Intern Review

So far, I have very much enjoyed my time at the Lloyds Bank Foundation for England and Wales - as it is a team of around 30 people, I got to move around the different sections and experience a bit of everything (service delivery, communications, research and policy, administration etc). This allowed my to gain a holistic insight into the whole organisation and its work.

I started the internship by processing grant applications, of which there were about 450. I processed 150 of them, so made a sizable dent into the task, that freed up time for the other staff members. I think the service delivery team appreciated this, as it allowed them to finish before the deadline.

I felt very supported, my line manager and other staff from Responsible Business and Inclusion (the team) were supportive and encouraging, especially when I wanted to arrange shadowing / experience in other areas of the business. My line manager was as helpful when setting my internship goals, and helping me achieve them. Also, easy to approach and ask for extra tasks.

My level of activity varied a lot between different days - some days i was very busy, and had a big pile of work to do. Other days a finished my tasks very quickly and asked staff for any tasks they wanted doing, but often there was not a lot. Visits and meetings in other departments and offices kept me busy.

The responsibility I was given was mainly over my own internship - I was keen to pursue my own opportunities outside of the Lloyds Bank Foundation for England and Wales, which is something I was solely responsible for. In terms of work within the Foundation, I had a project to work on which I was in charge of setting the pace and work etc

This internship was my first experience of managing my own workload and time, and also my first experience of a 9 to 5 job, so it was great preparation for a future career where I will be working in this way. I got to work a lot on communication, mostly through written work, so this is easily transferable to my degree and future career.

The atmosphere was quite relaxed and informal in my office. Dress was smart casual (and in no way dresses / heels / suits like in other offices) - this was really good as I was able to relax and feel comfortable very quickly. Everyone was very friendly, but at times the office was quiet - so a good balance of working and amicability.

Pretty well organised compared to some of my colleagues. I knew who my line manager was and most of the staff were very helpful if I ever had to go to them for help. I got to go on visits and trips which was good as I got to see a variety of work done by the Lloyds Bank Foundation for England and Wales.

It is hard to judge this, the internship was very well thought out and I was very grateful for the opportunity, but it is hard to tell if they were invested in me?

Very appealing - it was great to see another side to a large corporate firm. Working in the third sector with the Lloyds Bank Foundation for England and Wales was a great way to bridge the gap between the voluntary sector and the business environment. Also, what I saw of other departments looked very interesting and encouraging.

The social scene started off being pretty strong, but after a few weeks died down quite a lot. The strict no guest rules at Dinwiddy were difficult as it meant you could not invite friends round for evening social, because they had to be out of the building by 10 pm. For those in the accommodation that do not drink alcohol, there were few opportunities to get involved with the social scene.

I was surprised at how expensive it was to live in London, I am from quite a small town so London was a big change for me. Everyday living costs like food and transport were very pricey compared to my normal life at university. I am very grateful that Lloyds provided the accommodation otherwise I could not afford to be in London for an internship.

It was ok in my area, some of the good nightlife areas were a short distance via public transport which was fine.

Definitely, there was always something going on in London that I could get involved with. I volunteered on quite a few weekends - Race for Life events (Cancer Research UK) at Hampstead Heath 5 km and Hyde Park 5 km and 10 km, also I was involved in a Macmillan collection and Ride London cycling event. There were more than enough opportunities to get involved with different events.