Technology Analyst Intern Review

I enjoyed my placement overall as my team were fantastic and gave me a real feel for all the different roles that I could undertake within the team. I was introduced to a large network of people within and outside of my team and was given a number of shadowing opportunities across the bank to enhance my experience. I was given a well-rounded experience and the work was varied, although I feel that at some points work ground to a halt where I was waiting for responses etc so had a few slower days. Overall it was interesting and varied.

I felt extremely valued. My team made a point of giving me work which would really add value to the projects we were undertaking and they also gave very positive constructive feedback. The work I undertook will be used well after I have left and the importance of the work I did was reinforced by my colleagues.

I couldn't have asked for a better manager and my points of contact for my projects were equally exceptional. They were always happy to answer my questions and encouraged me to challenge processes and ideas with my own suggestions, many of which were taken on board. I was given lots of valuable advice and training and had regular catch ups to follow up on my progress and to discuss any issues I had.

Some days I had lots to do whilst others were quiet. Although I struggled with this at the beginning, I was then given more to do as I settled and learnt the products I was working on. Towards the middle and end I was given more independence to manage my own projects and this gave me a good balance. I like to keep busy so the broad scope and number of projects I was given suited me once I had settled in.

I was actively encouraged to take full responsibility for my projects. Whilst some required less, I was given project and product management pieces which then meant I was running the projects. I was extremely grateful for this opportunity as it helped me to develop a number of skills and meant that I could invest a lot of personal interest in the projects due to the responsibility I was granted.

I was trained with a huge range of skills throughout my internship. Management skills, both personal and team management, will be useful life skills in anything I do. I was also trained in a range of big data and data visualisation processes, which are key to the rest of my degree and also beyond. My people skills have improved hugely, as well as my confidence when dealing with people much more senior than myself. The skills developed on this internship are extremely useful life skills that will assist me wherever I am and in whatever I am doing.

Very open. People were very approachable and everyone was generally in a good mood. I didn't feel that the environment was very stressful and it encouraged good work. Although it was technically hot desking, each team had an area and this worked well. Colleagues were happy for me to walk around and talk to them rather than drop them an email and this encouraged a collaborative working environment.

On my desk, it was very well organised and I could tell my team were well prepared for me. On my first day, they gave me an excellent overview of everything they do and allowed me to then choose from a list of projects the ones that I was most interested in. Although I ended up doing much more than just the projects I chose, it was an excellent starting point to integrate me into the team. Outside of my desk, planning and communication was always fairly last minute. For example: - We were not told what our roles were before we arrived on the desk. I was a BA, but it would've been nice to know this before so I could research the sort of work I might be up to and I could've done some prep - On the first day, an evening event was organised but we were not told about it until we arrived. This meant many interns didn't go as they had other plans or had not prepared for an evening event. This would've been better communicated beforehand - We also had a CSR day which involved some landscaping at Clapham Common. We were told only 2 days before this event what kinds of clothing and footwear were needed. I had not brought appropriate clothing for this event from home when I moved out for the summer. If I had been given more notice, it would've allowed me to go home at the weekend and bring back the necessary items, but this was not the case.

I could tell a lot of investment was put in. We had online training to complete before the internship started to give us an overview of the business. We then had two days of training before hitting our desks. The training sessions were very good and I learnt a lot about the financial sector which, being a biochem student, I didn't know before. We were given buddies and mentors which helped with personal development. In general managers and MDs seemed to have a lot of time for interns.

I thoroughly enjoyed the internship and future employment prospects are very good. We had midterm and end assessments, along with group presentations which went towards assessment of us for an offer for the graduate scheme. Based on performance, places on the graduate scheme were offered at the end of the internship.

There was a good social scene, mostly organised between the interns themselves and as such very last minute! I have definitely developed a great network of people who I am sure I will stay in contact with well after the internship is over.

Standard London prices. Rent was very high, as such I lived outside of London and commuted but this meant my social life suffered slightly. I was close enough to stay out after work which was good enough for me. My season ticket worked out at £81.00 per week, with rent on top of £600 a month, but salary more than covered this and I was able to socialise a fair amount. As nice as some of the bars were around Bank and Canary Wharf, the drinks were very expensive but this was to be expected.

I'm sure its pretty good but didn't make a huge use of it. The bar outside my office was great for drinks with colleagues after work and I regularly went to a restaurant with other interns which was great.

There were a few. We got weekly updates of events going on around London that we might be interested in. The flexi-working was great for getting involved in stuff outside of work as I chose to start early and therefore finish earlier meaning a lot was still going on when I left the office.