Finance Operations - Customer Services Finance Review

This was the first time I had completed an internship having previously just worked in a supermarket while at university so it provided a good insight into what it's like working in a fast paced banking environment. At times it has felt like once I'm up to speed it'll be time for me to leave however that is just the nature of internships.

My colleagues have all included me in their meetings despite me having limited background knowledge and have always been happy to answer questions that I have. They have also given me parts of their work and have talked me through relevant processes despite their busy schedules which I have benefited from massively. I had previously hardly used excel so my colleagues have been patient and helped me improve on this.

Both my manager and colleague that I work with most have helped me massively where they can. My line manager is really busy but has still made time available for weekly one-to-ones and if I am ever unsure of the tasks I have been set they are both happy to help.

Some days I have been busy with work to do for the full day and others I have had spare time. However Lloyds emerging talent team have sent us development work to complete throughout the internship so I have been able to complete that in spare time - although at times this is a bit tedious because it's online training. As I have gone through the internship I have been able to be given more work to complete since I am becoming more familiar with the processes.

In the beginning I didn't have much responsibility but this was expected due to my lack of experience. Once I was a couple of weeks in I was given work to complete independently and I was able to ask for help anytime I was stuck. Most of the work was just parts of bigger projects my colleagues were working on, again due to my limited knowledge/experience.

One area my degree is lacking is in Microsoft excel courses and also presenting work I have completed. During my internship I use excel on a daily basis and have gone from being pretty clueless to now being able to understand and work with complex spreadsheets. Attending daily meetings every morning to report back what I did the prior day and what the focus should be for the current day has helped my communication skills develop.

When my colleagues were all in the atmosphere was good but they are allowed to work from home a couple of days a week which meant I was the only person from my team in the office sometimes. On Fridays the office was really quiet. As an intern this wasn't great for me but if I was working for Lloyds the flexibility is good.

My line manager and colleagues always made sure I was kept busy and the Lloyds emerging talent team sent fortnightly development work for all the interns to carry out. The only slight problem was that my laptop wasn't ready for the first day and it took a bit of time for me to obtain access to the relevant files/software used.

By offering internships Lloyds show that they are looking to invest time into student by providing them with work experience. I kind of thought before I started that I would be a bit of a burden on my colleagues but this was not the case at all. They spent time out of their days, when already busy, to show me what they do and help me complete work I was set. Lloyds also ran a development journey with fortnightly themes allowing us to learn more about working in the bank.

The process for applying for the graduate scheme is not yet complete but there is potential for me to get on the scheme. It's for 3 years and Lloyds would put me through my professional accountancy exams as well which is good. At the end of the scheme, from talking to other graduates, it seems as though jobs are available within the bank.

There was about 50 of us all staying in the same accommodation in Edinburgh meaning there was always stuff going on. I shared my flat with 4 other interns and got on well with all of them meaning after work and at weekends we could all go out. Also because all the interns were living together I got to know lots of them and have made some good friends.

I'm from Glasgow and there doesn't seem to be any real difference in the cost of living here in Edinburgh. The pay from Lloyds is relatively good meaning I was never struggling for money. The good shows at the Edinburgh fringe cost money to see but it wasn't too bad as it's likely to be a one off experience.

I think that the Edinburgh nightclubs aren't the best with little choice but it was still a good laugh going out with the other interns. The accommodation we stayed at was just off Leith walk meaning that we were close to many bars/pubs which was good for after work.

I wasn't personally aware of much going on outside of work other than a fringe night out with colleagues. The charity challenge also meant there was some events on but not much.