Protection intern in Undewrwriting and Claims Strategy Review

My placement was extremely enjoyable. The work allowed me to use my technical expertise, while my colleagues gave me the freedom to solve problems in ways that I felt comfortable with. Socially the office was a very friendly environment, and there was lots of support available from graduates and other interns. I felt like it was a great opportunity to develop logical, business and social skills.

My colleagues trusted my work and my logic enough to gift me large tasks in order to support their roles and the wider business. As such I felt as if I was making a valuable contribution to their work. Also, the feedback and support which they provided showed their appreciation of my efforts.

I had a weekly meeting with my manager to discuss my progress and goals, this was very helpful for keeping track of my responsibilities while also being the perfect platform to ask questions and to raise any concerns. All my other senior colleagues were always happy to spend time giving guidance (both in terms of my role and in the wider career spectrum)

I was given projects to do in my own time. Mostly they kept very busy - but when it comes to having to stay late or coming in early there are no expectations, the only expectation is that you use your time effectively to produce high quality output - and this kept me busy.

I was given projects to complete in my own time using my own logic and methods. The projects which I were given were key in supporting not only my team but also the development of the business. As such I felt that there was a good amount of responsibility given to me during the course of my internship.

This role allowed me to greatly develop my excel skills and also to code in Visual Basic. My role involved working with a lot of data and data formats. As such it helped me to develop my logical thinking while expanding my problem solving toolbox to include the widely used visual basic language.

Colleagues are very dedicated to their roles and always work very hard, however they are also very sociable and welcoming to newcomers. Creativity is valued in the office, and good ideas are not trumped by seniority. There is also an atmosphere of passion and excitement around the industry and the products which we deliver.

There was a very structured personal development program with a set roadmap for developing business and professional social skills within the 10 week period. In terms of work, the structure was flexible as I was allowed to pursue topics of interest to me - eventually making these my main internship projects.

Lloyds pays for intern and scholar accommodation, as such all interns and scholars live and socialise together. Furthermore the Helping Britain Prosper Challenge is completed in intern or scholar groups, thus allowing for even more social engagement with fellow interns and scholars. This structure helped me to build strong with fellow interns and scholars.

Part of the internship is to complete the Helping Britain Prosper Challenge, where interns and scholars must raise money and awareness for the Lloyds charity partner (Mental Health UK in 2017/2018). Thus, managers are very happy to allow you time to engage in the community and to organise charity events.