Insurance Finance Analyst Review

Firstly, I loved the atmosphere of the place I was working. The office building was amazing, the on-site facilities were great, and everyone here was welcoming and kind. I was given my project goals for my 10 week internship early on, but only on my 7th week was I given the tools I needed to complete these goals. Until this late point in the internship, work seemed a little inconsistent, and I wasn't working on any one thing for more than a few days.

All of my colleagues were lovely. They were always understanding of me being new, and went out of their way to provide extra resources for me to supplement my internship. They were also interested in my personal life - what my goals for the future were, what music I liked, where I grew up. The work I completed was recognised, and I felt like a part of the team at the end.

My colleagues were very supporting of me, always willing to clarify what I was supposed to do, and never being frustrated if they needed to show me more than once. However, while transitioning managers, there was a period of about 3 - 4 weeks where I was without much management and formal direction.

My day - to - day business was extremely variable. Some days I would barely have time to eat lunch, whereas other days I had almost nothing to do. This was due, in no small part, for the software I needed to complete my internship goals only being delivered on my 7th week. Because of this, I only had the opportunity to work on short-term projects, which I would complete when I received them and then wait for the next one.

I don't think I was given too much responsibility during this placement. At no point did I think that there would be any severe consequences for not being able to deliver / deliver on time. The most responsibility I had during this internship was to my team during the Toby's project for finance interns.

I have actually developed many transferable skills during my placement. First of all, I have greatly improved my VBA skills. I am now really confident with the language, and my ability to problem-solve around it. As most offices require some amount of skill with excel, I can see this coming in useful in the future. I have also greatly improved my teamwork. Working with both my charity challenge team and my management team, I was given responsibilities which I had to deliver and communicate on. I think this internship has showed me how to effectively communicate with my colleagues in a working environment.

The atmosphere was great! Everyone was so lovely and generous, the office building and its facilities were amazing, and the general mood around the place was very relaxed and comfortable. People would often leave cakes for colleagues to take, and every morning we would talk about our own personal goals (like cleaning the house, working out, or spending time with family).

The organisation, ESPECIALLY the employment vetting for Blue Arrow before the internship, was quite poor. Blue Arrow had lost some of my documents, did not accept standard proofs of address / income, and decided to organise everything during our exam season. Also, holiday times / sick days / changing tax codes, were NOT made clear at all to us. Also, during the internship, dates we needed to make ourselves available for were often at extremely short notice.

They organised me to attend multiple in-work training sessions given by experts, gave us software for us to learn online and connect with other employees. However, (due to my teams budget I think) I was not given any opportunity to effectively network, or travel to any other sites in the UK - something I know other interns got the opportunity to do.

I don't plan to work here after I graduate, but that is primarily because I am more interested in other areas of work, rather than me having a bad experience here. I am mostly interested in areas of work more closely related to my area of study - mathematics. The only job in Lloyds I have found which is relevant relates to actuarial studies, which does not interest me.

There was apparently a good social scene at work, but I did not make use of it. I attended one team lunch, but apart from that I did nothing. However, there were plenty of nights / days out with colleagues that were organised that I could have taken part with. On the student side of things, I did not socially get on very well with most of the other interns (especially roommates), so I didn't go out with them at all either. They did, however, do a lot of social things - including several loud parties.

Our accommodation cost was covered, so the cost of living was quite low. Food / drink in the area I worked was a little expensive, but nothing so bad that people felt the need to travel away. I did not, however, try any of the clubs / bars, so those could have been very expensive.

I don't do nightlife, so I couldn't tell you from personal experience. From hearing from others, it is really good - plenty of bars and clubs, and even some really nice pubs. The 'nice' area is quite small though, so if you move too far away from the Harbourside your experience may vary.

There were several leaving doo's, pool (like snooker) days, and socials outside of work. There was the Bristol festival in my fourth week, which was a nice experience. Not many people from work went though. I travelled home each weekend, so I can't speak for the opportunities arranged for the weekends.