Summer Analyst Review

The Internship was very insightful and I enjoyed my time here. I was given the opportunity to travel to numerous offices to learn about various departments across the bank. As an intern, I had the chance to get involved in development sessions such as conferences and workshops which made the work more exciting.

I felt more valued by my colleagues as the internship went on. There were numerous times where my manger would take me out for a coffee just to find out how I was doing. Other colleagues also took out time to show me around Manchester on lunch breaks. Furthermore, colleagues within my team would frequently email me exciting learning opportunities.

I was given all the information/tools required for each task that I had on the internship. It was also very easy to ask for help or advice on a topic either from my manager or a colleague on my team. Throughout the internship, I was given a supervisor to go to for any issue. Whether it was regarding the system or my daily work, he was able to answer my questions.

The first two weeks of the internship were quite slow paced because not all of the digital systems were set up. I spent the majority of the two weeks trying to get account for different virtual platforms. From week 2 to week 8 my time was very balanced and I had enough work to do each day. After week 8 the work I was given started to slow since I had completed most of my required tasks for the internship.

After I gained access to all the virtual platforms and systems, I was given responsibility to dictate how to spend my time throughout the internship. The only requirement was to achieve the targets set by my manager for the duration of the internship. I was free to sign up to development sessions and other sessions that I found useful.

The skills and training I received has allowed me to put into context some of the concepts I have learned from my degree in economics. However it has not built on the knowledge I have gained in university. Beyond university, this internship has helped me to the reality of the working world specifically within the banking industry.

The atmosphere was very chilled and easy going. During the world cup, the offices were decorated with county flags and each team was given a group to follow. This added to the chilled atmosphere. Moreover, for weeks that were forecasted to be hot, the dress code was changed to smart casual so.

There was a lack of communication between the early careers HR team with the mangers. It was apparent that there wasn't a set structure for the internship which was advantageous in some cases but also causes a lack of equality across the internship. The interns were given very different tasks to complete from each other.

The company do invest heavily in their interns. Travel to various offices was paid for by the company and I was provided with numerous development sessions.

The organisation is moving towards the more digital and virtual trend which will open up even more opportunities within the organisation.

Amongst other interns, there was a great social scene. There wasn't too many interns in my location so we made a group chat with every intern on. This made it very easy to meet up with the other interns for drinks after work or to go out on a Friday night.

I was vey lucky to have a cousin who was living in Manchester so I was able save on accommodation for the duration of the internship. For other costs such as going out for drinks and entertainment, the prices were reasonable and was down to the area in Manchester you went to.

I worked in Manchester which I have found to be a huge city. There are many clubs an bars around with the best I have found to be in northern quarter.

To get involved in opportunities outside of work you have to be quite proactive and talk to the right people. I was able to find a group of colleagues that played 5 a side football every Thursday. There are some opportunities that are advertised on internal social platforms however, this is not frequent.