Internal Account Manager Review

I really enjoyed my Internship. I fell in love with the office life-style and feel a sense of belonging here. My internship has been well-organised so far and I have learned a huge deal from my team members and line-manager. I like living in Cardiff - I got to know the local culture and language! I met incredible new people, which I value a lot now. I've made life-long connections and will always come back to visit them.

My colleagues and I bonded quickly. Initially I spent individual time with each one of them and learned a lot about their working style. They are friendly and easy to get along with. They offer me help all the time and are eager to show me how everything works. Sometimes we are quite serious, when we have work to be done, however from time to time we have an occasional catch-up chat and joke. They have accepted me as part of their team with a warm embrace, even though I'll be in the team for a short period. I am really lucky to be part of a team with such a great synergy.

My line-manager makes sure I utilise my team at Lloyds Banking Group, which I am mostly grateful about. Internships are about learning and she makes sure I learn new things about the business every day. She helps me with all tasks she gives me, despite her busy schedule. I couldn't ask for a better line-manager. We have catch-up meetings every week to discuss my progress and that's a great opportunity for me and her to give each other feedback. She is down to earth, and often puts herself in my shoes and understands my position.

I was kept busy almost all of the time. In the beginning the team members organised shadowing session with colleagues from several departments, which helped me understand how the business works. After the initial few weeks I was given more challenging tasks, which got me out of my comfort zone. However, I always thrive when put in challenging situations, as I like to approach problems from different angles. I always seek for help when I need and everyone In the team are eager to help me and show me how everything works. I helped my line manager organise the day to make a difference, I dealt with spread sheets to take the workload off my colleague's shoulders, I created a HIVE page for my team and met regularly with the other interns to organise fundraising events for the Charity Challenge.

I was given a good amount of responsibility. I believe organising the day to make a difference is a very responsible task and that helped me develop great day-to-day skills. I had to call external ventures and ask for volunteering opportunities, while communicating the information I received with my line manager and team members. Alongside, I had to coordinate everyone from the team and decide on a date which suits the most people. I learned a lot, as this is one of the first events that I organise! Creating a HIVE page was a huge responsibility given to me, as there are a large number of templates and I have never used HIVE in my life! I had to get adjusted to the new social media system and create a group that functions well for everyone to enjoy in the team. Me and my line manager were quite happy with what I've created and I received great comments from my team. I took the responsibility given from the Emerging Talents Team to organise a networking event - Lunch'n'learn alongside my fellow colleague Adam. We had a good amount of participants in the workshop we facilitated and they gave positive comments on our performance.

First of all, I learned that there isn't a task that can't be done. Even if it looks difficult at the time I initially approach it, there's always a solution, when I put enough effort into understanding it correctly. This can immensely help me in writing course work and approaching assignments, as I often feel intimidated initially but when I finish writing it and when I put enough effort, I get great recognition. Second of all, I learned there's no shame in asking for help. People in Lloyds are extremely friendly and always ready to help. In the past, I often though asking for help is a sign of weakness - that a person is not capable to do their job. However, at Lloyds asking for help is considered as team work and collaboration on a certain task. Third of all, I got out of my comfort zone and confronted my shyness by having to talk to a number of people on a day-to-day basis and I realised there's nothing scary about talking to people - in most instances people are smiling and treating everyone with respect. This is a skill I can use when approaching team members in group coursework are University next year. Finally I learned that people who are superior to you are not as scary to talk to as they might seem! The experience I had with my line manager led me to believe that they are always ready to help and share their kindly share their expertise. I can use this lesson to approach University professors without feeling intimidated.

The atmosphere in my office is informal - everybody can wear regular clothes, which makes the place down-to-earth. Everyone smiles and greets each other, even if they've never met before! It is a completely different atmosphere than what I've experienced at University and I really enjoy it.

Everything in my internship was organised really well. My team had a Graduate last year and they were well prepared to accept an intern in their team. I had a proper training, where I sat with everybody on the team and received a large amount of knowledge and expertise from the team members.

The company invests a huge amount of resources to support the interns! We are provided free accommodation, travel expenses and a great salary! A university student couldn't ask for more. We are feeling valued by Lloyds and we're being trained to be the new leaders of the company.

The future prospects are excellent - the interns are given the chance to progress to graduate scheme by evaluating overall internship performance and two interviews! After the graduate scheme, grads have an enormous amount of opportunities in front of them to join different team within the organisation - there's always a place for everyone at Lloyds and everyone can contribute with their unique knowledge and expertise.

Yes, as we lived in the same flat, we communicated often, cooked dinner together, got to know Cardiff and even explored several towns in Wales like Barry and Tenby on the weekends! We often socialise and go out together for food shopping of just to visit local cafés. During working hours, we meet and discuss our progress with the charity challenge.

The cost of living is really affordable. Cardiff is a place with great food scene, so I couldn't resist to visit the best restaurants around, which can be quite expensive sometimes. However, general living costs are really affordable.

Nightlife is excellent in Cardiff - there are plenty of nice bars, restaurant and pubs where we often socialised with the other interns. It is relatively safe to go back home afterwards, as well.

Yes, me and my fellow interns did plenty of travelling. Also, I visited London Wall office twice and the Transformation team in London for insight days. The day to make a difference is also a great way to socialise with the colleagues and have some fun outside work.