Investment Consulting Analyst Review

I have enjoyed my internship. Coming into finance, I thought that working hours won't be great and work culture would be very poor. However, Aon is completely opposite to this; as an employee, you have a great work to personal life balance and there is a respect within colleagues. I am in Investment Consulting Client Team, where my role is to advise trustees (people who manage pension schemes) on which fund managers to choose such that the liabilities of the scheme matched its assets. I found this work very interesting but at the same time, I hoped for it to be a lot more technical. But I feel like as an intern, you are not given the technical stuff but that is understandable as we do not have the skills for it just yet.

You are treated as part of a family when you start working at Aon. Your colleagues understand your strengths and weaknesses and give you work accordingly. They always try to push you in the deep end when working but I personally think that is the best way of understanding something instead of you being spoonfed. They appreciate you if you have done a job to a high standard but always give you feedback if you can improve in that task in the future.

Support my manager was great. I had meeting with him every fortnight where we had a general discuss about how I am fitting in and what kind of work am I doing. He even asked me whether I am enjoying it and if I would like to get involved in other things. Twice in my 9 weeks internship, I was given feedback about what went well and how I can improve. I thought these feedbacks are great since they give you confidence in your abilities but at the same time shine light on your weaknesses which you have to work on.

My work load was fully balanced - I was able to get work done on time and at the same time go for a coffee with my colleagues for a break. I never felt stressed or depressed because of the work I was given. Team members are great at explaining what has to be done.

I was given a lot of responsibily during the internship especially in the last few weeks as I proved myself to be a useful member in the team. I was practically asking all the fund managers for valuations and performance figures, creating excel models to use that data and then conveying this information to the trustees all by myself. I learnt a great deal in such a small time frame.

This skills first of all helped me understand how to behave in a work place and also to value team work. As a maths student, I spend most of my time studying alone - I am never asked to do a group project. However coming into Aon, I realized how much more efficient you can be, if you have a team.

General atmosphere is quite relaxed. Since my internship was during the summer, people were allowed to wear casual so I liked the atmosphere. Senior colleagues i.e. partners and principal sit next to you so it's good to get to know them better. Also you can sit anywhere on your floor, there isn't a fixed seat so you get to know everybody

It was exceptionally structured, we were all given a Corporate Social and Responsible (CSR) project where we work with different interns across all of UK to work with a charity and help it raise money. While at Investment Consulting, I was assigned 10 clients and I collobarated with them on a daily basis.

They invested greatly. We had Lunch and Learn, where each week, there was a speaker who told us about the different divisions inside Aon, whether it is Insurance, Reinsuarance, DCS or Investment Consulting. It was great because you could understand the overall Aon landscape and choose where you want to stay.

Future employment prospects are very strong in the internship. you are encouraged to have 6 months to 1 year worth of rotations in different team to first apply your skills to different team and see if that is the team for you. I know of many people you have gone to other teams and have loved it.

Yes Aon organized loads of events - from drinking events to darts event i.e it cater for everyone's personality. I think social events are a great way of knowing your whole team because it always help to know someone outside the office environment. Everyone is really friendly and free drinks is an advantage.

My internship is in london (the city to be precise) so you can only imagine how expense it is to actually socialise. However since most of the events I attend are organised by Aon, I have noticed majority of the drinks are bought by my seniors. I do not have to pay a single dime

I work in the city so it has probably one of the best night life in UK. So from the best clubs such as XOYO and also Junkyard Minigolf. There is something for everyone to do hence I love to work in london. I would recommend people to choose london over regional offices because of the opportunities it provides.

Yes as part of Aon, i got involved in Aon's cricket team who play different firms twice a month. It is a great way to know other people and also maintain a good physique. I also know people who have joined boxing, football and even done hockey. So there is a lot to get involved in.