Finance Summer Intern Review

Coming into my internship at Allianz I was unsure as to what tasks I would be partaking in, whether it would involve shadowing others, being given the jobs no one else wanted or whether I would be given the freedom and trust to fully get involved in the business and complete essential and important projects. At Allianz you are treated as an employee and not an intern and for me personally this has greatly enhanced my enjoyment of the experience as my main aim was to reach a higher level of understanding and technical knowledge of the business, industry and my division within the business.

Personally I couldn't have asked for a more welcoming, friendly and helpful team than the one I was placed in for my internship. As I have said previously, at Allianz as an intern you are very much treated as an employee and hence valued as one. The work that you will be given to complete, if accepted onto the scheme, will be heavily aimed at improving your skills and knowhow of the business based around the Allianz people attributes with the goal of shaping you into an employee that would succeed on the Allianz Graduate scheme.

The aim of the internship for Allianz is to search for future talent and develop it and so because of this there was always help, support and guidance available when asked for. This guidance came in many forms during my internship whether it was asking about a particular piece of work I was having difficulty completing or whether it was asking for advice and insight about what might entail in a future career in finance.

On a daily basis there was always something available to get involved in as an intern. When I joined I was given multiple projects that took up the majority of my time at Allianz and because of this there was always something to do. However during my time here there were never any strict deadlines that required me to give up a lunch or stay too late at work.

At Allianz for my internship I was given multiple projects and objectives which I was tasked with completing during my 9 weeks with the company. These projects were of importance to the company and added real value and in my case will be used for long after I have finished my internship. In addition to these projects however I got heavily involved with some of the responsibilities of other members of my team when they were on holiday or had any work spare so that I could gain an insight into what they were doing.

This internship has really developed me as an employee. The work I have completed and been set in my time here was heavily aimed at developing the interns and these skills included; working collaboratively, entrepreneurship and customer excellence. These skills are highly transferrable and will assist me in my degree but also in any other opportunities I may be involved with in the future.

Allianz has a very welcoming and friendly atmosphere and it has been a pleasure to work here. The office I was based in, which was the Guildford head office, is a very open space which allows teams to interact often and easily. In addition to this to were many other interns and graduates in my office who greatly enhanced my experience here.

I believe it was set up very well in that we were given our objectives on day 1 which meant it was clear to us what we would be working on and also what would be expected of us during our time with Allianz. it was also well set up as there were multiple day sessions for the interns such as an induction day, a careers day which involved learning more about graduate opportunities and also finally a presentation day were we summarised out time at Allianz and how we have developed.

In previous years the internship has been viewed as a long interview for the graduate scheme as if you can show the company that you are a valuable employee they are very likely to progress you to the final stage of recruitment or offer you a place on the scheme. However, during my time on the internship it was announced that Allianz and LV would be creating a joint venture by merging their personal and commercial lines. Because of this there is quite a lot of uncertainty as to what this merger will involve and how it may affect jobs within the company.

Guildford does not have the best or the liveliest night out but this has definitely not been a problem for the other interns and I. We made sure to make the most of what we had in going out while also having other social events such as board game nights and nights in with takeaway.

Guildford is only a 30-45 minute train from London and because of this the costs of living and socialising can be quite pricy. However due to the close proximity of Surrey University there is plenty of accommodation available whether it be through the university itself or through house share schemes.

As I have said before Guildford does not have the best or the liveliest night out however there are still a range of options available to interns. There are plenty of pubs in close walking distance to the office for after work drinks as well as a free company bus that takes employees into town and to the train station. The three clubs in Guildford are Casino, Bar Thirteen and Popworld and the student night out in Guildford is a Monday, Monday night Guildford. if you go clubbing for the experience of the club then you may be a bit disappointed, however if you go to have a great time with your friends and other interns I think it is more than sufficient.