Insurance Financial Reporting Intern Review

My colleagues were great. The work was mainly accounting and as I actually want to do Physics, I did not enjoy it as much as someone else may. It was 9-5 but my line manager is flexible as long as you get the tasks done which is good. I had the opportunity to experience lots of different areas of the business which is interesting.

I felt very valued as I was readily given a great deal of responsibility and they were all very helpful and patient. I was included in any socialising activities and invited to all of the meeting. Their is a meeting or 'huddle' each morning and in this I was treated as an equal.

My line manager, gave all the help and support I indicated I needed. However, the people in charge of organising and structuring the internship were nowhere to be seen in terms of guidance on day-to-day tasks: the work to exploring split etc. This meant things were unclear but not necessarily bad. I had about 5 one-to-ones with my line manager.

It varied day-to-day. At the beginning there were a lot of logistical issues so that kept me busy but not in a good way. Since then I have kind of been able to choose how busy I have been. I never felt really under pressure, but I had enough work to keep me busy and not bored.

I was given as much responsibility as a D Grade Lower or Assistant manager and performed a similar level of tasks. So if I failed to deliver on one of my tasks it would have a negative impact, and would need to be rectified very quickly. I was also not mollycoddled.

There was time for a lot of personal development and learning how a bank functions is important for life in general. However, I didn't gain any knowledge that would be useful for my Physics degree really. I have improved on several soft skills. I have also learnt Excel and some coding.

Everyone seemed to get along. Laidback, relaxed and casual for most people but some people seemed to be very busy and stressed. There were constantly events or celebrations being run. For example, there was a Sports Day to celebrate improved efficiency in the division for the business and another event was a pub crawl.

In fairness, the internship was very well organised. The accommodation was at the University of the West of England and paid for by Lloyds Banking Group. We were employed through an agency, Blue Arrow which sent quite a few clear documents on how sickness and holiday worked. We also had lots of intern events which went smoothly.

There were lots of centralised courses and advice by email. It seems they put quite a lot of money into these good looking umbrella activities which may not actually be that helpful to the individuals. I, myself, used expenses payments never. But I do know of others who got trips to London and Edinburgh fully payed for.

Not for me but seems like a good company.

Yes there were fourteen of us on UWE Campus all living in flats in the same building. When the world cup was on we would all go and watch the games and get a pint and dinner together. We still go and get drinks and dinner together. Moreover, we cook together and get the bus together.

Not that bad- Bristol. Depends on how you live really

I worked in Bristol. Bristol is a very busy place with lots of bars and clubs. Lots of music/festival people. Many colleagues went out for drinks after work on a semi regular basis. There were multiple different types of festivals on at the weekends while I was in Bristol, including the international balloon fiesta.

Yes, as I have already mentioned in above comments.