Summer Intern Review

I enjoyed the variety or work the work I was given in my team and the large amount of training and development opportunities.

Everyone was very friendly and had team lunches and drinks frequently. I sometimes felt like the social outings were too frequent for me to attend all of them.

My manager acted as a coach and definitely helped me become more self-aware with my areas of growth which in turn helped me set goals and targets more effectively.

During the first few weeks I felt I wasn't busy enough but it did pick up at week 4 and through the rest of the internship. To prevent this slow pace in the beginning I would suggest for people to consider formal training courses during this time.

I was given responsibility for my own project delivery and in terms of day to day cases I had ownership. I was not given responsibility to produce any FCA documents which I would have liked.

I developed an array of soft skills here but I would have liked to undertake more formal training on software and accounting to develop those skills. These training opportunities fill up quickly so book early.

Chatty and laid back for the most part. I sometimes wish there was a sense of urgency with work we were doing as some other interns had experienced.

The internship was well organised with structured learning lunches, a grad buddy assigned to you, a corporate responsibility day and a half week induction. To make it more seamless I would recommend doing the mandatory e-learning and training on the electronic systems used by the FCA together in the first week of induction. That way we are able to use our laptops as soon as we join our team.

The FCA has an amazing Academy which offers both online courses related to financial regulation and formal full day courses on soft skills such as influencing with credibility to Excel Advanced courses. The FCA also invites interesting guest speakers to give presentations which everyone is free to attend.

The level of work varies greatly between departments and teams within the FCA, because both the Internship and Graduate Scheme you apply to a Division and therefore don't have a say in the specific team you go into, it seems to be down to luck with whether you find a good fit during the internship or first rotation. It also seems that those with skills and experience were trusted more with work and put into more challenging teams.

There was a social representative for the interns and graduates who frequently organized events however, the frequency meant that not everyone came every time. I think it would be better to have fewer, more robust events.

Canary Wharf is fairly expensive but does not very much compared with London generally.

Lots of pubs, bars and restaurants but there are some FCA favourites which most people continue to return to.

There was a newsletter that was sent to us because one of the interns received it from her team, otherwise we were not directly put on the mailing list for social clubs and activities in the FCA. The summer is quiet in terms of sporting events because many people are on holiday.