Commercial Banking Interm Review

I enjoyed every aspect of my placement; I learnt so much about my division and the bank due to the training that Lloyds set up and the level of support received from my colleagues. Many people, including in wider teams were keen to help me get the most out of my time here e.g. putting me in contact with the right person or showing me tools or allowing me to shadow them. The internship is very well structured and ensures variety. I also believe that I've enjoyed my internship to the extent that I did due to having a really good manager who was very invested in my development.

I was lucky enough to have a very well balanced relationship with my manager in terms of being a friend as well as being an excellent manager. The wider team were also supportive and trusting. I've never felt undervalued although I do believe I would have built stronger relationships over a longer period of time.

My manager has always been supportive and made my development her priority. She made me feel comfortable talking to her about anything and encouraged me to consider new opportunities. In terms of guidance, she helped me reach out to others to encourage networking where she couldn't provide answers but made time to help me with other projects whenever she could.

My manager ensured I had a few projects on the go therefore, I was always very busy and other times, I was left with the responsibility to organise shadowing sessions or the time to complete the projects set out by Lloyd's. I was trusted to complete the tasks in my own time although deadlines were set. I like keeping busy, the nature of the work also improved my time management skills.

Due to the nature of my division, I couldn't do the work that my team does since more training would be required over a much longer period of time. However, I was given a lot of responsibility with the other projects I worked on, I was trusted with important and confidential information.

I am going back to university to finish my degree, my degree is not related to banking in any way. However, the training I've received and the skills I've learnt are certainly transferable. I've improved my project management, time management and networking skills to name a few. The training and the project set by Lloyds do all interns has given me a great understanding in to banking and the technicalities of finance.

Mainly, everyone is friendly and chatty but there is room for improvement in terms of better integration between teams since there were many different teams on my floor and none of us knew what the other teams did.

It was very well organised from the beginning. My manager had a set plan for me to follow and projects lined up for me throughout the internship which made my internship highly production. In addition, Lloyds have a dedicated team of people who organise networking events and provide development information throughout the internship, they were also very well organised and had a set structure with fortnightly learning development themes.

There was a clear and strong focus on investing in the interns, it is obvious that they see future, long-term potential with you. The internship is geared towards helping you get a referral on to the grad scheme or apply for a job with Lloyds. There is also several sessions and projects set up for your training and development. I also had the opportunity to visit the Edinburgh office to further my development. Compared to many other friends interning at other banks and investment banks, Lloyds are very good at investing in you as an intern.

I will be putting my interest forward for the grad scheme and hope to continue with a career at Lloyds.

Lloyds pay for accommodation for interns and scholars which is similar to halls at university, I lived at home during my internship so I did not get the most out of the social scene as much as those living in accommodation.

Central London isn't cheap but there are many happy hour bars around.

Several bars, clubs and pubs.

Frequent charity events were available to get involved in however, nothing else apart from that. A weekly badminton game for example would have been appreciated however, this may be due to the difficulty of organising events outside of work where a majority of people don't live in Central London.