Summer Analyst Review

The placement was hugely enjoyable, both as a learning experience and as an opportunity to be closely involved in some exciting projects and deals. The variety of assignments, tasks and projects was phenomenal, and there is no doubt that the sector team is world-leading in the field.

The team were very friendly across the board and made an effort to involve us in interesting projects to help us learn and develop over the summer. We were very much brought into the whole team camaraderie, which is not to be underestimated at all given the rigorous nature of the job!

I was given just the right amount of active support and guidance by management and my colleagues on the team. Nothing was ever spoon fed and I was encouraged to ask my own questions. When I did ask, I found people to be hugely supportive and helpful in their responses, taking care to ensure that I had understood the problem or concept rather than simply reciting the right answer.

I always had work to do since there were some large ongoing projects to chip away at whenever we got a spare moment, but in general I was very busy with stimulating and exciting work. Naturally, some days would be busier than others, but on the whole there was always plenty of work to be done.

The guideline for 10 stars is 'I was running the show' - this was not the case of course (and nor should an intern be running the show), but I was given a fantastic yet appropriate level of responsibility across the placement. That is to say, in the early weeks the responsibility was for smaller tasks to ease me in, but by the end I was given responsibility right up to what I was capable of.

Enormously. Everyone talks about time management, but my key takeaway was expectation management, as it's very easy to say 'yes' to a deadline or task, then find that you're buried at the last minute and end up producing mediocre work across the board. At Rothschild they always encouraged me to work hard but not be unrealistic about how much I could achieve - this approach is both smart and sensible, and very valuable in my life outside the firm.

Again, 10 stars is described as 'Fun Never Stopped', which is a little silly. So by 10 stars I mean that in times of higher stress, the team really came together and helped each other out - there was a tangible sense of camaraderie amongst us. Everyone was approachable, whether for a quick chat about the project or about something else entirely. In short, the atmosphere was fantastic.

The internship was set up and organised fantastically all around. The first week was training and orientation, getting us comfortable with the technology and giving us a taste of the bank's functions. Then throughout the internship there were team presentations, which not only taught us about the particularities of the teams but also brought the intern class together, so we remained in contact with one another across the summer.

The investment in personal training and development came mainly through the experience on the floor within the team. The team leader, for example, deliberately carved out a number of 1-2 hour sessions exclusively for the 3 interns on the team to answer our questions about the industry/job and to explain aspects of M&A etc. to us in closer detail and in an interactive context. Beyond that, analysts and associates would often come over and bring us onto projects that were intellectually interesting or otherwise would help us learn and develop new skills.

I was given a return offer about 2 weeks after the end of the internship. There is no doubt I want to work at Rothschild, and I have accepted the offer there. I do not yet know whether I will be rejoining my particular team - there is a kind of speed networking event where the team leaders get to meet the graduate class and choose from amongst us.

Amongst the floor, we all got on very well. I sat fairly centrally and remained close friends with the interns in other teams on our floor, often eating lunch and dinner together or getting coffee. There were a number of team drinks too, which were great for helping integrate us with the seniors as well as the juniors with whom we worked more closely on a daily basis

In terms of cost of living, it's Central London so rent and basic amenities were generally very expensive. Also, if you wanted to get lunch outside the office it would usually cost £7-10. However, I normally ate in the subsidised canteen which was reasonable cheap. When we went out as interns, we would go to a cheaper pub like a Wetherspoons, so prices weren't outrageous.

London nightlife is incredible, but given the nature and demands of our work it was only sporadically enjoyed, especially during the week. Team drinks sometimes spilled into a later night, but since we all had to work the next morning there was a natural limit to the nightlife.

The time pressure of the industry meant that during the week there was little opportunity for activities outside work, though I occasionally managed to carve out an hour in the morning to go to the gym. I made up for this on the weekends though, meeting up with friends inside and outside of London.