Summer Intern Review

I enjoyed some parts of my internship but all in all I wouldn't say it was an enjoyable experience. I enjoyed the experience of working in London/within a corporate environment and I did gain some transferable skills. However my job was very dull (my team didn't seem passionate about their jobs at all) and the internship felt far too long (not enough work/variety provided). My Line Manager (LM) didn't seem to really plan to have me at LBG, I felt a bit like a temp just doing the jobs of other colleagues who were on holiday when my LM had time to assign them to me. While other intern's LMs had set them personal projects or sent them on shadowing days/insight events to aid their 'personal development' I felt failed in this sense.

I wouldn't say my team made a 'genuine' attempt to get to know me. I was closer to one member of the team than the rest who asked me about my life outside work and took interest in helping and supporting me; however I felt like I was very much 'the intern' to the other team members. Based off of experiences had by other interns where their teams regularly held social events like a team lunch or drinks after work; my team did nothing of the sort. My team was very small compared to those other interns were placed in (I only had 3 other people in my office from my department). You would assume this working environment would make for a closer team but for me this felt very much the opposite.

My LM seemed too busy most of the time. This went one of 2 ways. I either had no work to do and sat reviewing my emails all day as I felt as though I was a burden when I asked for work. Or, when I was given work again I felt that when I asked for support I was being a hindrance. I missed a fair few weekly 1-1's with my LM too, I probably should have reached out and asked for a reschedule but I didn't find my LM the most approachable manager so I tended to just keep my head down.

Some days I had work to do, others I didn't. During the Charity Challenge I had too much to be getting on with as on top of my workload I also practically had to organise every event my team ran as they were all "too busy" to help me. This often resulted in me having the dedicate unpaid time out of working hours towards the running of the Charity Challenge events.

I was trusted to do some fairly important tasks during my time at LBG. I had meetings with Band F/G level colleagues (very senior). I appreciated this level of responsibility however I feel as though at times my LM expectations were set a bit out of my reach. I am a Lloyds Scholar on my 1st internship (a university student going into 2nd Year) and while I pride myself as being very competent, some of the work set to me was unfamiliar and required support from my LM rather than reprimand when I did struggle. While I did explain during a weekly 1-1 that when 'challenging' work was set it tended to be my first time having to do work of this nature; I didn't feel as though my LM made any more attempt to offer me support and instead just seemed annoyed when I sought assistance.

I definitely gained some insight into how to use Excel which I am glad of as it is software that is most likely going to be used widely in my career field. I now feel more confident with the basics and can develop me learning more if needed in the future. My role as Team Leader for the Charity Challenge gave me experience of how to manage a team which fits in well with my degree discipline, while I did not enjoy the role because I felt like the time and effort I put in was not returned or appreciated by my team members, I wouldn't say I learnt no transferable skills from this role. Unfortunately overall I wouldn't say I received much 'training' and I had little opportunity I develop my skills in the way I wished to at the start of the internship.

As mentioned previously there were only 3 people in my team, and 1 colleague had 2 weeks off during my time there. We sat very much isolated from other teams/departments on our floor. Most of the time my colleagues were too busy to make conversation as having other colleagues in a different part of the country increased their workload. On a whole my office was very quiet and uninspiring compared to that other interns were placed in where they felt there was always someone to ask for help from or shadow/assist when there workload dwindled.

I was supposed to be allocated a buddy on arrival to support me during my internship, however this was allocated to me in week 6-7 of 10 only when I reached out because I was having issues with my LM. There weren't any intern only events were we could get to network with other interns in our office. As mentioned my LM didn't seem particularly 'prepared' for my arrival, the objectives on my balance scorecard went though many changes as my LM didn't really have a lot of time to support me through achieving what was originally set.

Very little. Outside of the internship being a Lloyds Scholar, LBG invest significantly in me. However during this time I didn't feel this was the case. The welcome event was very well planned, insightful and enjoyable but aside from this event I didn't feel invested in otherwise. I felt as though my LM didn't really try to drive my personal training and development through the choice of work I was set.

As it is only my first internship I cannot get a grad referral at this time. I must complete a second internship (which I will automatically be accepted for as a Lloyds Scholar) and from that a grad scheme referral would stem; however based on my experience it is highly unlikely I will apply for a second internship

As LBG didn't really help the interns to get to know each other (no events for interns, official Facebook groups etc.) found it hard to get to know other interns. I had no other interns in my department or around my office so I mainly just socialised with my flatmates at lunch and outside of work. My colleagues went out on one occasion for food during working hours but this was as far as socialising went. I think as my team were only a small part of a much larger team (mainly based in Halifax) we didn't have much opportunity to socialise for a lot of people.

Very high as it was Central London. Fortunately the placement offers free accommodation but they have the same budget for every intern whether they are based in London or in another location (i.e. Bristol, Halifax), This means you are at a disadvantage if you are based in London because the accommodation is definitely a case of 'you get what you pay for' however it wasn't unliveable. As mentioned LBG didn't really put on any events for interns to get to know each other which meant I went home every weekend rather than socialise with other interns. I did go out exploring the city on a few occasions however with my university friends based in London and my flatmates

I didn't go out in the area we lived in as I felt quite vulnerable (high crime, a significant number of homeless individuals). I felt unsafe returning to the accommodation past 10-11pm and I know other interns felt the same. There were a few restaurants (which my flatmates and I did visit after work on a few occasions) very close to where we were based and the location was very central (Kings Cross) with great transport links. There were also lots of shops and restaurants located near Angel station and towards Islington which was about a 10-15 min walk from where the interns lived.

There were not many organised for interns or by my team. There were a few formal black ties boat parties and events ran through the charity challenge between interns but these were often costly to attend. However I know other interns had team socials after work that they were able to get involved in.