Intern Review

I really enjoyed my placement from the very beginning - we were given thorough and interesting training for two days and really got to know everyone. When we joined our teams, the work was stimulating and varied, while the intern programme structured our 9 weeks with useful talks, panel sessions and networking events.

Everyone I worked with made me feel as if I were a valuable member of the team. They gave both positive and constructive feedback and were always on hand to help when I needed it. I did not feel like 'just an intern', rather a proper member of the team.

My manager was always on hand for advice and answers to my questions, especially in the beginning when the questions were numerous. She paid constant attention to my development and would always try to make sure that I got the most out of the internship. She would always let me go to events outside of work to develop my network.

It came in peaks and troughs - naturally some days were more busy than others but there would always be something you could do. On quieter days, I would ask other colleagues if they had any tasks that I could do for them, or simply conduct my own research. On busier days, I would constantly have something to do but would never have to stay late.

I was put in charge of some projects for my team from day 1. Although I always had help if I needed it, it was my responsibility to make sure that deadlines were met and deliverables were produced. I was in charge of my own schedule and was responsible for prioritizing my work so deadlines were met.

As a student of languages, the skills I learnt were not very relevant to my degree. However, the most valuable skills I learnt were communication, team work, integrity and responsibility which will stay with me throughout my career. The internship was definitely a great start in terms of a career in finance.

The general atmosphere in the office was always a positive one. There was a great sense of team spirit and jokes and friendly relationships were always balanced perfectly with professionalism. Any negative atmosphere was not tolerated and overall, the office was a very pleasant environment to work in and everyone offered a high level of support to others.

The overall work placement was extremely well set up. We were given thorough training for two days at the beginning and then when we came into the office, were provided with many speaker series, networking events, talks, panels and Q&A sessions to structure our internship. Our development was constantly monitored.

A great amount of investment was placed in the interns and we were given very good quality training. This not only came in the first two days, but also constantly throughout the internship as training on the job. I feel as if I now have a very good grounding in finance and am well set up for the future.

Future employment prospects within the organization are very appealing and became even more so during the course of the internship. Having experienced the atmosphere, work-life balance and culture of the company, it is an ideal place to work and there seem to only be advantages of working here. Every part of the internship encourages you to want to work here in the long term.

The social scene was mainly organised amongst ourselves however, this was not necessarily a bad thing. All of the interns were friendly, open and keen to get to know each other so there was often something going on after work. We would also always go for lunch together which was a nice break in the middle of the day.

There were multiple opportunities to get involved in activities outside of work. I got involved with the netball team and also played in a charity dodgeball tournament to name a few. The opportunities were endless and other interns did citizenship days, pub quizzes, drinks, seminars, charity events and many more.