a senior member of staff and a 'buddy' who was a graduate who I could talk to at any point. I had an hour catch up with my line manager every week to talk about what I'd done so far and my plans for that week. There was never a time where I felt unsupported.

I can't say there was ever a day where I was busy- I never had a full schedule. This isn't to say that I was bored though, I nearly always had enough to do. My perception from other interns is that this varies hugely, some work 8-6 and some are twiddling their thumbs for hours every day.

I never had too much responsibility- however I think this was just due to the nature of the team I was with- being in a team where every other member is a chartered accountant and I'd never studied accounting it was natural that I wasn't going to be able to complete work on my own.

I have learned so much about time management, I'm going to be hugely more productive when I go back to University in September. I also have become quite good at using Excel which is going to be so useful throughout my career.

The general atmosphere was great- people were constantly chatting and you could approach anyone. There was a very relaxed attitude with regards to going to get a coffee, taking your full lunch hour, coming in a few minutes early so leaving a few minutes early etc. No pressure to stay beyond 5pm for no reason.

The only thing I can criticise is that I ended up in an area of the business which I didn't choose, but I understand how difficult it must be to place interns. Aside from this, the whole thing was run very smoothly from us moving into accommodation, the conference on the first day, etc.

They invested in us enormously. We all were paid well and our accommodation was paid for, which is a substantial investment. There was training resources online, which we could complete whenever- I completed a lot of courses on Excel.

I'm very attracted to the grad scheme and am hoping for a referral from next year's internship.

Yes, we all lived in the same accommodation and so could socialise whenever. Because we had a network of interns, we could share our experiences and receive advice from others.

Living in London should be expensive but as Lloyds provided the accommodation it worked out fine.

Really good obviously, we were living in central London.

I believe there were but I personally didn't pursue them.