Investment Consulting Intern Review

My internship was a very positive experience overall. At first, it was difficult as there was so much new information to take in. But once I'd got my head round this, I really enjoyed my experience.

I felt very valued as I was given a lot of billable work that would be sent to clients.

My manager and buddy were amazing. There is always support available to you and everybody is happy to help!

Given I had my internship during a busy period, I found myself very busy every day. This was good as it meant I could contribute more and help my colleagues.

I was given the responsibility of managing my own work. This meant keeping on top of deadlines and knowing when I wouldn't be able to finish a task on time.

The skills that I developed that will help me most in my degree were research/presentation skills. I had to prepare a presentation on am investment topic and present this to my colleagues. This was good practice before my final year of uni when I'll have to write my dissertation.

The atmosphere in the office was very vibrant. Everyone was very friendly and welcoming and wanted to make you feel at home. Although I didn't have a lot in common with my colleagues, I never felt out of place. We would go on team nights out together and also go for drinks after work some days.

Overall, it was organised very well. There was a talent development team who oversaw the whole experience. I had regular catch ups with my manager to track my progress. I always had enough work on. I also had the chance to participate in a corporate social responsibility project. This was organised as part of the internship and was an invaluable experience.

I attended several training sessions given by asset firms and other members of my team. This training was invaluable and allowed me to develop a greater understanding of the investment world. The chance was a very rare one and I'm lucky to have been able to attend such sessions. The development team also took several training days which gave me a clearer understanding of Aon as a company.

Future employment with the firm is very appealing. Given how well structured their internship programme is, I can only assume their graduate scheme is similarly constructive. They also provide generous study leave and a lot of support for professional exams. This would allow me to progress in my career quicker. There is also the chance to work across the UK and in a variety of roles.

There was a very good socials scene. Although there was no interest interns, I got on very well with colleagues. We would go for lunch together some days and often, we would go for drinks after work. As an intern, the other colleagues tend to buy all your drinks. We also had team nights out - one night we went for dinner and then to see a circus act. This was very good for team bonding.

On a UK scale, the location wasn't overly expensive. However, for Scotland, I would consider the city of Edinburgh to be expensive. I found the travel in the area to be particularly expensive. The cost of living is again higher than the Scottish average. Although I expect the prices are nothing in comparison to what is charged in London.

There was a lot of good bars in the surrounding area. The Edinburgh fringe was also on during my placement. This meant that there were many shows on at night. There were also lots of pop up bars with late night licenses that you could go to. Although we didn't go to any clubs, I've heard that they are also meant to be very good.

Apart from the team night out, there were no other opportunities.