Finance Administrator Review

It isn't a job I would do for the rest of my life but it was interesting to gain an insight in to what the team does. Also had good opportunities to meet managers and get involved with the extra projects e.g. charity challenge. Most of the other interns nice.

Not always told if I do a good job. It would have been nice to have been included more on the huddle board to feel more included in the team, not just a guest for 2 and a half months. Overall ok though, just maybe a bit more encouragement and performance review.

Received quite a lot of support at the start but gradually saw my line manager less and less. Would have liked regular one-ones throughout. The people I worked directly with always helped if I asked but sometimes felt a bit lost and didn't want to ask again for fear of being annoying/looking stupid.

At the start had almost nothing to do because it took a while to get all my access etc. set up. Gradually given my own tasks to do which improved the situation. At month end was too busy, as not only did I have my actual job to do, but also felt under a lot of pressure to put lots of time in to the charity challenge and two intern projects, which led to me feeling quite stretched and having to work until past 6.

Enjoyed the fact I was given a proper job to do, as opposed to an extra project that wasn't entirely necessary, as I know some interns were given. At times felt a bit overwhelmed e.g. if I made a mistake that affected numerous accounts, but overall enjoyed having my own tasks which people had to come and ask me about, as it made me feel more valued.

Aside from soft skills like confidence, I was placed in an area which isn't similar to my degree, and I feel as though unless I change my mind and decide to work in finance I probably won't use the specific skills I have learnt again. But still enjoyed learning about a new area of banking which I didn't even know existed before.

Generally the people were all friendly and there were often cakes etc. on the end of desks which was nice. The weekly shout outs were a good idea as I think it raised the atmosphere. The office was casual and relaxed which was good. Occasionally people weren't always in the best moods, but this is to be expected.

Pertemps were a nightmare with organising the vetting process, and there was a lot of confusion over holiday allowance. For my actual job, after all my IT issues and access had been sorted it was quite well planned, but I was just placed in a role so it didn't require much planning.

My training just involved sitting with other colleagues whilst they did their jobs, so it wasn't particularly effective. The online courses we had to do were often common sense and quite boring, or completely irrelevant. The fortnightly emails with development aims e.g. prepare an elevator pitch were largely ignored I think.

From what I've seen Lloyds is a good company to forge a career in. I like the atmosphere of the office and the working hours and how flexible they are. I could definitely see myself working here in the future, although I'm not sure within which area. The finance graduate scheme was also not sold well when we had a talk about it (seemed quite stressful, a long commitment, hard to get on to even if you've done internships etc.)

Enjoyed staying in accommodation with the other interns and formed good relationships with many of them. The charity/intern challenges were also good for meeting interns who don't stay at the accommodation. There were a few who weren't always sociable and some who had a high opinion of themselves, but generally I've met good friends and enjoyed the social side of the internship. Didn't really socialise with my team at all (most don't participate in any events e.g. pub crawl).

Living costs were fine as accommodation was covered. It would be good if costs of commuting could be covered as this can add up to over £120 which is quite a lot for some people. Bristol is quite expensive which sometimes made it hard to want to socialise, but it wasn't too bad as we get paid.

A good nightlife scene but not really the sort of music etc. that I was in to (a lot of the other interns also had different tastes in nights out). Could also be quite expensive to go out so didn't do it that much, but lots of choice if I really wanted to.

Aside from the pub crawl I didn't take part in any activities. My team doesn't really socialise that much which limited what I was encouraged to go to, as other interns went with their teams. I think there were other opportunities, I just wasn't ideally placed to take advantage of them.