Spring Intern Review

I really enjoyed my time at Citi bank because the company put on an incredibly busy timetable for us which meant that we were on the business floor from 9:00-18:00 every day. In addition to this, networking events were put on for us so we could further broaden our connections with the company.

Compared with previous experience, I felt very valued at Citi during my insight week. Everyone was very happy to answer any questions I had and help me out even in busy times of their day and this really made me feel warmly welcomed at the desk. There were even times when people would reach out to me and arrange to talk over something.

I was on the trading floor from 9:00 - 18:00 almost every day and whenever I had a question, no matter how elementary it seemed, someone would also be there to help me out. In addition to this, recruitment were always at hand to help with any other questions I may have had.

The information I received will certainly help me as I get further in my application process for summer internships and graduate schemes. In addition to this, the insight has given me other transferable skills for example how to conduct myself in a business environment. The insight made me more business aware generally and has certainly encouraged me to be more engaged with news headlines and think of their impact on companies and stocks.

The insight was very well structured. On Monday, we had lots of welcome and introductory talks which gave a very good insight into Citi as a whole. As the week continued, we'd be with our teams from 9:00-13:00 every morning and from 13:00 - 14:00, recruitment put on lunch for us and got representatives to talk about different things including crypto-currency, diversity at Citi and also innovation. During the day, on the trading floor things were less structured but this worked well as it gave me free reign to meet and speak to who I wanted to.

The general atmosphere was very exciting and busy as it was my first time on a trading floor. It was also quite overwhelming meeting so many people everyday but this was definitely the best way to make the most out of the spring insight week especially since we only had a week in the company.

I received lots of advice from so many people about the next steps of the process and how I should make the most of the next few years at university. As I was only here for 1 week, there was not much technical training but I think this is common in most spring weeks.

It was very useful because firstly it gave me a really good insight into the corporate culture of Citi and the different types of people working here to see if I could see myself fitting in. It also gave great insight into the daily routine of the colleagues and I spoke to lots of them about how they like their full time role and the company.

It was really useful in understanding the company culture. The talks which recruitment organised were very useful in helping us understand the culture for example the diversity talk especially. I got a really deep insight into the culture on the trading floor and I assume to a certain extent it is similar across divisions and the internship would prove this true or false.

The content of the day was really useful because I was shadowing so many different people including research analysts, sales, sales traders and traders therefore I learnt about what each of those different roles consists of whilst also letting me see if I like the atmosphere of working in a bank.

Citi reimbursed me for all of my expenses while I was in London, including food where meals were not provided by them (up to £10 per meal), transport to and from work every morning but also to and from home at the beginning and end of the week and also accommodation while in London if needed.

Yes there were so many opportunities for networking while we were here at Citi. On Tuesday we had a senior networking event where senior representatives of Citi spoke to us and offered their advice. On Wednesday we had Junior Networking where the graduates told us about their experience thus far. Both were very useful.

They were really good as the atmosphere of the chosen locations was perfect for the type of networking. For example, for the senior networking we were in the restaurant of Citi with wine and nibbles whereas for junior we were at Pizza Pilgrim and it was more informal. The ratio of representatives to interns was good as well as we each got a lot of contact time with people

Not really, obviously we could've asked anyone if we wanted to. We were told about different societies within Citi which lots of people get involved in for example LGBT and Women In Business. In addition to this, there were occasional work drinks during the week where colleagues socialise outside of hours - building their teamwork skills.

Yes I would definitely recommend this insight to a friend. The schedule was so busy which meant that I learnt so much about the industry in a very short period of time and that was really good. Everyone was so friendly and happy to help and this certainly enhanced my experience.