Markets Summer Analyst Review

I have really been enjoying it at Citi. The key reason being the people who you meet (fellow interns / people on your desk / everyone), they are all so nice and are willing to teach you anything you don't know. Being able to feel comfortable asking questions / learning is a real plus.

Despite only being an intern, from day one you are made to feel valued. Your team will give you some introductory reading/work and will work around what you already know and will teach you what you do not know. You do not get made to feel like you know nothing but are encouraged to ask questions and develop your understanding of the division.

You are given a buddy to help you with anything you do not know, you have your team to ask questions to, HR, and also your fellow interns. Pretty much anyone will answer questions you have and will make time to speak with you.

Some days are busier than others and the experience is different for every intern. I started off getting a lot of introductory reading to better my understanding of finance and the team I would be working with. I then got given projects to work on, working on excel quite a lot, making information documents, going to meetings. All the interns also have talks and events to attend, as well as team games that run throughout the internship so you have to manage your time well to get it all done. Every day varies but overall the balance is really good.

Within two weeks I was going to meetings with high-profile seniors within Markets and they were giving me tasks to chase up on, spreadsheets to make, data to look over, presentations to make,... If you show you are willing to work and are willing to put in some time and effort, you definitely get given a fair amount of responsibility for an intern. I highly doubt any intern would be given really big/important client projects, mainly because you have not had enough training, but they definitely give you the correct amount of responsibility.

I have just finished my Mathematics Undergraduate degree from Warwick and I am going back to do a Masters in Economics after this internship, and this internship and training has definitely helped me grasp an understanding of a lot of the real-world economics which will hopefully be useful in grasping concepts introduced to me on the Masters course. It has also helped me get an idea of what modules I want to take and what areas of the subject would be most useful in studying deeper.

Everyone is very welcoming and friendly. They all have work to do so can't be spoon-feeding you day in and day out, but if you have any questions, there is always someone to help / teach you. Many people will let you sit with them and they will talk you through their role and the tasks they do. Nothing is expected of you; they judge you on what you do know and what you can learn, not on what you do not know.

There are many events for interns. Educational and social, especially in the first week to help you get to know your intern class. Also all your points of contact are provided to you so you should never feel lost. You get given two rotations in markets and those are well spread over your interests/ability too. They try and put you on desks based on your preferences and the desks and everyone I know is happy with where they have been placed, so it has definitely been done well.

The first week has a lot of training from an external company, both general to Citi and also specific to your division. You then get on the desk-training pretty much throughout the internship (and after too). The people around you are your main source for training and development but there are formal programmes in place too.

It is hard to tell as an intern, but there are many people you speak to who do not plan on leaving the organisation any time soon or at all. It is a very supportive environment.

I can only speak for my intern class within Markets. While the company holds a few social events, you all get together and make your own too. We hold a variety of socials, from going to the bar after work, to going for picnics in Regents Park. Also a few of us have created a rock climbing and bouldering group and we try to get a group going once a week. there are so many different types of people there will definitely be someone similar to you and

Living in London is proving to be very expensive, and the quality of some accommodations are not that great. If you stay in a student accommodation, it can only be so bad and the costs are usually kind of reasonable. You can probably get something in the range of £180-£250 a week. Depending on how extravagant your diet is, cost of food is not too bad. Eating out is a lot more expensive than other parts of the UK, and drinks at bars are usually double the price you may be used to if you are from outside of London, but you can usually get a basic grocery shop about 5-10% more than usual.

The best nightlife is probably going out with other interns to bars. London is obviously buzzing so if you want to go out more then it is definitely possible.

If you get together with other interns similar to you, you can organise whatever you want together (shopping trips, cinema, nights out,...) There is definitely time to have a life around the internship.