Summer Intern Review

I enjoyed my internship immensely. During my time working for the bank, I was able to adopt a great deal of responsibility for the tasks I was required to complete and was able to build and develop skills effectively which will be extremely useful in the future. Furthermore, the people and culture of the bank made a substantial difference to my time at work.

Feeling valued by colleagues is a very important aspect of your job. During my internship, I felt extremely valued by colleagues as it was clear that I was trusted with the ability to complete certain pieces of work. Moreover, I found that people in the business were very approachable and eager to assist with any queries or questions.

I believe that support was given on regular occasion by my line manager and other colleagues in the business. This was really important given that the work I had been given was something that I had previously not done before and therefore it took me some time to grasp the basic understanding required to perform tasks effectively.

On a daily basis, my workload varied quite drastically. At some times, I had a lot going on given the requirement of data requests which were usually in line with tariff reviews which occurred at similar times. However, at other times when I had a less intense work load, I was able to dedicate more time to the array of challenges we were set.

I was given a fair amount of responsibility during my placement. For example, I was given a particular project which I took the lead on where I had the chance to explain and discuss my work with a senior manager. Furthermore, I was put in direct contact with other colleagues in the business who approached me directly rather than through my line manager.

In terms of the skills which I developed, I believe many of these are very transferable. For example, being organised and able to manage your workload will assist myself in the final year of my degree, especially with the task of completing a dissertation. Furthermore, in terms of training, I have received Excel training which is essential for a career in financial services.

Overall, the general atmosphere in the office was fantastic. Everyone in the office was extremely approachable and happy to answer any questions or queries that we had. Furthermore, the floor was recently refurbished which has created a much better workplace. We also had a drinks trolley on a Friday which was run by the interns, enabling us to show our face around the floor in a fun way.

Overall, the internship was not that well organised. I feel that it would have been better to have an induction week where we received the necessary training rather than being thrown straight into the deep-end. Moreover, the process for obtaining a place on the graduate scheme only become clear towards the end of the internship and was still quite vague.

The company did provide a very good online training platform which we were able to use at our own discretion. Furthermore, employees in our specific business area took the time to run events which helped develop our understanding of the industry and other parts of the division which was greatly appreciated.

Future employment prospects are very appealing within the organisation. The people and culture of the bank are the two standout positives that make the bank a good place to work in. Furthermore, the graduate programme offers a rotational scheme which allows exposure into different areas of the bank which is a very exciting prospect.

By living at home, it was quite difficult to engage on a social level with the other interns but on the occasions that I did, I definitely did enjoy myself. There were also drinks events with other colleagues in the team which were good in order to meet people on a social level outside of the workplace.

The cost of living was negligible as I was living at home. However, the cost of travelling to work was therefore quite high. Unfortunately, this was not reimbursed even though the accommodation for interns was provided free of charge. Socialising was quite expensive but this was expected given that it is London.

The nightlife in the area I worked in was not something I experienced on a regular basis given that I was living at home during my internship. However, the few nights that I did go on during my internship were very enjoyable and I was glad that I attended these.

We were given 3 challenges additional to our day-to-day work which therefore offered a large scope to get involved in. One of these involved a charity challenge so this gave us the opportunity to organise a sponsored bike ride and a bake sale in order to raise money for the chosen charity.