Product Control Junior (Finance Summer Placement) Review

10 weeks spent in Product control (Finance function) of their Energy Marketing and Trading department. Really enjoyed the exposure to a trading house and was constantly learning without the super high pressure environment of working for an IB.

Colleagues and my managers were really nice and always had time for me even on super busy days, the feedback system worked very well and always knew what I had to do to improve. Entailed meetings with my manager at the beggining, middle and end of the internship, team members would also always be evaluating how I performed and giving advice as to how I could improve.

The first 3 weeks I did not have access to the files I needed to effectively contribute to the department, gaining access was a very drawn out process that I feel led to wasted time. I feel this came down to poor organisation. After this period however I was able to fully immerse myself in my work, after speaking to my manager about my lack of work after PnLs were done I was immediately assigned another project that I kept busy with.

I performed similar tasks to my team and was cranking out daily PnLs the same as the others by the end of my internship independently. I was encouraged by my team and the managers to be confident and it was made clear from the start there will be no hand-holding. I was also in charge of completing the spreadsheet controls for the department, a crucial (athough sometimes tedious) task!

Technical skills and jargon picked up on the trading floor was invaluable, not to mention the relationships built and experience that I was able to draw upon. While it may not all be particularly relevant to my studies I will 100% take what I have learnt with me throughout the rest of my life and career.

The ideal working environment for any intern. During the morning it was all meeting daily deadlines and resolving issues, things got quieter after lunch which allowed me to get on with project work and sit down with team members in order to learn more about the role and the department itself. I certainly enjoyed the buzz of the trading floor, especially when big headlines hit!

Structure of the internship was fantastic, training days scattered amongst the 10 weeks which really broke up the working week. Giving feedback was extremely effective and helpful as both mydelf and manager frequently discussed my progress, it was also made very clear that my manager wanted me to spend time across the whole business allowing me to sit in with others in the office eg Traders, Analysts so that I could have a taste of work across the whole business. Extra points for organising a sit down with the CFO.

Training days for Excel and presentation skills as well as team building days. It was made very clear that Centrica did not just want some cheap summer labour but instead were actively interested in giving me real, transferable skills that will follow me throughout my whole career. Training was spread throughout the placement and reall broke up the working week, team members were also very helpful and always had time for me.

All Summer placements based in the south were given free accomodation at RHUL, as a result became very close. A charity challenge allowed us to socialise and all work together for a common goal despite working in completely different parts of the business. There have been a few nights out with other interns and the social life is very similar to uni.

Oxford street.

Centrica organised a charity challenge for interns as well as promoting involvement in volunteering and office clubs.