Finance Intern Review

I very much enjoyed the internship at Lloyds. The work was varied and never boring, well structured and with different one to one with the line manager to discuss your progress. I also had the opportunity to work with different other team within the same department and this helped me to undertake different types of jobs. So yes, I had a good time there.

The team where I work in was very small even though it has people both in Edinburgh and London. Everyone in the team was available to talk in if I had any problem and give me advices of the things that I was doing wrong. I really felt part of the team with morning huddles and monthly team lunches.

The line manager was sitting in the desk next to mine and therefore always at reach for when I had any questions. She was always available to talk me throught things that I did not understand and provide explaination of the work that was given to me. There were weekly 1 to 1 to check objectives and progress.

The first few weeks were very busy because I had to start from scratch using the system, familiarise with the many (really really many) acronyms used in the bank. With time however I was much quicker in doing the work that I was given since it became routine. However with the Charity Challenge and the personal project I always had something to do.

The work that I was doing was always double checked (except of course basic excel checking) but it was useful because I could get feedbacks from them and constantly improve it. Do not expect to run the bank from the first day but the amount of responsibility was in line with the expectations.

I improved so many skills such as time management and stakeholder management as well as the importance to be well organised, set objectives and work towards them and ask for feedback in order to work on the things that I can improve. Being part of a real organisation and undertake the day to day job is something that university cannot teach you. Even small things such as setting up meetings, understand the importance of taking detailed minutes or doing huddles to promote teamwork and cooperation are things normal for me now and this will put me a step ahead when I will get the first “proper job” after university.

The office is set up very much like a call centre floor. Everyone has its desk with pc and phone but there are no barriers between desks. The atmosphere was very relaxed and in front of very row of desk people would just put various treats or baskets of fruits for everyone to eat. No crazy parties "Wolf of Wall Street" style but a very friendly and relaxed atmosphere!

The placement was very well organised. You had to do a few mandatory reading for the Q3 in the first few week, and then a Professional Banker Course between week 3 and week 7. Every week you have a one to one with your line manager where you will given feedback on your work. You will have a personal scorecard with the main objectives that you have to achieve before then end of the internship.

The organisation invested quite a considerable amount of resources on the interns. The first day we all went to London for a first introduction to the Company, all paid for. Your manager will always try to push your boundaries (in a good way) in order to improve your skills and develop personally as well. You also get a few web based training and often you can participate to Lunch and Learn session focusing on different arguments.

The future employment prospects within the organisation are very interesting. A couple of weeks before the end of the internship, you will have a formal interview with the line manager. The line manager will then dicude if submit a positive referral or not. A positive outcome will gave you the opportunity to go into the graduate scheme when you finish your degree. It is usually 2-3 years and you will also study for a professional qualification in your field.

Yes, most of the students working in my building were living in the student accomodation provided and therefore it was easy to organise night outs of afternoons at the local beach. Also there was the Fringe Festival in the period that I was working there and that was a great excuse to socialise even more. We also had team lunches with coalleague and nights out usually if a colleague was leaving the Company.

Edinburgh is not that expensive and with the wage that you will get, you'll easily save some money for when you'll be back in university.

Edinburgh is a fantastic city, full of things to do and places to explore. Lots of great pubs and nightclubs.

Not with the colleagues, mainly with other interns.